Saudi Gazette

What is that thing which you are not allowed to eat in school, offices or even at home? Although you love the feeling of it in your mouth, but you just cannot swallow it. You just chew and chew and chew and spit. That is Chewing Gum!

Chewing Gum is an accidental invention. No one planned on making chewing gum, but it just happened to exist in nature. It is said that people in old days used to chew on gum.

Ancient Greeks, North American Indians, and Mayans used sap of different tree to chew. In 1870, Thomas Adams was experimenting with the sap of a South American tree to find the substitute for rubber. He was disappointed, and in that dejection he popped the piece of this wood in his mouth.

He liked it very much! As a result his company became the No. 1 production company for chewing gum in the world. Many changes have since been made like adding flavors, making the flavor last longer and using an artificial gum made from rubber rather than chicle.

You can go to any supermarket and buy sugar-free gum or bubble gum, which will make big bubbles, and gluten-free gum. People who are trying to stop smoking can also use gum, which has nicotine in it to help them.

Why do people chew gum?

People have different reasons. They say that chewing helps them concentrate. Some say it helps their breath smell nice. It helps with mouth dryness. People even have it for diet.

They think chewing gum helps them eat less. It doesn’t make them feel hungry. It exercises the jaws. Others think it is just cool!

However, it does not look good when someone is talking and you are chewing a gum. Chewing it in the classroom or while speaking is completely not a good idea.

Gum is meant to be chewed not swallowed. It cannot be digested by your body. So better spit it out, or it will come out through body waste disposal system in your poop.

Make sure when you spit the gum you put it in a bin or a tissue and then in a bin. Do not throw it on the ground.

Doctors say that chewing gum can cause problems to your teeth with its sugar. You must brush your teeth regularly even though chewing leaves a fresh minty taste in your mouth.