Many people can probably relate to eating too much of something at one time, and then never wanting it again, right? Well, for me, that thing is bubble gum. I was in a show years ago in which the director wanted my character to chew bubble gum and be able to blow a bubble on demand. So, for the two months of rehearsal, I constantly chewed bubble gum to the point where my jaw hurt at the end of the day. After the show, I hadn’t had another piece since, which was more than 10 years ago. That was until my 6-year-old asked me to teach her to blow a bubble and I had to taste that iconic super-sweet taste all over again. Luckily, it’s one of those skills that’s hard to forget, and it also made me wonder why such a pointless product like bubble gum existed in the first place. This research rabbit hole ended up captivating me so much this week, I didn’t want to leave anything out, which is why this topic was stretched out over two episodes. I’m your host, Emily Prokop, and this is The Story Behind Bubble Gum.

The Bazooka Joe jokesters were John, Deuce and Joe from the Brand X Podcast.

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Media:

Music for Makers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp_K8prLfso

Sources:

http://www.history.com/news/hungry-history/chew-on-this-the-history-of-gum

http://www.chewinggumfacts.com/chewing-gum-history/bubble-gum-history/

http://www.wrigley.com/global/about-us/ourfounder.aspx

http://www.livescience.com/17520-chewing-gum-test-performance.html

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130308093933.htm

http://gumballmachinefactory.com/gumballhistory.html

http://www.snopes.com/oldwives/chewgum.asp

http://www.beckett.com/news/topps-puts-bubble-gum-back-into-packs-sort-of/

https://www.oldtimecandy.com/discontinued/bazooka-bubble-gum/

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/advertising/michael-eisner-is-giving-bazooka-joe-a-face-lift-111251.html

http://www.bazookajoecomics.com/jokes/jokes.htm

https://newrepublic.com/article/110868/bazooka-joe-comics-pulled-bubble-gum-after-58-years

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/11/30/business/media/bazooka-gum-overhauls-brand-and-loses-comic-strips.html?_r=1&&referer=

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/30/business/media/bazooka-gum-overhauls-brand-and-loses-comic-strips.html?_r=1&