The internet is full of fabulous facts about everything from current events to the history basket weaving and chewing gum fun facts. Because of this, as we research for our daily content on food trucks, food carts and street food, we stumble upon some items of knowledge that we just did not know.

We have decided when these fun facts pop up, that we would share them with our readers in our section titled “Did You Know?”

For today’s Did You Know we will look at Chewing Gum fun facts.

Chewing Gum Fun Facts: During WWII, U.S. military personnel spread the popularity of chewing gum by trading it and giving it as gifts to people in Europe, Africa, Asia and around the world.

  • Chewing on gum while cutting onions can help a person from crying.
  • September 30th and February 15th are National Chewing Gum Day.
  • The color of the first successful bubble gum was pink because it was the only color the inventor had left. The color “stuck,” and today bubble gum is still predominantly pink.
  • Swallowed gum won’t clog up your intestines, but it will be with you for a few days. Gum base can’t be digested so it will pass through your system in one piece.
  • Singapore has tried to completely forbid gum, with heavy fines of over $6,000 for possession or use without a prescription.
  • Studies have shown that chewing gum actually helps people concentrate and may improve long-term and working memory. Chewing gum has also been shown to reduce muscle tension and increase alertness.
  • Chewing gum burns around 11 calories per hour.
  • Chewing gum on an airplane will keep your ears from popping. Chewing gum makes your salivary glands produce 250% more saliva than normally, so you swallow more. This helps balance the pressure in your head.
  • In the U.S. alone, the total amount of chewing gum sold in one year would make a stick 3.5 million miles long. That’s long enough to reach the moon and back seven times or to circle the earth’s equator 150 times.
  • The largest piece of bubble gum ever was the size and weight of 10,000 regular pieces and was presented to baseball player Willie Mays by the Topps Chewing Gum Company in June 1974.
  • Back in the 1920’s, prohibition increased gum sales because people needed to mask the alcohol on their breath. When prohibition was enacted, Adam’s Clove gum hit the market with the slogan: “It takes your breath away!”
  • Humans are the only animals on earth that chew gum. If you give a monkey a piece he will chew it for a couple of minutes, then he will take it out and stick it to his hair.

Chewing Gum Facts We Missed

If so, please feel free to let us know in the comment section below. We always love to add to these lists. If we can verify that the facts is just that, a fact, we will give the reader credit in the article.

Reference: Wikipedia: Fun Facts about  Chewing Gum.