gum

Gum
I like gum and I like to chew it. It freshens your breath after to much coffee. Chewing gum is relaxing. There is nothing better than a good snap and pop. The first chewing gum manufactured in the United States was Black Jack patented February 14th, 1871. Gum or gum like substances have been chewed from the beginning of time. The Greeks chewed a mastic gum resin from the bark of the Mastic tree. The Maya chewed chicle, “sticky stuff”. Early European settlers prized it for its subtle flavor and high sugar content. The ancient word is still used, "chicle" being a common name for chewing gum in Spanish and "chiclete" being the Brazilian Portuguese name. New England indians chewed a gum-like resin from spruce trees that was sold in chunks in the eastern states. Sweetened paraffin wax was all the rage in the 1850s. The oldest piece of gum is nine thousand years old. People on average chew three hundred sticks of gum a year and most gum is purchased between Halloween and Christmas. Today gum comes in many different shapes and flavors and sometimes it is even medicated but my all-time favorite gum is the gum of my childhood. The ball bubble gum in the glass ball vending machine.