Who Invented Bubble Gum?

Although gum was chewed in ancient times, the credit of having invented and introduced the first ever chewing gum, called the “State of Maine Spruce Gum” is given to John B. Curtis.

In 1860, the first modern chewing gum was introduced to the masses by Thomas Adams. Adams is credited with responsibility for introducing the modern chewing gum that we are familiar with today.

Around the 1870s, Adams sold his “Adams New York Gum” for a penny each in drug stores. He also had the machine used in gum production patented in 1871. Adams’ gum was the first kind to be sold through vending machines in the New York subway station in 1888.

First Bubble Gums Were Flops

In 1906, Frank Fleer and Peter Meijer of the Fleer Chewing Gum Company, introduced the first ever bubble gum in Philadelphia... but their initial bubble gum invention was too sticky for the mouth so it never hit the candy market.

The Fleer company named Frank’s gum, “Blibber-Blubber.” There was another company from Ohio that claimed to have invented bubble gum too, but their gum could only be popped outside the lips.

First Modern Bubble Gum Winner

It was Walter E. Diemer who first invented the authentic bubble gum in 1928. Diemer was an accountant for the Fleer Chewing Gum company. He enjoyed experimenting with bubble gum ingredients when he had the time.

He tested out different recipes for the gum bases and he was really enthusiastic about his hobby. In 1928, he created the first ever batch of bubble gum by producing one that was less sticky and that was more capable of being stretched as opposed to the standard chewing gum.

Bubble Gum Becomes Pink

He thought of adding food coloring to his gum base and could only find the color pink to add to this confection. This is how the traditional pink bubble gum color came about.

Sales of Bubble Gum

Diemer took a 5-pound batch of bubble gum to a Philadelphia grocery store and named it “Double Bubble.” The whole batch of gum was sold out by the afternoon. According to records, Diemer did not patent his invention and did not receive monetary compensation for his confectionery invention.

The Fleer company used the bubble gum recipe and began selling the product. Diemer helped out with the promotions and advertising of the Double Bubble and trained salesmen on how to correctly blow bubbles with the bubble gum.

Eventually, Diemer became Vice President of the Fleer company and supervised the construction of the bubble gum manufacturing plants in Philadelphia and Barcelona. He also traveled the world to market his company’s gum. After the World War II, the Fleer Company was faced with product competition. Topps Company of Brooklyn came out with their version of the bubble gum called Bazookas which was wrapped in miniature comics. They were the first competitor in the industry.

Other Fun Gum Facts

In addition to its inventor, there are plenty of other fun facts to know about bubble gum:

The largest bubble gum bubble ever blown was 23 inches in diameter. This record was set on July 19, 1994 by Susan Montgomery Williams of Fresno, California.
Turkey is the country with the largest number of chewing gum manufacturers, with more then 60 producers.
In the US, there are more than 1000 varieties of gum manufactured and sold.
To help him better focus on the game, Michael Jordan would chew Doublemint gum during basketball games.
Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters would chew gum while performing since it keeps his vocal chords fresh and mouth moist.
Peppermint, spearmint, and cinnamon are among the most popular flavors of gum today.

Gum has clearly become a beloved treat and we have the inventors of bubble gum to thank for that.