Fascinating facts about the invention of
Bubble Gum by Walter Diemer in 1928.

Before long, the folks at Fleer were marketing Diemer's creation and Diemer himself was teaching cheeky salesmen to blow bubbles, to demonstrate exactly what made this gum different from all other gums. The only food coloring in the factory was pink. Walter used it. That is why most bubble gum today is pink.

He never received royalties for his invention, his wife told the newspapers, but he didn't seem to mind; knowing what he'd created was reward enough. Sometimes he'd invite a bunch of kids to the house and tell them the story of his wonderful, accidental invention. Then he'd hold bubble-blowing contests for them.

TO LEARN MORE

RELATED INFORMATION:
Walter Diemer Biography  from The Great Idea Finder
Invention of Chewing Gum  from The Great Idea Finder
History of Snacks and Food   from The Great Idea Finder

ON THE BOOKSHELF:
The Kid Who Invented the Popsicle: And Other Surprising Stories About Inventions
by Don L. Wulffson / Paperback - 128 pages (1999) / Puffin
Brief factual stories about how various familiar things were invented, many by accident, from animal crackers to the zipper.
Panati’s Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things
by Charles Panati / Paperback - 480 pages Reissue edition (September 1989) / HarperCollins
Discover the fascinating stories behind the origins of over 500 everyday items, expressions and customs.
Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum
by Lisa Wheeler / Hardcover: 32 pages / Little, Brown Young Readers; 1st ed edition (April 1, 2004)
After a variety of animals get stuck one by one in bubble gum melting in the road, they must survive encounters with a big blue truck and a burly black bear.
Bubblemania: A Chewy History of Buble Gum (Limited avaliability)
by Lee Wardlaw, Sandra Forrest (Illustrator) / Paperback: 176 pages / Simon & Schuster; (1997)
Discusses bubble gum, including important people in the world of bubble gum, its invention and history, how it is manufactured and sold today, and gives advice on how to blow really great bubbles.
Bubbleology: A Hands-On Science Kit
by Jim Moskowitz,  / Hardcover: 34 pages / innovative KIDS; Bk&Acces edition (April 1, 2003)
Bubble fun goes beyond the bubble wand. This ingenious lab kit contains over 30 cool bubble tools plus a book full of simple science experiments. Kids will perform amazing tricks – while learning the science behind the fun!

ON THE WEB:
Dubble Buibble History
Lots to see and do at the official Dubble Bubble site.
(URL: www.dubblebubble.com/bubble_fact/history/history3.html)
Bazooka Bubble Gum
Bazooka, with its distinctive name, taste, and red, white and blue logo and packaging, soon became a familiar part of Americana. The taste and smells that bring back memories.
(URL: topps.com/Confectionery/Bazooka/index.html)
Candy USA
Estimated Year 2000 Retail Sales - Total - $23.8 Billion; Chocolate - $13 Billion; Non-chocolate - $7.5;  Billion and Gum - $2 Billion. from the National Confectioners Association * Chocolate Manufacturers Association.
(URL: www.candyusa.org)
Walter Diemer Biography
Around 1926 Walter Diemer went to work for the Fleer Company, which manufactured candy and gum. Walter worked as an accountant. His office was on the third floor. It was near the office of the president of the company. From the Central Bucks School District, Pennsylvania People.
(URL: www.cbsd.org/pennsylvaniapeople/level2_biographies/Level_2_biographies/walter_e_diemer_level_%202.htm)
Bubble Gum
Lots to see and do at this Amurol Confections Company site.
(URL: www.bubblegum.com/)
Gum Factory Tour
Ever been through a bubble gum factory? Well, this is your chance. It's virtual, but you'll feel like you're really there!
(URL: www.dubblebubble.com/tour.html)
Baseball Cards and Gum
The Topps Company, Inc. entered the baseball card field in the post-World War II period with its first series in 1951. Actually, the first baseball cards were issued in the 1880s, some 20 years before the American League was organized in 1901. The early baseball cards were included with cigarettes, and they dominated the trading card field through the early part of the 20^th century.
(URL: www.topps.com/)
Stupid Candy Museum
Check out the Richard Nixon Bubble Gum, Ant Hill Gum and Snot candy.
(URL: www.stupid.com/museum.htm)
Unwrap This Site
The history of Topp's trading cards.Which ball players card is in the package.
(URL: www.topps.com/SportsCollect/spc_history.html)
Facts About Gum
The first patent for chewing gum was issued in 1869 to William F. Semple, a dentist from Mount Vernon, Ohio. A ThinkQuest student report.
(URL: library.thinkquest.org/J0113191/facts.htm)

WORDS OF WISDOM:
"I've done something with my life. I've made kids happy around the world.'"  -  Walter Diemer

DID YOU KNOW?:

• Dubble Bubble gum was so successful that the Fleer Company sold over a million and a half dollars worth of gum in the first year.
• Today, the average American chews 300 sticks of gum a year.
• Did you know that chewing gum has been around for over 900 years?
• Many doctors, however, said it was unhealthy.  In 1869, one wrote that chewing gum would "exhaust the salivary glands and cause the intestines to stick together." 
• A leading columnist on the subject of etiquette tells a reader asking about chewing gum in public that it is perfectly all right to do so as long as it isn’t done with too much gusto.
• In the United States alone, there are about 20 chewing gum manufacturers, with the Wrigley Company being the largest.
• In the United States, total retail sales of chewing gum (including bubble gum) is over $2.0 billion.
• They can't make chocolate-flavored chewing gum.   Unfortunately,  the cocoa butter in chocolate acts as an emulsifier on chewing gum base, making it extremely soft, negatively affecting the chewing quality of the product.
• But why is bubble gum pink? Bubble gum is pink because when the big moment arrived, when destiny came calling on Walter Diemer, pink was the one and only shade of food coloring he had nearby.