![\"\"](\"\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/12\/chewing-gum1.jpg\" "\\"chewing-gum1\\"")
Who would have guessed that an exiled Mexican general boarding with an inventor and photographer on Staten Island, NY, would have led to the invention of modern chewing gum? Strange, but true!<\/p>\nWho would have guessed that an exiled Mexican general boarding with an inventor and photographer on Staten Island, NY, would have led to the invention of modern chewing gum? Strange, but true!<\/p>\n
Thomas Adams tried numerous trades before becoming a photographer during the 1860\u2019s. During that time, General Antonio de Santa Anna went into exile from Mexico and boarded with Adams in his Staten Island home. It was Santa Anna who suggested that the unsuccessful but inventive photographer experiment with chicle from Mexican sapodilla trees. Santa Anna felt that chicle could be used to make a synthetic rubber tire; he had friends in Mexico who would be able to supply the product cheaply to Adams.<\/p>\n
Thomas Adams first tried to change chicle into synthetic rubber products \u2014 toys, masks, rain boots and bicycle tires, but every experiment failed. One day in 1869, he popped a piece of surplus stock into his mouth and liked the taste. Chewing away, he had the idea to add flavoring to the chicle. Shortly after, he opened the world\u2019s first chewing gum factory. In February 1871, Adams New York Gum went on sale in drug stores for a penny a piece.<\/p>\n
Thomas Adams sold the gum with the slogan \u201cAdams\u2019 New York Gum No. 1 \u2014 Snapping and Stretching.\u201d In 1888, a Thomas Adams\u2019 chewing gum called Tutti-Frutti became the first gum to be sold in a vending machine. The machines were located in a New York City subway station. The firm was the nation\u2019s most prosperous chewing gum company by the end of the century.<\/p>\n
For a historical timeline of chewing gum, read on:<\/p>\n
Timeline:<\/p>\n
Information taken from About.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Who would have guessed that an exiled Mexican general boarding with an inventor and photographer on Staten Island, NY, would have led to the invention of modern chewing gum? Strange, but true!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-80","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured-invention"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n