5 facts about chewing gum that you might not have known

1. Chewing gum helps you concentrate

Scientists from the British University of Coventry establishedA. J. Johnson. The effect of chewing gum on physiological and self‑rated measures of alertness and daytime sleepiness / Physiology & Behaviorthat chewing gum helps drive away drowsiness, feel more alert and focus. True, this effect is achieved due to the tension of the muscles of the jaws, so any other food is also suitable.

But only chewing gum allows you to work your teeth for a long time and at the same time not get extra calories, so it's worth taking advantage of.

chewing gum raisesA. P. Allen. Chewing Gum: Cognitive Performance, Mood, Well‑Being, and Associated Physiology / BioMed Research International levels of cortisol, the hormone responsible for attention, and improves cognitive performance. So if you do not want to stuff your body with caffeine in the morning, here is a good alternative for you.

By the way, if you try to just move your jaws with an empty mouth, there will be no effect, verifiedThe Cognitive Benefits Of Chewing Gum / WIRED. And yes, do not believe that chewing gum helps not to cry when you cut onions - this is also mythMonday’s medical myth: chewing gum stops onion tears / The Conversation. Better just rinse the bulb with water first.

2. In Turkey, it is better not to chew gum at night

In general, there are many urban legends and prejudices associated with chewing gum, but some of them are especially strange. For example, the Turks have superstition13 International Superstitions for Friday the 13th / Condé Nast Travelerthat after sunset it is not worth chewing it.

Why? Well, because once you put it in your mouth and bite it open, it turns into dead man's flesh.

If you are going to Turkey, you can experience this beliefSuperstitions / Turkish Culture Portal on myself. But don't say we didn't warn you.

3. Still no chewing gum

The Internet is full of stories that chewing gum, due to its composition, “takes seven years to digest,” as well as revelations this talesFact or Fiction?: Chewing Gum Takes Seven Years to Digest / Scientific American. From them, many readers can conclude that it can be safely swallowed and there will be no consequences.

And really, there is nothing to worry about. But purposefully doing this is also not worth it if, say, you are too lazy to go to the trash can. known casesD. E. Milov. Chewing Gum Bezoars of the Gastrointestinal Tract / American Academy of Pediatricswhen small children who swallowed a lot of gum earned constipation and even blockage of the intestines and esophagus, which required medical attention.

So it is better not to give chewing gum to those who, due to their age, do not yet understand that they should not eat it.

Yes, and adults can suffer if careless handling it. So, in 2012, one woman aged 42 slippedN. Barbera. Fatal asphyxia by complete laryngeal obstruction due to chewing‑gum aspiration in an adult woman / Romanian Journal of Legal Medicine on the stairs, and since at that moment she was chewing gum, it got into her larynx and led to death from suffocation. One more phobia.

4. In Singapore, chewing gum is dispensed only by prescription.

Cleaning the streets of chewed gum flies a pretty penny. So, in Rome daily from the streets scrape offRome declares war on chewing gum; Each gum removal costs the city one euro, per Eternal City sanitation / New York Daily News there are an average of 15,000 such pieces, and each one costs the city €1 to remove.

Singapore solved the problem radically1. Chewing gum to be banned / The Straits Times
2. Chewing gum ban / Infopedia: Since 1992, it has been tritely forbidden to chew gum under the threat of a large fine. This was explained by the fact that, firstly, it can carry microbes. Secondly, it distracts students in the classroom. And thirdly, chewing gum can get between the doors of high-speed trains and cause them to jam, which can lead to casualties.

But in 2004, the law was relaxed, and now sugar-free chewing gum can be bought at pharmacies. True, only prescriptionChewing Gum in Singapore - Information about Gum Ban in Singapore / Chewing Gum Facts doctor.

5. The diameter of the largest gum bubble was 50.8 cm

The record holder for blowing gum bubbles is Chad Fell from Alabama, who in 2004 puffed upLargest bubblegum bubble blown / Guinness World Records a ball with a diameter of 50.8 cm. Since then, no one, including Fell himself, has broken this record. According to him, the secret is to chew three pieces of gum at the same time.

10 years earlier, in 1994, Susan Montgomery Williams from California also managed to inflate a truly hefty bubble. Its diameter reachedLargest bubblegum bubble blown (assisted) / Guinness World Records 58.4 cm. But there is one thing: Susan helped form the bubble with her hands. Chad, on the other hand, did without them, and therefore his record is considered cleaner.