When my brother and I were little, our bedrooms were located on the second floor of our family's Long Island Cape style home. Mom would tuck us in and as she'd venture back downstairs, we'd yell to her, "Buy you bubble gum!" Not "Goodnight" or "I love you" but, "Buy you bubble gum!" Mom would always answer back with, "Me too! Buy you bubble gum!" I think my younger brother may have started this trend. I don't really remember how it began. I just recall it being a nightly ritual.
We loved bubble gum. Mom usually bought us sugar free Trident, but everyone knows the "fun" gum was Bubble Yum, Hubba Bubba and Bubblicious. I mean, who wants a gum that "four out of five dentist recommend for their patients who chew gum" or whatever that claim was. Ironically, today I only chew Trident or sugarless Dentyne Ice.
Here's a quick lesson on my three childhood favorites. Each deliciously sweet bubble gum brand was released in the late 1970s. The idea that they aren't sticks of gum, but actually "chunks" or "blocks" of gum make them all the more fun.
Brand: Bubble Yum
Who Makes It: Hershey since 2000
Birth Year: 1975 from LifeSaversClaim to Fame: First soft bubble gum ever invented
Random Factiod: In 1977, rumors began to spread that the gum's soft, chewable secret was the addition of spider eggs. This rumor was squashed when LifeSavers addressed the rumor in full-page ads in all the big newspapers including the New York Times.
Most Fun Flavors: Jolly Rancher Watermelon, Chocolate, Cotton Candy
Calories: 25 per chunk
Brand: Hubba Bubba
Who Makes It: Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company owned by Mars, Inc.
Birth Year: 1979
Claim to Fame: "Big bubbles, no troubles" -- marketed as first nonstick to your face bubble gum (from bubble blowing)
Random Factiod: While in early stages of development, Hubba Bubba was referred to as "Stagecoach"-- their early ad campaigns had a western theme.
Most Fun Flavors: Sour Double Berry, Island Punch, Sweet and Sassy Cherry
Calories: 23 per chunk
Who Makes It: Cadbury Adams
Birth Year: 1977
Claim to Fame: Bubblicious is the #1 selling gum in the US
Random Factiod: Bubblicious holds the Guinness Book of World Record for the most bubble gum bubbles blown at one time.
Most Fun Favors: Lightning Lemonade, Bubblicious Carnival Cotton Candy, Paradise Punch
Calories: 25 per chunk
