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I just read an old commentary from the late 1970s, where the writer was referring to 'those chewing gum chewing youths'. It struck me: I haven't seen anyone with a chewing gum for at least 10 years, probably more than 20 years. I checked the grocery store: The shelf with chocolate bars and all sorts of candy didn't offer a single a chewing gum alternative. (So it wasn't really 'all sorts'  ).
In my childhood, chewing gum was maybe more common than chocolate bars. I never noticed - until now - that it had vanished completely. I am curious: Is that only around here (Norway), or has it gone from the entire world market? If so, what does Wrigley do nowadays?
Religious freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make five.
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Covid had a big hand in that, apparently: Why don't people chew gum anymore? Big candy looks for an answer | Fortune[^]
TBH, I didn't chew it anyway, but I'm glad to see less of it around these days - nasty sticky stuff that got spat on the street.
But I just checked and the UK's biggest supermarket (Tesco) still advertises it on their website, so they must be selling a fair amount or it would have been dropped by now.
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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It is regularly advertised on TV and the internet, in fact the latest ads are quite new. It is also still sold in our local supermarket so I guess people are still buying it.
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trønderen wrote: In my childhood, chewing gum was maybe more common than chocolate bars. I never noticed - until now - that it had vanished completely. I am curious: Is that only around here (Norway), or has it gone from the entire world market? If so, what does Wrigley do nowadays?
Here in the US, I still see a lot of gum in the stores. If someone is chewing gum or not, I don't take notice. I guess the only way to gauge it is by how often I step in gum on the sidewalk, or if I see used gum stuck to the underneath side of a table. I don't remember the last time I stepped in used chewing gum. It used to happen fairly often in years past, but lately? I haven't stepped in it. As far as finding used gum stuck to the bottom side of a table, I don't look under tables. Back when I was in high school, desks would always have a lot of used chewing gum stuck to their bottom sides.
Is chewing gum still being consumed at the same rate as before, but people no longer spit it out on the sidewalk? I doubt that. I'm no longer a high school student, so I don't know how much chewing gum ends up on the underside of desks. Sticking used gum underneath tables and desks tends to be a thing that kids do. I'm not around a lot of kids these days, so that's an unknown.
When I go to the convenience store, I see that about 1/4 of the candy section is loaded with different types of gum. The way the gum section is oriented makes it highly visible to customers. I still like chewing gum, and I'm in my 40s. If gum didn't sell anymore, I don't think the convenience stores would make a point of presenting it so visibly to customers.
My guess is that chewing gum isn't as popular as it once was. I'm no longer a kid. That makes a difference. Maybe kids still chew it just the same, but as for adults, it's not very common. Just based on convenience stores, I'd say that gum is far from going extinct.
If you like chewing gum, you can get buckets of it off Amazon. When you search Amazon for chewing gum, the vast selection consists of sugar-free, long-lasting flavored gum in small pieces. I think in the effort to make the taste of gum last longer, gum companies have compromised the taste of the gum. The gum's flavor may last longer, but it tastes bad. Sugar-free gum doesn't taste nearly as good as gum made with sugar. The best gum is loaded with sugar, tastes great, and comes in large pieces. It may lose its flavor more quickly, but why is lasting flavor a good thing if the gum tastes like crap in the first place?
When I chew gum, my favorite brands are: "Hubba Bubba", "Bazooka Joe", "Dubble Bubble", "Wrigleys", and "Chicklets". I don't like other gum very much, but I'll chew it every so often.
On a side note, I find that chewing gum helps me focus better while I'm coding. Maybe it's just me, but do any of you also find this to be true?
Lastly, the most wonderful product sold on Amazon is a bucket of "Bazooka Joe" gum. It says on the product page that it has sold 3K in the past month. It's so beautiful. Just look at it Bucket of Bazooka Bubble Gum - Amazon[^]
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Steve Raw wrote:
On a side note, I find that chewing gum helps me focus better while I'm coding. Maybe it's just me, but do any of you also find this to be true?
Te last time I tried to chew gum, it didn't play well with my dentures, so I gave it up, I found the best thing that improved my coding was retiring.
CQ de W5ALT
Walt Fair, Jr.PhD P. E.
Comport Computing
Specializing in Technical Engineering Software
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I don't have the source, but I remember reading an article back in the 90's about how chewing activates something in the brain that makes it easier to pay attention. So if you are on a long drive, eating a snack like popcorn really slowly can make you a safer driver. Chewing gum should work too. The article specifically pointed out that whatever you are chewing doesn't have to be swallowed. I supposed chewing tobacco would work just as well.
Bond
Keep all things as simple as possible, but no simpler. -said someone, somewhere
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Have often felt that chewing gum once in a while (maybe once in a week or two) cleans the teeth more than what a daily brush does.
modified 13-Jul-24 22:05pm.
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I almost don't see chewing people, but sometimes step in the gum in a parking lots, exactly in the place we make the first step leaving the car.
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The last time I chewed gum was when I quit smoking January 1, 1991.
Software Zen: delete this;
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In the USA, grocery store checkout shelves are always stocked with various brands of chewing gum, also available in the candy aisle. But I refuse to consume anything with Aspartame in it, and they all use it or similar chemical alternatives to sugar (did you know that ant poison is sweet and a step in the making of ant poison has become an artificial sweetener for humans), so I get xylitol sweetened gum from organic grocery stores.
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For what it's worth, xylitol is deadly toxic to dogs. So make sure you don't spit that out where they might get hold of it.
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As I said, Mr. The Codewitch has been collecting cats.
The most recent, our boy kitty Moummar.
One problem with that: He's a calico. That color combo comes from an XX chromosome pair.
We thought maybe the shelter mixed up his records, so we inspected him ourselves.
He has the requisite parts.
I think he's an XXY kitty. They're extremely rare.
We also have a rarish orange girl, but apparently that wasn't uncommon enough for my other half. 
Check out my IoT graphics library here:
https://honeythecodewitch.com/gfx
And my IoT UI/User Experience library here:
https://honeythecodewitch.com/uix
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My experience with Orange cats is that they are remarkably dim. We had one who used to run headlong into parked motorcycles, steal and eat hot chillies*, and bite his own tail.
* Mind you, watching him visit the litter tray the next day was always ... entertaining.
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Same experience, we had one that we nicknamed "ADHD cat", we knew beforehand that it was a problematic cat as the owner wanted to get rid of him. He became a lot calmer though as he had enough room to play outside in a rural setting, even took time to sit on our lap which he refused to do at first.
Now he's gone sadly, hit by a car last year 
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OriginalGriff wrote: We had one who used to run headlong into parked motorcycles
I had a young St. Bernhard out running in the dark (he was on a leash, but one of these long, self-winding ones of several meters), rounded a corner and banged into a huge steel garbage container. This shocked him so much that he made all big steel things - read: cars - his enemies that he wanted to attack. Having a young 70 kg St. Bernhard throw himself against every car we met when out walking really put a strain on my arm  His fighting spirit against big steel boxed did wear off, gradually, but it took a couple of years. I wouldn't say he was dim, just terribly scared from the crash with the garbage container.
OriginalGriff wrote: steal and eat hot chillies
The old fellow, about 7 years his senior, once came up on me from behind: I was stretching out in my recliner, he laid his huge head over my shoulder, breathing heavily into my face, and I screamed: 'Ambassador, where did you find that garlic??' The term 'dog breath' got a completely new dimension that day.
We use a lot of garlic in our cooking, and one of his nicnames was 'The vacuum cleaner' - he wouldn't let a breadcrumb be left on the floor. One of us must have dropped a garlic clove (from the smell, I'd think it was a big one!) to the floor, and he had 'vacuumed' it before we noticed.
OriginalGriff wrote: bite his own tail.
A few months before that garbage container incident, the young one was just a little puppy (we nicknamed him 'Microsoft'...). The old one was like an old man becoming a granddaddy for the first time. He truly adored the puppy, and the puppy adored the big, strong Ambassador. When we were out walking, the puppy bit granddaddy's tail, to be dragged down the street. Granddaddy was so happy with the attention that he wagged his tail eagerly, with the puppy attached, being thrown from side to side. I tried several times to catch it with my video camera; unfortunately I was always too late.
Maybe letting another dog (/puppy) bite your tail appears to be rather dimwitted, but I can assure you that it was pure love and care for the little one.
Religious freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make five.
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Garfield says: Hello 
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Our cat wonder into our lives a few years ago.
She was abandoned and very young.
My SO has spoiled her to no end, I admit I helped SOME!
So now the cat is just like a puppy, follows the SO everywhere and demands attention from her. If the SO goes outside Mini will go to the door and wait.
We call her out puppy cat.
A home without books is a body without soul. Marcus Tullius Cicero
PartsBin an Electronics Part Organizer - Release Version 1.4.0 (Many new features) JaxCoder.com
Latest Article: EventAggregator
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May we see pictures, please?
<°}}}>«
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laying on Mr. The Codewitch[^]
Check out my IoT graphics library here:
https://honeythecodewitch.com/gfx
And my IoT UI/User Experience library here:
https://honeythecodewitch.com/uix
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Gorgeous! Thank-you
<°}}}>«<
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I had heard that male calicos were possible, but very rare. Is XXY the only way to get one? I wonder what percentage of all calicos are male?
Bond
Keep all things as simple as possible, but no simpler. -said someone, somewhere
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It comes from an XX chromosome pair, so you'll need a viable chromosomal configuration that includes two Xs.
Less than 1% are male
Check out my IoT graphics library here:
https://honeythecodewitch.com/gfx
And my IoT UI/User Experience library here:
https://honeythecodewitch.com/uix
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You really gotta stop stealing my band names for post titles.
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