Blibber-Blubber was the first
bubble gum
Bubble gum (or bubblegum) is a type of chewing gum, designed to be inflated out of the mouth as a bubble.
Composition
In modern chewing gum, if natural rubber such as chicle is used, it must pass several purity and cleanliness tests. However, ...
formulation, developed in 1906 by
American confectioner
Confectionery is the art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two broad and somewh ...
Frank H. Fleer
Frank Henry Fleer (1860November 1, 1921) was an American confectioner who is thought to have developed the first bubble gum. Fleer founded the Frank H. Fleer Corporation in 1919 as a gum manufacturer. Fleer's original formulation, called Blibber ...
.
The gum was brittle and sticky, with it containing little cohesion; for these reasons, the gum was never marketed. It also required vigorous rubbing with a
solvent
A solvent (from the Latin language, Latin ''wikt:solvo#Latin, solvÅ'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a Solution (chemistry), solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas ...
to remove from the face after the bubble had burst.
Subsequent developments
In 1928, after a number of unsuccessful tests using various formulas,
Walter Diemer
Walter E. Diemer (January 8, 1905 – January 8, 1998) was an American accountant who, in 1928, invented bubble gum.
Life
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Diemer was working as an accountant at Fleer in 1926 when the company ...
, an accountant at the
Frank H. Fleer Company, improved the Blibber-Blubber formulation by adding
latex
Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latices are found in nature, but synthetic latices are common as well.
In nature, latex is found as a wikt:milky, milky fluid, which is present in 10% of all floweri ...
. As stated in a 1996
Lancaster Intelligencer Journal interview by Mr. Diemer, the results of one experiment that would lead to the common chewing gum today were completely accidental. The result was the first commercially successful bubble gum brand,
Dubble Bubble
Dubble Bubble is an American brand of fruit-flavored, usually pink-colored, bubble gum invented by Walter Diemer, an accountant at Philadelphia-based Fleer Chewing Gum Company in 1928. One of Diemer's hobbies was concocting recipes for chewing ...
. Diemer colored his creation pink because it was the only
food coloring
Food coloring, color additive or colorant is any dye, pigment, or substance that imparts color when it is added to food or beverages. Colorants can be supplied as liquids, powders, gels, or pastes. Food coloring is commonly used in commercia ...
he had at the time. The pink color became associated with bubble gum and was adopted by nearly all subsequent bubble gum manufacturers.
The improvement in physical properties due to latex's introduction facilitated significant growth in the bubble gum market, which is nowadays produced by many different brands and in a diverse range of colors and flavors around the world.
See also
*
1906 in the United States
*
List of chewing gum brands
References
Chewing gum
{{Confection-stub