Featured Image Credit: DiscoveryUK/YouTube
Topics: YouTube, Weird, Food And Drink
Harley Young
As a kid, you were probably told to never swallow chewing gum as it would stay in your stomach forever - or something along those lines.
We all remember that panic setting in the first time you inevitably accidentally swallowed a piece, only to realise it wasn't as big a deal as you though... or was it?
Popular show, How It's Made has shared a video on YouTube showing exactly what goes into creating chewing gum and it ain't pretty.
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The short documentary explains how chewing gum was originally invented by a dentist before going on to become a childhood sweet as bubblegum and gum-balls in the US.
"It all starts with a gum base - the stuff that makes gum chewy." says the narrator as the video shows a pan shot of balls of gum dusted in powder to stop them sticking together.
Traditionally, this base came from tree resin. But today, our gum is synthetic and made of plastics and rubbers.
Pretty grim, right? It's no wonder that people are vowing not to swallow the chewy breath-freshening substance anymore.
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The gum base is poured into a mixer and combined with colour and flavouring before being tossed like cement.
As the substance is mixed together, glucose is added to give the gum a sweetened flavour.
Dextrose, a powdered sweetener, is added before the mixture is blended for around 20 minutes. This mixing action creates heat which melts everything together.
The video shows a luminous pink substance being squished together and the stringy plastic elements separating as it tears and folds.
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Horrified viewers of the video have taken to the comments to share their thoughts.
One wrote: "Memo to self don't ever swallow gum because it's plastic and rubber," while another added: "Ah yes, every good candy starts with rubber and plastic."
A third shared their disappointment with the flavour of gum, saying: "Ya'll need to find a new way to flavor gum because it only lasts like 10 seconds and then you're left chewing on an eraser."
A fourth came to the realisation that we're not the first to chew our gum, saying: "So what you're saying is a machine chews our bubble gum first?"
Even though you might be grossed out by the fact gum is made from plastics and rubbers, it won't actually do you harm to swallow it. Elizabeth Rajan, M.D. says: "Although chewing gum is designed to be chewed and not swallowed, it generally isn't harmful if swallowed.
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"Folklore suggests that swallowed gum sits in your stomach for seven years before it can be digested. But this isn't true."