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A Sweet (and Chewy) Path: One Man’s Life in Gum, and the Ripples His Innovation Caused – WTOP News
Walter Diemer turned a test kettle into elastic pink gum that became a staple for children and a tobacco alternative for baseball players.
- In 1928, accountant Walter Diemer invented bubble gum while working at Fleer Corporation in Philadelphia, discovering the mixture began to bubble while monitoring a test kettle near production machinery.
- Diemer described the invention as a mixture of "fortune, interest and a dash of competence," choosing pink food coloring because it was the only option available at the factory.
- By the 1970s, bubble gum became a chewing-tobacco alternative for major league ballplayers, with Topps featuring Milwaukee Brewers journeyman Kurt Bevacqua on a 1976 card using Bazooka-branded bubble forceps.
- Diemer expressed surprise at the invention's longevity, recalling, "I thought it'd be here today, gone tomorrow," yet he found satisfaction knowing children worldwide enjoyed the product he created.
- This story appears as part of "American Objects," a series marking the 250th anniversary of the United States, documenting how an accountant's quiet experiment became an enduring American institution.
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A sweet (and chewy) path: One man’s life in gum, and the ripples his innovation caused – WTOP News
NEFFSVILLE, Pa. (AP) — I walked into his apartment, and my first thought was: He looks like a retired accountant. Which is entirely fair, since Walter Diemer wa
·Chevy Chase, United States
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The Toronto Star+2 Reposted by 2 other sources
A sweet (and chewy) path: One man’s life in gum, and the ripples his innovation caused
NEFFSVILLE, Pa. (AP) — I walked into his apartment, and my first thought was: He looks like a retired accountant. Which is entirely fair, since Walter Diemer was in fact an accountant for Fleer Corporation in Philadelphia at the time…
·Toronto, Canada
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Hastings Tribune+10 Reposted by 10 other sources
A sweet (and chewy) path: One man's life in gum, and the ripples his innovation caused
He was 87, living in a retirement village outside a mid-sized Pennsylvania city. Walter Diemer looked like the other residents there, really — except that this one had, long ago, done something momentous. Somewhat inadvertently, he invented the stretchy, usually…
·Nebraska, United States
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Total News Sources15
Leaning Left7Leaning Right1Center6Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Left
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources lean Left
50% Left
L 50%
C 43%
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