#2 Chewing gum: The Fortunes of Taste by Michael Redclift- pg #35-70

Summary:

Thomas Adams tried making gum for months, but it took too long so Santa Anna stopped talking to Adams. When Adams went into a drugstore in New York, he overheard the shopkeeper trying to sell a young girl a penny’s worth of chewing hum. He was told that Curtis White Mountain developed it, and Adams invited a gum vending machine. He made $2 million, which would be $30 million today. When the population of people started to increase, there were higher demands. Chewing gum was mondine, yet enjoyable. It provided cheap, unalloyed pleasure and it could be shared. It celebrates a function in an immediately pleasing way. Chewing gum makers and sellers made huge profits. In the late 19^th century in American, chewing gum made a massive social transformation. William Wrigley made the marketing of gum into art. His father had manufactures soap, and it was sold from store to store. He struck the idea on having his soup, so he offered two packs of gum in the product. He then introduced a series of different branded gums in 1863 and they became Wrigley’s trademarks: Juicy fruit and Spearmint. He began to send small samples of gum to millions of people. His aim was to make chewing gum popular. He became a multimillionaire. The resin for chewing gum was fought over the jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula. The Caste War was between the Mayan Indian and the Mexicans. In the beginning, Mayan armies were winning until they took a surprising turn. During one of the wars, the Mayan armies turned around and left the battlefield. They rebelled because gum was from their land and they weren’t getting profit. They soon lost because they were affected with diseases.

Quote:

"If the chewing gum story owes something to the American interest in chewing, it also owes a great deal to the developing taste" (Redclift 38). 

Reaction:

In all grocery stores, packs and packs of gum are sold, and many of Americans buy it. As time passes by, there are more and more flavors made. I agree with this quote, because William Wrigley made the first flavored gum which was Juicy fruit and it has always been popular. Because of it's great taste, many people bought it and Wrigley became a multimillionaire.

#1 Chewing gum: The Fortunes of Taste by Michael Redclift- pg #1-34

Summary:

Chewing gum is regarded as a personal treat and substitute for food, especially when food is unavailable. It has been used to express attitude, demonstrating coolness. Chewing gum played an increasing role in many people's lives. Gum was sourced from the southeastern. Region of Mexico, the Yucatan peninsula. Mexicans introduced gum and the term they used was 'chicle'. It was made from rare ingredients from the Mexican tropics. It was treated as a sustainable forest product and it brought new customers to markets. Pablo Ortega worked on the streets of Mexico and his business was very bad. However, when he started to sell gum and sweets, his market was going back up to business because everyone was buying it. The first important of gum is to taste the popular culture. Second importance is it came to represent and bring Mexico and United States together. The last is it bound up with tropical forest frontiers. General Santa Anna, the former president of Mexico and Thomas Adams, former Military photographer introduced gum to the United States. When gum came to the United States, Americans loved it. Santa Anna was born on February 21, 1794, he began his career as an officer in the Spanish army, and he joined the revolution under the leader Iturbide. The movements of the Texan army were screened from the Mexican troops by trees and the high grounds. When the Mexicans and Texans were fighting, the war only lasted for 18 min. The Mexican army fled and Santa Anna managed to escape. Houston ordered a search for him and he was found hiding in bushes with solider clothes. Santa Anna agreed to the complete Mexican evacuation of Texas and eventually to Texan Independence. He was president in 1838, the exiled to Cuba for incompetence. The Mexican-American war restored to power in Mexico City with United States support. Santa Anna then betrayed the United Stated and exiled again. When he reached 75 years old, he lived in New York. He told Thomas Adams he needed money for a Mexican Army and he hoped to raise it by selling chicle. They were sold for $1 a pound; it was large lumps of gray dirt, covered in bark and stones. It was rubberlike qualities but poorly made.

Quote:

"Chewing gum is by turns habitual and regarded as a personal treat, it was and is, a substitute for food, notably when food is unavailable" (Redclift 2).

Reaction:  

I've always wondered why people love gum so much. In class, many students ask others for gum and they complain they're hungry. From this quote, people like to chew gum because they don't have any food available. I was also confused because I've been told that chewing gum makes people hungrier but I guess they want to chew on something and pretend it's food.