Great moments in gum history

• Early days: The Greeks were believed to chew tree resin from the mastic tree around 50 A.D. During the second century, the Mayans chewed chicle, from the Sapodilla tree.

• Colonial America: Indians introduced spruce gum to early settlers.

• Chewy, not rubbery: In 1869 Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna hired inventor Thomas Adams to create a new form of rubber from chicle. Adams failed at that, but did invent modern chewing gum.

• Freebie: In 1892 William Wrigley Jr. started including packets of gum with the baking powder he sold. The premium proved more popular than the powder and Wrigley decided to enter the gum business.

• Back to the drawing board: The first bubble gum was created in 1906 by Frank Fleer. He called his creation Blibber-Blubber and despite that excellent name, failed to get the too-sticky goop to market.

• Finally, bubble gum: In 1928, a 23-year-old accountant at the Fleer Gum Co. named Walter Diemer came up with the right combination and created a not-too-sticky, not-to-tough product he called Dubble Bubble.

• 4 out of 5 dentists recommend: In 1950, Harvey's sugarless gum is introduced.

• The birth of bubble-gum pop: In the 1960s, music producers start churning out megaprofits as songs like "Yummy Yummy" signal a new decline in civilization.

• Chew on this: Today there are nearly 1,000 kinds of chewing gum sold in the United States.