December 28, 1869: Chewing Gum was patented.
I had no idea that chewing gum was so old. I wonder what the inventor was thinking as he walked to the patent office. Did he imagine that his lovely little invention would become such an annoying part of the school routine? "Please line up, put away your phone and remove your gum before entering the classroom."
I had a teacher who, if he saw us chewing, would look us squarely in the eye, point at us and say, "swallow". He would then stand and stare until he was satisfied that whatever was in our mouth was making its way to our stomach. A teacher at my school stands at the door with a bin and instructs students to spit it out before they enter. Quite a sight to see.
