Who Invented Bubblegum?

Have you ever wondered who invented bubblegum?

Perhaps, one way or another, you also found yourself thinking of the inventors of the products that most of the people get to enjoy nowadays. Take, for instance, bubblegum. Were you ever curious enough to know who invented bubblegum?

If so, have it ever occurred to you that some of the early inventions were results of glorious accidents?

Great Ideas Sometimes Results from Non-Intentional Blunders.
It was the year 1928 when an accident in the Fleer Chewing Gum Company in Philadelphia took place. Little did the people there know that the blunder was going to come up with something genius that will forever change the notion of the world towards chewing gum.

Perhaps, Walter E. Diemer, who worked at the company as an accountant for the Philadelphia chewing gum company, had nothing much to do one time that Diemer thought of playing around with gum recipes.

According to Diemer, the concoction was supposed to be something else but the result of the mixed brew was otherwise– bubbly, absolutely different, and proved to be less sticky than other recipe results. They also found the new gum recipe to have a sort of resiliency that stretched easily than others.

There Was a Need to Check if the Idea Would Work Wonders.
Are you aware that great inventors usually start with a great idea and a vision and perseverance to carry it through? Well, that’s what Diemer got.

To test the product and how the people would react to it, Diemer brought a five-pound glop of the mixed bubbly brew to a certain grocery store. Sure enough, true to Diemer’s belief, many loved the new recipe! And the new bubble gum product was sold out that afternoon.

Then Came the Time to Work Out Marketing Deals to Further Distribute the Product.
It was not long before the company of Fleer marketed Diemer’s invention. During the presentation, Diemer got to show salesmen how to blow bubbles to let them see the new gum’s difference with other gums being produced.

Pink Became the Main Color of the New Gum.
Since pink was the only available color in Fleer, that’s what Diemer used for the gum coloring. This explains why most of the bubblegum products that you can buy at various stores are colored pink.

A Name that Made Sales Soar.
The president of Fleer Chewing Gum Company, Gilbert Mustin, gave the name Dubble Bubble to Diemer’s creation. And it became a continuous sensation. That is until Bazooka, another leading gum product, entered the market to share in the wealth.

Diemer stayed with the gum company for years. Later on, this former accountant became the senior vice president of Fleer.

Even though Diemer didn’t receive any royalties from the invention, the knowledge of what Diemer created already served as a just reward as told by Diemer’s wife to newspapers. It can be said that Diemer was very proud of what was later achieved by that earlier accident. And that seemed to be enough for the inventor.

The memory of Diemer, who invented the bubblegum, and that happy accident of a bubbly, less-sticky brew will forever be etched in memory even though other gum products have now emerged. But with every bubble and pop, we should be glad to know that sometimes accidents produce the best ideas just like what happened to the industry of bubblegum.