The Accidental People's Gum

The Accidental People's Gum

The Accidental People's Gum

Whether you're a fan of bubblegum or not you know about the brand name Dubble Bubble. The iconic wrapper, comic strip and sugary coated gum that began as an accident has become the most popular and recognizable brand of bubblegum in the world. Even 80 years after its discovery the bubble blowing favorite continues to entertain both kids and adults alike, making America's original bubblegum the undisputed king of gum.

One would think that anything this successful must have been the brainchild of a genius in engineering who could concoct something so simple and yet so successful. Yet it was actually an accountant at Fleer, a gum manufacturer in Philadelphia, who stumbled upon the secret recipe. Walter E. Diemer apparently enjoyed playing around with gum recipes in his free time and eventually came upon a small rectangular pink piece of bubblegum that had a sweet taste and could be blown into bubbles many times the size of competitor's gum.

As the story goes, in 1926 when Diemer joined the Fleer firm the company president was instituting cutbacks to save money and planned to have the company make its own gum base. Diemer's recipe made it to the right people and because pink was the only food coloring available in the factory the prototype would be the now iconic bubblegum pink color that is used in many popular gum brands.

Diemer's special recipe had the qualities of being able to blow the gum into big bubbles that were less likely to stick to kid's faces than previous Fleer attempts. It stretched more easily than standard chewing gum making it more fun for kids to play with. Unlike regular chewing gum the newly named Dubble Bubble would be more of a game and the company would actually sponsor bubble gum blowing contests in the 1950's to capitalize on the popularity.

Dubble Bubble came along at the right time. As the country headed into the Great Depression the one cent pieces of candy provided brief and inexpensive relief from the daily struggles and the inclusion of the legendary Dub and Bub comic strips that were wrapped around the gum offered easy humor for kids and adults.

Concord Confections bought Fleer in 1998 and by that time the Dubble Bubble brand had expanded to include gumballs and different flavors including apple, grape and watermelon. Diemer had long since retired by then never complaining about not patenting his idea, one that could have produced millions in royalties. Instead he lived out his retirement in a small Pennsylvania village passing out bubblegum to kids until his death at the age of 94.

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