Public Collections of Gum

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Ranked #2,789 in People, #53,019 overall

Yeah, I know it's weird

I have always admired gum collections.  Not a person's gum collection (that's creepy), but rather a community's gum collection.  Colleges, camps, parks, city walls, a local mall.  They often have one place where, for whatever reason, a community has an unwritten agreement that at this one spot it is okay to stick your gum.  It may not be okay to put your gum anywhere else but a garbage can, not even 3 feet from that location.  But this spot, this colorful, textured, interesting spot...anything goes.  It may be a wall, a tree, a post, or a rock.  It may be a railing, a pillar, or a bathroom door.  And the smell, oh the smell!

As people walk by, they deposit their gum on this modern day secular shrine to pop culture.  They may spit it there, press it in, or stretch it, but it will get stuck there.  These collections can grow to extraordinary size.  It is a bizarre cultural phenomenon that may have started with one rude person, and spiral into hundreds of followers creating a sort of communal art piece.

I can understand why some may think that these collections are gross, unsanitary, un-sightly, ... but I love them.  It unites people together, even if to just for a moment.  And, with just a piece of gum and a little spit, you too can join that group.

Wall of Gum - Seattle, WA 

Post Alley Wall of Gum outside Pike's Place Market

Gum Wall, also known as the Wall of Gum, originated in the early 1990s when theater patrons began placing their gum on the wall while waiting for tickets or admittance. The Wall of Gum is located near Pike's Place Market which is know for throwing fish (much like Lew Zealand)

Seattle Gum Wall by WriterGal39

Gross gum! by paulbalcerak

Bubble Gum Magnates by Philo Nordlund

Image5 by Fred Jala

...ChEw... by mikeensor

Attacking the Wall of Gum by joeszilagyi

wall of gum outside of alibi room by drcw

Wall O' Gum by sean.murphy

Gum Wall by DairDair

Wall de Mucho Gum in Post Alley; Seattle by reeveb

bubble gum wall by wanderingone

JASON ANFINSEN. by JASON ANFINSEN

The gum wall in Post Alley by bradley j

curated content from Flickr

Be Prepared 

Don't show up without gum. Bring it with you. You may become inspired while you are there. And...it wouldn't hurt you to share with someone who may have just stumbled upon the site.

Bazooka Bubble Gum - Original

Amazon Price: $12.97 (as of 12/25/2009) Buy Now

Double Bubble-America's Original Bubble Gum, 380t Bucket

Amazon Price: $16.99 (as of 12/25/2009) Buy Now

San Luis Obispo, CA 

Bubble Gum Alley

Bubble Gum Alley, in San Luis Obispo, California is a tourist landmark comprised of a 15 foot high and 70 foot long alley covered nearly entirely with bubble gum left by passers-by. The gum survived two full cleanings in the seventies, and nearly had to survive another in 1996 (but the cleaning was voted down). A poet referred to as "M", from Arroyo Grande, wrote in Don Pieper's article "An Ode to Gum Alley":
"We write our epitaphs on walls with gum,
And though it may be meaning less to some,
We have a symbol of our gummy youth,
Whose walls may not tell some glorious truth,
But eloquently speak of better times,
Of cruising, shopping sprees, and nursery rhymes.
If gum is all you see upon our wall,
Your mind is closed, your spirit shrunk and small,
Though memories of youth may never last,
Gum Alley is our present to our past."

bubblegum expansion by emdot

205-0017 by kevincole

Gum Alley by basykes

John and Gum by Ingorrr

Graham in Bubble Gum Alley by peyri

IMG_3979 by youngthousands

IMG_3984 by youngthousands

IMG_3998 by youngthousands

IMG_3991 by youngthousands

IMG_3986 by youngthousands

Gum Alley by basykes

IMG_4002 by youngthousands

Skull and crossbones by peyri

Look but don't touch by peyri

curated content from Flickr

Techniques 

Public gum art techniques vary from person to person. Some popular options are:
  1. The Moon Effect - easiest, quickest, and probably most popular. This method of putting gum on the wall simply calls for pressing the gum using a thumb or forefinger essentially smushing the gum in place, leaving a crater-like effect in the middle.
  2. The Art Effect - a variation of the moon effect, this method utilizes an some object to press the gum into place, and said object is left with the gum. Common choices: cigarette butt, coin, fortune (from fortune cookie), gum wrapper, or condom wrapper. Unfortunately, coins do not last long. I can only surmise that the gum eats away at the metal, because I cannot imagine anyone would steal a penny from a wadded up piece of used gum. I could be wrong.
  3. The Written Word - This method takes longer and requires multiple pieces of gum, each piece chewed to a gooey state and then spread out to make letters or numbers. It is best to use the same color for the whole word (or make it large enough to be seen if different colors). Names (Joey), words (PEACE), and tokens of love (AJ + DB) are most common.
  4. The Sculpture - Often requiring multiple pieces of gum, and a bit of creativity, the sculpture is the forming of a preferably recognizable object onto the wall. Faces, animals, and flowers, and symbols (peace signs, crosses, ...) are common choices.
  5. The Stretch - Requiring a good elastic piece of gum, the stretch requires you to pull the gum into a long piece (as if you were pulling taffy - wait, who pulls taffy anyway). The elongated gum is attached on each end and then pressed in at a few center points to keep its hold. Bends in the stretch can make for even more interest.

More Gum Stuck on Stuff 

I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way.. things I had no words for.
-Georgia O'Keeffe

Allow yourself time by peyri

In gum we trust by peyri

Oh snap! by peyri

Out of the alley by peyri

bubblegum expansion by emdot

No Parking? by castledweller

Chew & Stick by castledweller

chewing gums rock by trespassers william

curated content from Flickr

Gum Trees 

Chewing Gum Stick to the Old Gum Tree

There is a great tree in Washington DC along the Tidal Basin. You can see the Jefferson Memorial in the background. There are other gum trees including the tree in front of the Ford's Theatre, where Lincoln was shot, and a gum tree on South Street in Philadelphia.

Bubble gum tree by HeXeNeSi

Anthropology Museum Gum by Darren and Brad

Anthropology Museum Gum by Darren and Brad

chewing gum tree by lucy tartan

curated content from Flickr

Mitch Hedberg Quote:

"I had a stick of CareFree gum, but it didn't work. I felt pretty good while I was blowing that bubble, but as soon as the gum lost its flavor, I was back to pondering my mortality."

San Luis Obispo 

Some visitors at this marvel have recorded some highly informative and socially relevant footage of this modern stonehenge-like masterpiece.

"I had a stick of CareFree gum, but it didn't work. I felt pretty good while I was blowing that bubble, but as soon as the gum lost its flavor, I was back to pondering my mortality." - Mitch Hedberg

The Seattle Gum Wall

gum wall in san luis obispo

bubble gum alley

Bubblegum Alley - San Luis Obispo, CA

Adventures at the Gum Wall

Gum Wall

curated content from YouTube

Public Displays of Gum 

(PDGs ?)

Bubblegum Alley - Wikipedia
Bubblegum Alley is a local tourist landmark in downtown San Luis Obispo, California...
Chewing gum improves memory - 13 March 2002 - New Scientist
People who chewed gum during short and long-term memory tests scored higher that those who did not.
Bubble Gum Alley: A guided Tour
A really, truly, repulsive tour. Bubblegum Alley, by Ira Hirsh, pop culture horrorist. Sitting, or shall I say "decomposing" in the upscale coastal California enclave of San Luis Obispo between a shop that sells porcelain frogs for eight thousand dollars and a store that...
BubbleGum Alley - San Luis Obispo
Bubble Gum Alley is located in San Luis Obispo on Higuera Street. Pay a visit, chew some gum, and stick it on the wall!
Gum Wall, Also known as Wall of Gum, Seattle, Washington
This Gum Wall, also known as the Wall of Gum, is one of the least known (and perhaps the oddest-well not quite) attractions of the historic Pike Place Market--known nationally for its fish throwers and as the location of the original Starbucks logo.
All in all, it's just another gum on the wall
Seattle's Wall of Gum
The Seattle Gum Wall - giant wall(s) of gum
Video screenshot - Syl & I visit the Seattle Gum Wall at Pike Place Market - View the video ....

Got To Go? 

Urinal Screen, Bubble Gum Fragrance, Blue, Dozen (KRS1002) Category: Urinal Screens

Amazon Price: $8.89 (as of 12/25/2009)Buy Now

If there is something about the smell of bubble gum that simply makes you have to go? Please, I beg you, don't pee in Bubble Gum Alley, or next to Bubble Gum Wall, or on a Bubble Gum Tree. Why not try tossing one of these into a urinal to solve your problem?

DON'T PEE IN BUBBLE GUM ALLEY!

Other Bubble Gum Links 

The Story Of Gum
Bubble gum history, origin, ...
Chewing gum improves memory - 13 March 2002 - New Scientist
People who chewed gum during short and long-term memory tests scored higher that those who did not.
History of Vending Machines and Chewing Gum
History of Vending Machines and Chewing Gum
GumArt - Chewed Gum Creations by Jamie Marraccini
GumArt is the surprisingly pleasing result of thousands of hours of chewing and spreading. See the art, news/media clips, and order a kit for making Gum Art.
Gum Blondes
Gum Blondes is a portfolio site for Jason Kronenwald's collection of celebrity portraits created entirely out of bubble gum.

Bubble Gum Chewing: America's Favorite Pastime 

Regardless of age, race, gender, or location, people love bubble gum!

I can make a ball of gum hover above my lips with some pinpoint blowing.
-Jason Bateman

I pop gum. My parents get so annoyed with me. I know my dad wishes he never taught me how to do that.
-Hilary Duff

It's just a show. It's not the end of Western Civilization. It's chewing gum.
-Jerry Springer

Well, normally, I'm a gum chewer. But when I heard about these ticket things of Wonka's, I laid off the gum and switched to candy bars, instead. Now, of course, I'm right back on gum. I chew it all day, except at mealtimes when I stick it behind my ear.
-Violet Beauregarde

Bubblegum - Day 64 by √oхέƒx™

Yankee Game 9-19-07 by Llima

bubble!! by Lin Pernille ♥  Photography

Miao Girl by mooney47

107/365 - "Has an awesome sense of humor" by helgasms!

Blowing Bubbles by ClickFlashPhotos / Nicki Varkevisser

Big Bubble by blmurch

26/365 - Pop! Some Days, You've Got Nothing by helgasms!

bubble head by Michael (mx5tx)

Array by sunshinecity

Yum Yum Bubble Gum by Brymo

Chewing Gum by jolien_vallins

curated content from Flickr

Guestbook 

Deposit you digital gum here:

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Bubble Gum Books for Kids 

The Bubble Gum Kid

Amazon Price: $13.63 (as of 12/25/2009) Buy Now

Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum

Amazon Price: $10.87 (as of 12/25/2009) Buy Now

Blog Posts from Google 

California Beaches Blog » Blog Archive » Bubble Gum Alley 60 Years ...
But the most unique attraction is Bubble Gum Alley. It kind of sneaks upon you. Not advertised, you could wander past it and never notice. Perhaps you park your car in one of the many lots scattered around the downtown district. ...
Bubble Gum Alley « The Laugh Machine
Bum Bum BUM! Bubble lubble found bubble gum Alley. In San Luis Obispo California has one of the coolest alleys in USA and is also a tourist attraction.People started to put gum on that alley (for no reson I'm sure) in the 1950's and has ...
Bubble Gum Alley, San Luis Obispo: The Eighth Wonder of the World
The origins of Bubble Gum Alley are shrouded in mystery. Legend has it that Hernando deSoto was the first to stick a piece of gum in the alleyway, upon discovering San Luis Obispo in 1623. That seems sketchy. ... I have a love-hate relationship with Bubble Gum Alley. It IS pretty unique and cool, but it's also disgusting and cringe-worthy. Definitely a must-see for San Luis Obispo though. Don't forget your gum! djerba. Wednesday, June 10, 2009. Bubble Gum Wall ! ...

by kab

I like a bit of everything.  I'm a jack of all trades - ace of only ten or eleven.

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