Bubble Gum Invented (1928): Chewing gum has a history that spans as far back as the ancient Greeks, who chewed the resin from mastic trees; however, bubble gum, a type of chewing gum that allows the chewer to make bubbles, has a much more recent history. Although there were early attempts at making bubble gum in the late 1800s and early 1900s, these bubble gums did not sell well because they were considered too wet and usually broke before a good bubble was formed.
The invention of the first successful bubble gum is credited to Walter Diemer (1905-1998) in 1928. At the time, 23-year-old Diemer was an accountant for Fleer Chewing Gum Company who experimented on new gum recipes in his spare time. Diemer considered it an accident to have hit upon a formula that was less sticky and more flexible than other chewing gums, characteristics that allowed a chewer to make bubbles. Diemer used a pink dye for his new gum because pink was the only color available at the Fleer Chewing Gum Company. (Pink remains the industry standard for bubble gum.)
To test his new recipe, Diemer took samples of the new gum over to a local store and it sold out in a single day. Realizing they had a new, wonderful type of gum, Fleer Chewing Gum Company marketed Diemer's new gum as "Dubble Bubble." To help sell the new bubble gum, Diemer himself taught salespeople how to blow bubbles so that they in turn could teach potential customers. Dubble Bubble remained the only bubble gum on the market until Bazooka hit the market after World War II.