> Chewing on plastic, or popping it all over your face, doesn’t appeal to youngsters
I didn't realize that chewing gum was made of plastic. It seems I've been successfully hoodwinked by the manufacturers who refer to it as "gum base" on the ingredients list.
What makes it disgusting? I'm happy that synthetic polymers are used instead of farmed polymers from the Amazons, with all the hazards for the environment that entails.
I love gum, I consider it my super weapon during talks or interviews: it really reduces my anxiety for some reason (and it prevents dry mouth). Some may consider it a bit rude, but I find it an okay price to pay for how much more composed I tend to be in uncomfortable situations.
With that, I started chewing mastic gum recently, and I really love it: I can chew it for seemingly forever without it wearing out, and it really gives my jaw a workout.
My eldest is very emotional, even by five-year-old standards. She has difficulty dealing with even slightly stressful situations.
I remembered a focus group I helped conduct, where gum chewers talked about its stress relieving properties. I taught her to chew gum when she's having a hard time and it worked. She'll get really upset and disappear into her room, coming out a few minutes later with gum in her mouth and a smile on her face.
The sugar industry has been having success with the "it's all natural, therefore better than artificial sweetener" angle. That was bad enough.
You're right, though. The tobacco industry could try this one too. I hope there isn't enough overlap between potential tobacco chewers and people who go for the "natural => good" line of thinking.
There is a wonderful episode of DarkHorse Podcast with Michael Mew explaining how gum can help developing otherwise-degrading-due-to-soft-food chewing muscles and to avoiding the need for braces ultimately.
The NYTimes article (and thus the HN thread) gets distracted by the Incel connection, but the reporter ends up agreeing with Mew:
But in the weeks that followed, I experienced a swift, overwhelming change in vision — the kind the Mews’ patients and viewers described undergoing. Suddenly, all around me, people with tiny jaws appeared, their chins merging with their necks, their lips hanging open unconsciously as they read a book in a cafe or stared out the window on the bus. Long faces, tired eyes, crooked smiles. It began to feel as if the Mews might be right on this single but essential point, if on nothing else.
I had heard of Mew through the 2018 book "Jaws", which I recommend (I never heard of the incel thing before this article, and it seems irrelevant). Other orthodontists and anthropologists agree with him -- our jaws are in fact weak and underdeveloped compared to pre-agricultural humans, and animals like wolves and dogs (why do you think dogs need chew toys?). This is one reason I eat more whole foods (and believe in particular that children should be). I never tried chewing gum for it, but the mechanism is pretty obvious. It may or may not help a lot but will probably do something.
I experienced the same thing as the NYTimes reporter. Once you start learning about this area, you can spot people in public with underdeveloped jaws and breathing problems. If you look at a class of 20 kids you can also see it on several of them. You can read their diet off their faces! Good dentists and orthodontists do this very easily so it's not an amazing thing, just something that's there once you know what to look for and pay attention.
When I was a young lad, I would always chew gum when going out at night so A. my breath would be fresh and B. the ladies could see my healthy teeth (and then hopefully make assumptions about other healthy parts).
I didn't realize that chewing gum was made of plastic. It seems I've been successfully hoodwinked by the manufacturers who refer to it as "gum base" on the ingredients list.