Do you know how to blow bubbles with bubblegum?

Wow, blast from the distant past! As a child, Bazooka Bubblegum was our drug of choice (and there was a bonus comic in each wrapper!). We were masters of stunning bubbles. We had worked out the physics by the time we were about 8, and coul fashion an evenly walled infrastructure to blow into. Occasionally there were some pretty dramatic events involving hair (our mothers got pretty good as stylists, shaping our coiffure around gum damage) but not too often. We were really pretty talented.

About 20 years ago, when some of us saw each other, we tried again. Our magnificent skills had eroded, but we still were able to blow passable bubbles.

Thanks for that little jaunt down memory lane, @Jeruba!

Oh yes. I used to love chewing bubble gum. I think my mom taught me how to blow a bubble. I know she taught me how to make it click.

My husband hated when I chewed gum, he used to say it sounded like I should be on a corner. In college one of my girlfriends loved chewing gum too, and we would light up when one of us would suggest breaking out the gum. Lol.

I used to like Doublemint and Juicy Fruit. My grandma always had the blue Trident, which I liked ok, but I didn’t usually buy it myself.

Chicklets were like a special treat with the candy coating.

When I was very young we sometimes bought Bazooka bubble gum or a gum ball out of a machine.

Loved gum, I wish I could still chew it like when I was young.

Between Big League Chew, Bubblicious, Hubba Bubba (cubes, tape and jugs), Halloween Chicklets, Bazooka Joe, and baseball cards, I was a young consumer during what was probably peak bubble gum. My personal interest in bubbles, however, flowed from older comic books. The “gumfighter” ads and the occasional Disney storyline involving massive bubbles got me interested in the craft, and I practiced all the time. Size was important, but I favored the multi-bubble. The only accidents I had were when I chewed in bed.

And then came that horrible moment when gum became good for you, and the whole culture disappeared.

Or maybe I just got old.

I was told that it is much easier with a goodly amount of bubblegum – not just one little piece – and that the technique is to spread it out and position it in your mouth behind a small round opening in your lips, and then blow into that . . .

I think I managed to make a few very unimpressive bubbles at one point. But mainly I wasn’t into learning or trying to do it well.

Although Bazooka was the most popular at the time, I preferred Double Bubble due to a better flavor. As well as I can remember, my ability grew out of a combination of watching other kids blow the bubbles & mimicking what I observed. I was told that adding extra pieces would make the bubble larger & stronger but found that to mean that I only had way too much gum in my mouth which made it more difficult to even blow the bubble at all. So I learned to be patient, take my time & I managed to blow some impressive bubbles that didn’t always break due to my technique. My dad despised bubble gum so I didn’t dare let him see me doing my best work. Still I was sneaking in a practice session in my room one evening & blew my best one yet when…POW my face was covered in gooey gum. Yes, my bangs managed to be covered as well. I couldn’t just cut my bangs shorter because my dad would notice & that would be the end of my bubble gum phase. I waited for my parents to go to bed & I got a cup of ice. Ice froze the gum & with patience I was able to comb it out of my hair. Dang if that didn’t hurt like hell!!! Still, by morning there was NO trace as to my adventure. After that I lost some of my interest in blowing bubbles & I phased back until I matured enough to quit altogether.

Bubblegum definitely had a place in my childhood. I remember Bazooka Joe and one called Bubbly which was bright pink with a light dusting of powdered sugar. They were all wrapped in brightly coloured paper which we kept to store the chewed gum for later when our jaws got tired. This was the subject of the Lonnie Donegan song “Does your chewing gum lose its flavour on the bedpost overnight.”

We all knew how to blow bubbles and the feel of the burst bubble sticking coldly to your upper lip and nose before being scraped and picked off prior to more chewing was familiar to us.

My hair disaster came about through Wrigleys Chewing Gum. I wasn’t stupid enough to put the half-chewed gum in my hair but my younger brother was and he was reduced to tears trying to remove it. It was when I tried to figure out how this had happened that I got the gum hopelessly stuck in my hair and my mother had to cut chunks of our hair off with scissors. It was probably at this time that we were banned from buying gum for life.

I never learned. Even now, at my age, my sisters tease me about not knowing how.

Did, but false teeth make this impossible.

Bazooka for blowing bubbles and Teaberry and Blackjack for chewing gum.

My mom taught me what to do but I could never blow bubbles. I can’t snap it, either.

I don’t really like the taste of bubble gum. If anything, I’d chew mint gum or cinnamon.

While, like many of the above, my go to gum of choice was Bazooka, there was a small market in our town that sold penny candy you could buy by the piece. It was a small detour on the walk to Catechism class on Wednesday afternoons, and they sold grape bubble-gum balls!

The beauty of grape gumballs to a fifth grader is that the bubbles are purple, and the coloring makes your teeth na tongue purple.

@zenvelo Fond nostalgia for candy stores and penny candy! I remember going to the candy store and pointing out what candy I wanted, and the lady would put it in a brown paper bag and ring it up.

Who is Bubbles?

I blew bubbles decades ago. Bazooka was my standard chew, but I liked the long sticks of Double Bubble, too.

These days, working in a hospital, I chew gum for the sake of my patients. Instead of coffee breath I can respirate mint gum odor. But recently I had no gum, and had to buy some from the cafeteria, and the only sugarless option was “bubble gum flavor”.

@ragingloli beat me to it.

I am aghast no one did it before me.

@ragingloli Everyone was too busy walking down our memory lane; surely you have a different one.

Bubblicious was my gum of choice. My mom taught me how to blow a bubble, and how to blow a bubble inside of another bubble. Due to a variety of dental issues, I gave up chewing gum.

I remember one large bubble that popped and got all over my face and glasses. We were traveling, so I had to do my best to deal with the mess until we stopped for the evening. No hair was damaged in the process.

@ragingloli and I are cut from the same cloth. It’s the first thing I thought of.

Wait, y‘all don’t know who Bubbles is?

https://trailerpark.fandom.com/wiki/File:Bubbles.jpg

Now I know why he smiles like that.

My older sister taught me. She could double bubble like the best.

Once I could triple bubble, I knew I had made it.

Bazooka. I was 7 or so. My girlfriend and I taught ourselves and shared tips we figured out. We were outside under a willow tree by a small creek.
When we weren’t doing that we were steal the Shopez blind and spying on our neighbors!