Name: What If We Swallow Chewing Gum? | Swallowing Bubble GUM | Dr Binocs Show | Peekaboo Kidz
Uploaded: 2025-06-19T05:26:44.000Z
Duration: 6 min 9 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Be careful kitty, make sure you don't swallow the gum, or else as they say, it will stay in your tummy for 7 long years!

Modal verbs of deduction & speculation

Hey friends, I'm sure you might have heard that swallowed gum stays in your stomach for 7 years, or even scary, it will grow into a rubber tree inside you!

But, is it really true, or is it just one of those urban legends like the Bigfoot or Loch Ness Monster?

In today's episode, let us explore this sticky situation, and answer a popular question, what happens when you swallow gum?

Gum, a tempting rubbery candy that comes in various shapes, sizes, colors, and flavors.

But, have you ever wondered, what is it actually made of?

Well, it is believed that people have been chewing gum since the Stone Age, as recently, a gum made of birch bark tar that could be somewhere between 5,500 and 6,000 years old was found in Finland.

Not only that, but various ancient civilizations like Mayans and Aztecs used to chew a naturally made gum called chikile, which was made from the latex sap of the sapodilla tree.

They chewed it to keep their breaths fresh, filling cavities, cleaning their teeth, and sticking objects together in everyday use, whereas the ancient Greeks chewed mastic gum, made from the resin of the mastic tree.

Mastic gum, like birch bark tar, has antiseptic properties, and is believed to have been used to maintain oral health.

And as time progressed, so was the fascination for gums, and many other cultures made gum-like substances obtained from plants, grasses, and resins.

But it was not until the 1860s when the first flavored chewing gum was finally invented, using synthetic rubber.

Apart from gum base, these modern day gums contain ingredients such as sweeteners, softeners, and flavoring that we enjoy until the taste is gone and you spit it out.

But the critical question is, what if you swallow it by mistake?

Well, first, here is something you need to understand about your digestion process.

When you eat something, it goes through a systematic process, starting from chewing it where the food mixes with the saliva.

And once you swallow this mixture, your body breaks it down further, extracting all the nutrients on the way before it lands inside your stomach, where a powerful stomach acid transforms it into a mush that allows the food to pass through the rest of the digestive tract smoothly.

But when it comes to gums, it's a whole different bubble game, because no matter how super duper powerful your stomach acid is, it is no match to the strength the synthetic rubber possesses.

Yes, despite the best of efforts from your saliva enzymes and stomach acid to digest the gum, they won't be able to break it apart and dissolve it.

But don't you worry, my friends, it won't stick to the side of your intestine and stay there rent-free for 7 years.

In fact, your body will treat it like any other local food it can't fully digest.

And within the next 3 days or so, your digestive tract will push it through your system and will throw it out along with your poop.

The myth that the bubble gum stays in your tummy for 7 years has been busted as entirely false.

But remember, my friends, although swallowing a single gum by mistake won't harm you, still, consuming too many gums can cause a blockage in your digestive tract that might need immediate medical attention or even an operation to remove it.

So, always make sure to spit out the tasteless piece of synthetic rubber once it loses its sweet flavor.

Did you know the color of the first successful bubble gum was pink?

Yes, that's because it was the only color the inventor had remaining.

Also, studies have shown that chewing gum actually helps people concentrate and may improve long-term and working memory.

Yes, chewing gum has also been shown to reduce muscle tension and increase alertness.

Well, that's a good excuse to make if your teacher ever catches you eating a piece of gum in class.

Hope you learned something new in today's episode.

Until next time, it's me, Dr. Binox, Zooming out!