Gum Wrapper Chain

A gum wrapper chain is a paper chain of any length that is made of discarded wrappers from sticks of chewing gum. Each wrapper can be used to make two chain links. This method will create thin links that can easily slide over one another. It is possible to use an intact wrapper, but this creates a bulkier link.

Gary Duschl earned a Guinness World Record for the longest gum wrapper chain, officially measured at 71,245 feet (1,688,930 gum wrappers, 3,377,860 links), on March 11, 2012. As of March 11,2012, the chain is now 71,245 feet (1,688,930 wrappers, 3,377,860 links). In Duschl's step-by-step instructions on how to make a gum wrapper chain, he states that it is possible to make a chain, of the same size as that of a gum wrapper, out of a Starburst wrapper.

It is unknown when this fad began or when it reached the height of popularity in the United States. According to Duschl, the fad reached Canada in the 1960s. On his site, Duschl posts the lyrics to the song Chewing Gum Wrapper by Jonathan Richman. The song describes the joy of finding discarded chewing gum wrappers and taking them home. The song seems to suggest that those who have made a hobby out of collecting gum wrappers, for whatever purpose, have a gift of finding enjoyment and beauty in something that most other people would find useless.

Famous quotes containing the words gum and/or chain:

    Two wooden tubs of blue hydrangeas stand at the foot of the stone steps.
    The sky is a blue gum streaked with rose. The trees are black.
    The grackles crack their throats of bone in the smooth air.
    Moisture and heat have swollen the garden into a slum of bloom.
    Pardie! Summer is like a fat beast, sleepy in mildew....
    Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)

    You know, he wanted to shoot the Royal Family, abolish marriage, and put everybody who’d been to public school in a chain gang. Yeah, he was a idealist, your dad was.
    David Mercer, British screenwriter, and Karel Reisz. Mrs. Dell (Irene Handl)