U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for April 13

WASHINGTON, April 13, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

BUBBLE GUM

Profile America — Sunday, April 13th. Bubble gum, one of the joys of American youngsters but too often found on sidewalks and under chair seats, was developed in 1928 by a tinkering accountant. Walter Diemer of the Fleer Chewing Gum Company in Philadelphia concocted a batch that was less sticky than regular gum and stretched more easily. It was pink because that was the only food color on hand when he made the first batch. Seeing that it would make bubbles, he distributed free samples to stores throughout Philadelphia. By 1929, Diemer's invention — Dubble Bubble — caught on. Bubble gum is part of America's nonchocolate confectionary manufacturing industry comprised of some 440 establishments producing over $5.7 billion worth of treats annually. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at www.census.gov.

Sources:
Kane's Famous First Facts, 3967
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/fleer-corporation-history/   http://inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventions/a/gum.htm   http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/pdf/cb14ff-01_valentines.pdf   http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ECN_2007_US_31SG1&prodType=table  NAICS 311340

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button). 

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SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau