I have a terrible fear of swallowing chewing gum. Ever since I was a child I was told that if I ever swallowed chewing gum, I would have to be operated upon in order to surgically remove it from my stomach. And till then, the chewing gum would continue to chew on my stomach lining in order to avenge the chewing it itself had to undergo in my mouth and that would cause me acute abdomenal pain. Or in the worst case scenario, it would get stuck to my gullet and I would have to live my entire life with chewing gum stuck to my gullet. Can't even imagine how that would feel like. Although it would probably help me lose weight, I guess.
So now every time I chew gum, even after I spit it out, for the next few hours, when I need to swallow, I consciously stop and think about whether I still have gum in my mouth. It's really become a very irritating habit, but it will probably save my life in the near future.
But I'm not sure why chewing gum technology hasn't yet advanced to a point that allows people to swallow chewing gum by mistake without having to cut open their abdomens to get it back out. Or if it has, I'm not sure why it hasn't been more widely publicized. Surely it would benefit terrified chewers like myself who would then be able to chew gum with their minds at ease. Many people, I'm sure don't chew gum because of the same fear that I have. After all, it isn't that irrational. Now, if chewing gum companies were to attach a soothing disclaimer to their television commercial saying "And now, no more restrictions on swallowing", I'm pretty sure that it would be a shot in the arm for their business. Kinda similar to how air travel really took off after airline companies publicized the fact that your chances of getting a kicking screaming baby in the seat behind yours on the plane are only about one in five.
But for gum chewers who believe swallowing could result in serious injury, and yet continue to practice the art, I bow to your courage. Especially considering that I am one of you. Imagine throwing all safety to the wind and deliberately indulging in an occupation where a mere attack of terror caused by, say, a colleague popping out from behind the fridge and saying "boo" could cause one to swallow, thus putting one on an operating table. I salute your bravery. And mine.
4 comments:
Either I've never heard of this potentially fatal experience, or I've voided it from my memory in order to LIVE ON THE EDGE.
I'm voting the latter, as it will cause instant renewal of my Man Card.
I must have a ton of gum sticking to the walls of my intestines, but my doc's never advised me to cut it up!
But I'm not sure why chewing gum technology hasn't yet advanced to a point that allows people to swallow chewing gum by mistake without having to cut open their abdomens to get it back out. Or if it has, I'm not sure why it hasn't been more widely publicized. Surely it would benefit terrified chewers like myself who would then be able to chew gum with their minds at ease.
Chewing gum companies are busy trying to prove health benfits for their products. See this
A cover story worthy of the 'Chewing' magazine (from Calvin and Hobbes)
I ate biscuits while chewing gum on several occasions. First time I though biscuit would dissolve as usual while gum would remain in my mouth. But actually both the gum and biscuit became an inseparable swallowable mix. I suppose in the end, the 'fibre' in the maida of the biscuit helped me digest the gum. No incidents.
Or maybe that gum is still sticking around, unnoticed, camouflaged in biscuit goop, to give me horrible troubles few decades down the line.
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