Modern chewing gum was first developed in the 1860s when chicle was brought from Mexico by the former President, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, to New York, where he gave it to Thomas Adams for use as a rubber substitute.

How old is the oldest chewing gum?

World's oldest piece of chewing gum is 5,000 years old. A 5,000-year-old piece of chewing gum, which was discovered by an archaeology student in Finland in 2007, is known as the oldest piece of chewing gum yet found.

Did the Aztecs invent chewing gum?

The Mayans and the Aztecs figured out a long time ago that by slicing the bark strategically, they could collect this resin and create a chewable substance from it. ... Of course, as Mathews notes, the Mayans and Aztecs weren't the earliest cultures in the world to chew gum.