That's right! Kids used to make their own chewing gum from the sap of sweetgum trees. It wasn't exactly "rocket science" to make this gum. Just take a butcher knife, scrape off the bark of a sweetgum tree, and let the sap run for one or two days. As the sap ran down the trunk of the tree, it would dry and form small clumps (see photograph). In another day or two, these clumps would get hard and could be broken off with your hand. Just pop two or three of them in your mouth and you had yourself some fine chewing gum. So all that scrap'n and waiting paid off. There was one small problem with the gum. It always stuck in your teeth and was very hard to get off. After much experimentation, it was found that a good piece of cornbread would clean your teeth just fine. Problem solved.
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