# A special hell for people that throw chewing gum on sidewalks **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 5, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-special-hell-for-people-that-throw-chewing-gum-on-sidewalks/633766 "2012-09-05T17:31:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-special-hell-for-people-that-throw-chewing-gum-on-sidewalks/633766/21 "2012-09-06T12:06:42Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > Are those round, flat black patches on the sidewalk gum? I’ve always wondered if those are old, dried out gum. Yes, **ralph** to the contrary notwithstanding, they’re gum\*. They’re all over the place in public areas, especially near places that sell gum, they last forever, and they’re damned near impossible to remove. They look incredibly ugly. Places like DisneyWorld/Land have full-time staff removing this stuff. \*the number of them alone shows that they’re not due to paraffin wax novelties, which are nowhere near as common today. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-special-hell-for-people-that-throw-chewing-gum-on-sidewalks/633766/22 "2012-09-06T13:00:12Z")
I’m addicted to gum, but I never chew it at work and I always wrap it in paper and put it in the trash. One exception I will make is tossing it in in the middle of thick bushes while hiking. It is rude to spit it where someone can step on it. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-special-hell-for-people-that-throw-chewing-gum-on-sidewalks/633766/23 "2012-09-06T13:01:10Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > They should. For a first offense. After that, say bye bye to a hand. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-special-hell-for-people-that-throw-chewing-gum-on-sidewalks/633766/24 "2012-09-06T13:09:21Z")
Gum chewers never get just how disgusting their disposal habits are to the people around them. It’s like they think they’re the only person in the world who might toss their gum on the ground or stick it to the underside of a table. When I taught, any student I caught chewing gum got to scrape it off the underside of the table they were sitting at. A couple of them complained to me but shut up when I asked them sweetly if they’d ever stuck their own gum beneath a table or desk. The rest were so comprehensively grossed out (though I supplied gloves and a knife), they stopped chewing gum. If the principal caught them dropping gum on the sidewalk, they got to spend an hour after school wearing gloves and a mask and using a chemical gum dissolver to get those black spots off the sidewalk. One kid completely refused to believe the thousands of black spots could possibly be gum until the janitor showed him what the underside looked like when it was scraped off. I’ll chew gum if my ears ache or my mouth is dry, but I keep the wrapper to put it in afterwards. Gum litterers should have their orifices plugged with their leavings. ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-special-hell-for-people-that-throw-chewing-gum-on-sidewalks/633766/25 "2012-09-06T13:24:27Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > For a first offense. After that, say bye bye to a hand. Too lenient. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-special-hell-for-people-that-throw-chewing-gum-on-sidewalks/633766/26 "2012-09-06T14:00:04Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > For some reason, Philadelphia is the worst city I’ve ever seen for this. Every sidewalk in Philly has a nearly uniform protective layer of discarded chewing gum. > > Are you in Philly? Ha! I just got back from Philadelphia and I got chewing gum on my shoe while on the train. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-special-hell-for-people-that-throw-chewing-gum-on-sidewalks/633766/27 "2012-09-06T15:11:37Z")
At least people don’t chew tobacco anymore! Spitting tobacco saliva is horrible! ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-special-hell-for-people-that-throw-chewing-gum-on-sidewalks/633766/28 "2012-09-06T23:00:41Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > At least people don’t chew tobacco anymore! Spitting tobacco saliva is horrible! Really? Tell that to my cousin who was at the family reunion last weekend. Or the shithead who was collecting his spit in a bottle on the train a few weeks ago and it was all I could do not to vomit in his lap. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-special-hell-for-people-that-throw-chewing-gum-on-sidewalks/633766/29 "2012-09-10T03:06:48Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > Or the shithead who was collecting his spit in a bottle on the train a few weeks ago and it was all I could do not to vomit in his lap. I saw some young guy doing that on the NY subway a few weeks ago! He was holding an empty soda bottle that he kept spitting into. Absolutely disgusting! ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2012, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-special-hell-for-people-that-throw-chewing-gum-on-sidewalks/633766/30 "2012-09-10T04:16:15Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I saw some young guy doing that on the NY subway a few weeks ago! He was holding an empty soda bottle that he kept spitting into. Absolutely disgusting! At least he was using a bottle. When I went to Beijing I saw a number of men just spitting right on the floor of the subway car. Yeah, cultural differences, but I was appalled. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-special-hell-for-people-that-throw-chewing-gum-on-sidewalks/633766/31 "2012-09-10T04:28:23Z")
I ride the green line (Chicago CTA) to work and every morning I see every manner of littering you can imagine. I see kids wait for the next stop when the doors open to throw their pop cans/McDs bags/coffee cups/ect. out the door right onto the platform. I used to admonish these people untill one really got in my face and I realized that even if I could take him, showing up at work all tusseled up and with a shiner was not a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-special-hell-for-people-that-throw-chewing-gum-on-sidewalks/633766/32 "2013-01-08T21:36:54Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I haven’t owned my new shoes more than a couple of weeks and already I got “stuck” twice. I finally retired those shoes and got a new pair. Today is my second day wearing them. Fuck! Already?!? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-special-hell-for-people-that-throw-chewing-gum-on-sidewalks/633766/33 "2013-01-08T22:46:48Z")
Forget the chewing gum; you retire shoes after just four months? ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-special-hell-for-people-that-throw-chewing-gum-on-sidewalks/633766/34 "2013-01-09T00:22:30Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > YPlaces like DisneyWorld/Land have full-time staff removing this stuff. Mike tackled that on “Dirty Jobs” once (in NYC). Getting gum off a sidewalk was more complex than I’d have thought. ---
**Author:** ![Ashes\_Ashes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ashes\_Ashes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashes_Ashes)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-special-hell-for-people-that-throw-chewing-gum-on-sidewalks/633766/35 "2013-01-09T02:41:16Z")
> [@wheresmymind](#): > > I’m right there with you. Why the hell do people spit out their gum anyway? Why not just swallow it? Does everyone actually believe that stupid “it stays in your stomach for seven years” myth? Oddly enough, as a result of stomach surgery, it’s a very bad thing for me to swallow gum. Even if gum swallowing would cause instant death to every chewer, that’s no reason not to dispose of it properly. So sayeth me and my new shoes with the gum on the soles within the first two hours of wearing them. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-special-hell-for-people-that-throw-chewing-gum-on-sidewalks/633766/36 "2013-01-09T14:23:53Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Forget the chewing gum; you retire shoes after just four months? I’m hard on them. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Accident](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Mr.Accident](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Accident)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-special-hell-for-people-that-throw-chewing-gum-on-sidewalks/633766/37 "2013-01-09T17:39:22Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > At least people don’t chew tobacco anymore! Spitting tobacco saliva is horrible! Visit the rural south some time. Dip , snuff, and chewing tobacco are all still used here. You want disgusting? Try stepping barefoot in a pile of used chewing tobacco that someone spit out on the beach and kicked sand over. As for gum, I had people leaving used gum in their plates and drink glasses at the pub I worked at. At least once a week I would stick my finger in gum I hadn’t noticed when I went to remove a plate. I was never bothered by gum before then. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-special-hell-for-people-that-throw-chewing-gum-on-sidewalks/633766/38 "2013-01-09T19:11:38Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Singapore fines you, whether you spit it out or not. I believe the penalty is technically for importation or sale, and possession isn’t illegal per se. They have never caned people for this offense. IIRC nicotine gum is availible by prescription. > [@Floater](#): > > They should. Just as long as they cane the women too. It’s sexist to cane men, but not women. Just train some of the female guards so they can cane the women. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-special-hell-for-people-that-throw-chewing-gum-on-sidewalks/633766.md?page=1)