# Chewing Gum

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chewing-gum/1809>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 5, 1999, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chewing-gum/1809 "1999-07-05T14:23:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 1999, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chewing-gum/1809/1 "1999-07-05T14:23:00Z")

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I have searched for this but to no avail, so here goes…

What happens to swallowed chewing gum? I’ve heard many theories, some of which I am sure must be urban myths, but I want a definitive answer.

So, does it really lie undigested in your stomach for up to seven years, or is there another (believable) explanation?

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 1999, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chewing-gum/1809/2 "1999-07-05T14:31:00Z")

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Yeah. It winds up in the toilet along with all the other undigested debris. (A Lego block, in the case of my son when he was five).

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 1999, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chewing-gum/1809/3 "1999-07-05T22:47:00Z")

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To further support our Gentle Moderator’s answer, here’s a link.

[http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_059.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_059.html)  
Alphagene