Does Bubble Gum Really Stay in Your System for Seven Years?

A friend and I rented a video last Saturday night(it is now Monday morning). We cooked up some popcorn and at the bottom of the bowl was about a cup of unpopped kernels. I made her dare me to eat them all(whole, no crunching), and I did. She claimed that it would take the kernels exactly three days to clear my system and I believed her because she is a very “no nonsense” kind of lady. Well, after a lovely trip to the restroom this morning, I distinctly noticed several whole kernels in my conglomerated stool.

Since I havn’t eaten popcorn since Saturday night, clearly only a day and a half, they must have been the kernels that I ate…or were they? :eek: Could they have been the popcorn kernels that I swallowed ona similar dare at my Sweet Sixteen party over seven years ago? :eek: :eek: :smiley:

We have all heard the stories of children repeatedly swallowing their bubblegum and being sent to the emergency room with stomach pains. After being x-rayed and operated upon, a 10 lb. ball of undigested bubblegum was removed from their stomach. I checked Snopes - nothing.

My sister told me of stories where people fasted and dieted, did special abdominal exercises and recieved enemas to induce the digestion of giant, black, tarry sludge balls that were comprised of everything in the body that couldn’t be digested.

Is there any specific thing that cannot be digested by the body and ends up residing in the intestines for years on end?

Short answer: no.

Cecil already touched on this here: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_059.html

-Beeblebrox

“Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.”

Thanks Beeblebrox :slight_smile: