Revolymer develops new non-stick chewing gum

Nah, Revolymer's latest concoction won't play music or record your favorite shows, but if it passes European health and safety tests, it could end up in your mouth before long. The Bristol University spin-out company "claims that it has created a new material (dubbed Rev7) which can be added to gum that makes it much easier to remove from surfaces," and in testing, it actually "vanished from street surfaces within 24 hours," presumably from rain or street sweepers whisking it away. Moreover, the newfangled gum would even dissolve quicker than traditional pieces, and if all goes as planned, it could be launched as "early as next year." Shoe soles, rejoice.

[Via NewScientist]

[Autopsy15 @ Sep 14th 2007 8:34PM]

Yay, my soles can finally walk the streets in safety...soon.

[dv @ Sep 15th 2007 12:15AM]

doesn't this invention defeat the purpose of gum?

[oGMo @ Sep 14th 2007 9:27PM]

I'm pretty sure MacGuyver isn't going to endorse this.

[ethana2 @ Sep 14th 2007 11:49PM]

There's no u in MacGyver.

He'd come up with a special use for this too. Like holding something together while water ran over it for some kind of timed release. Hey, who knows. Maybe if you mix it with kerosene you get plastic explosives.

Man, if that dude wasn't a special agent, he'd for sure be on the no-fly list...

[Macroy @ Sep 14th 2007 9:32PM]

"Moreover, the newfangled gum would even dissolve quicker than traditional pieces, and if all goes as planned, it could be launched as "early as next year.""

Good news for those people in the Stride commercials.

[Urza @ Sep 14th 2007 10:22PM]

Damn, I came up with this years ago! All you gotta do is add teflon! :-P

[BatteryAcid @ Sep 14th 2007 11:49PM]

Yea, but then he has to get company's to add this to there gum.

[John B @ Sep 17th 2007 4:38PM]

Holy, sweet mother-of-God!

"company's"? "there"?

That was almost painful to read. Back to grammar school with you POST HASTE!!

[Beretta1526 @ Sep 14th 2007 11:54PM]

Boy, I miss Hubba Bubba...

[Dedos @ Sep 14th 2007 11:59PM]

Nice.

[Dave @ Sep 15th 2007 12:02AM]

*Side effects may include: nausea, dizziness, anal leakage, confusion, paranoia, increased blood pressure, heart palpitations, erectile dysfunction, birth defects, cancer, and death.

[octoberasian @ Sep 15th 2007 12:43AM]

... discoloration of your skin, hair, eyes, or teeth is also a possibility.

Revolymer is not responsible for loss of limbs, teeth, hair, or other health defects, related illnesses, or other injuries. We are absolved of all legal lawsuits pertaining to our product.

Thank you and enjoy Rev7!

[Dave @ Sep 15th 2007 12:21AM]

You could just chew a condom like Beldar.
http://www.remotecentral.com/dvd/coneheads-3.jpg

[Nick @ Sep 15th 2007 12:34AM]

...Technology blog?

[MrGam3r @ Sep 15th 2007 11:34AM]

yes.....and this article is about the technological advances in chewing gum.....

[John @ Sep 15th 2007 12:42AM]

Wait, if this makes the gum able of dissolving, what happens when you put it in an aqueous environment such as, just as an example, a mouth?

[Mischa Lockton @ Sep 15th 2007 1:29AM]

This is good news for kids that swallow gum and end up with it in their gut for years, unless that is an old tall tale.

[karts41 @ Sep 15th 2007 1:43AM]

False.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chewing_gum#Health_claims

[Joe @ Sep 15th 2007 9:52AM]

actually, karts, nowhere does it say anything about that under Health Concerns...

[Lauren Hale @ Sep 15th 2007 1:38PM]

http://www.snopes.com/oldwives/chewgum.asp

It IS an old wives tale -

[Mischa Lockton @ Sep 15th 2007 4:17PM]

Actually, citing wikipedia and snopes does NOT convince me, but in this case I do tend to agree. The "7 years" part smacks of falsehood. Just a funny thought, I doubt swallowing old school or new fangled gum ends up actually benefiting your health.

[Wwhat @ Sep 16th 2007 9:58AM]

It's not an old wife's tale, it's an old pre-schoolers tale.

[yayikillu @ Sep 15th 2007 1:42AM]

wouldn't your saliva dissolve thew gum in your mouth

[eh @ Sep 15th 2007 1:50AM]

My first thought: Teachers will have no more excuses for not allowing gum in class.

[Phillip Donley @ Sep 15th 2007 1:51AM]

Wasn't Hubba-Bubba Gum NON-Stick (relatively)?

[tiuk @ Sep 15th 2007 2:09AM]

Have you ever had gum dissolve in your mouth from chewing it for too long? Some brands become a disgusting paste that needs to be scraped from your tongue. I wonder if this breaks down like that. If so, I wouldn't consider it happening faster a selling point.

[hj @ Sep 15th 2007 2:46AM]

Hopes for chewing gums in Singapore! The city state banned the sales and import of the gum since 1992.

[papafew @ Sep 15th 2007 3:12AM]

that's what i call technology well used

[Gerald Tan @ Sep 15th 2007 3:14AM]

Yes it was banned in our country because there were too many people abusing it.
Sticking it on our world class mass rapid transport system trains and buses. What idiots, I am glad we banned it.

Kinda sad though, as we have to go across the border to bring in some, sometimes.
And no, it is not illegal to consume it, it is the SALES of gum that is.

[greymullet @ Sep 15th 2007 11:33AM]

It's a shame that your "world class" transport exists in one of the more unpleasantly repressive countries in the world. It's even more of a shame that the UK's going that way, but our buses still suck.

[Gerald Tan @ Sep 15th 2007 10:23PM]

I beg your pardon.
First of all, the words world and class should not be put in quotation marks since it is a fact, not something that is not true.

Secondly, I do not believe Singapore is a repressive country. Have you ever been here before? Cite examples please, to justify your claim.
DO NOT GIVE SWEEPING STATEMENTS!

Let me help you with some.
1. We ban strikes.
But do you know how much time and money this has saved us? Strikes are dumb. Unions do the job.

2. We ban public protests that do not have a license.
We are a multi racial society. Imagine the impacts of a racial protest or any other such protests of that nature. We are an extremely small country and you could walk ACROSS the island within a day but then again, the effects of a riot will be devastating.

So please, do not give sweeping statements unless you can think of some examples apart from the two I have given.

And if you feel that just by these two examples, we are a repressive country, you are indeed a jackass.


Gerald

[blarvh @ Sep 16th 2007 6:41PM]

And what can the unions threaten with? Workers staring angrily at the bosses?
Seriously I can't see this as a good thing, the Chinese save a lot of money by oppressing the workforce too.

[Gerald Tan @ Sep 16th 2007 9:02PM]

Although Singapore has a Chinese majority, that doesn't mean that we are like the China mainlanders, certainly not!!

I believe that unions should not use strikes and discuss NICELY about wages and stuff, and not cause widespread disruption to the countries core services and infrastructure that results in losses in excess of millions per day.

Every country should ban strikes.

[anderesp @ Sep 15th 2007 3:14AM]

i end up swallowing my gum anyways.


yuuuummm.

[Ellianth @ Sep 15th 2007 3:42PM]

Don't you know that that'll cause a gum tree to grow in your belly? O.o

[jason @ Sep 15th 2007 12:32PM]

This is going to be bad for GSPS : GumSpots Positioning System - www.GumSpots.com - Them and GumS Busters should go eat a D*ck.

[Galley @ Sep 15th 2007 2:53PM]

Violet Beauregarde would not approve of this gum!

[bryon @ Sep 15th 2007 5:38PM]

I don't get it. What's this got to do with the iphone?

[Wwhat @ Sep 16th 2007 10:00AM]

Well what if you stick unlock instructions to the back with some gum?

[Carol Blevins @ Sep 15th 2007 6:20PM]

I love your site and I would love to win.

[Paris @ Sep 15th 2007 10:38PM]

win what?