"Dubble Bubble" Bubble Gum
When Roscoe Bartlett was two years old, a young accountant named Walter Diemer developed a new gum for his employer Frank Fleer. The gum was not as sticky as traditional chewing gum, and it was more flexible, making it possible to blow bubbles. Fleer tried a test run of 100 pieces wrapped like salt water taffy in a local candy store. They sold out in a day for a penny apiece. A year later, Fleer had sales totaling $1.5 Million.
In 1930, Fleer began wrapping a comic with the gum featuring brothers Dub and Bub. They were replaced by Pud in 1950. The whole company - gum, comics and all - was bought out by the comic book giant Marvel Entertainment Group in 1992. Fleer was forced to closed its doors three years ago, and Upper Deck bought its brand names.
Oh, Walter Diemer, who invented the first commercially successful bubble gum, never patented his invention, and Fleer never paid him a dime in royalties. He retired from Fleer as Senior Vice President in 1970. He died ten years ago on his 93rd birthday.
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