Sarah Maughan, 77, has a 1445-piece gum collection - setting the world record for the Largest gum collection.
The Guinness world record for the Longest gum wrapper chain was set by Gary Duschl of Virginia, USA, who has been making a gum wrapper chain which measures 19,363 m (63,527 ft) long and consists of 1,500,000 gum wrappers, 3,000,000 links and weighs 400 kg (882 lb).
Guinness World Records also recognized the world record for the most people blowing a chewing gum bubble simultaneously: 304 participants, achieved by Kirkwood Community College (USA), in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA.
Maughan started collecting gum in 1948. While her peers found fascination in matchbooks, stamps and bottle caps, she wanted something different.
As a 15-year-old, Maughan watched the Freedom Train pass through Pocatello with her schoolmates.
While there, she bought her collection's first piece - Popeye bubble gum, inspired by the cartoon "Sailor Man" and his gal, Olive Oyl.
After that, she was hooked. For the next 63 years, Maughan kept an eye out for new packages and flavors of chewing gum wherever she went.
Her collection features an array of nostalgic brands, such as Black Jack and Beemans. But it's the unusual pieces - Michael Jackson bubble gum or Feen-a-Mint, the chewing gum laxative - that draw attention.
A few years ago, the collector wrote Guinness World Records, hoping her assortment would make the cut. Guinness declined her request, she said, citing her collection as one-of-a-kind.
"A lot of people think it's just pieces of paper in containers and boxes, but it's not, it's the whole works," Maughan said. |
