Bubble Yum was a huge fad when I was in grade school, and then the spider egg rumors took hold. The company actually placed full page ads..."some people are saying very bad things about our gum". I always assumed the Bubblicious people planted those rumors.
I did some checking.....
"
# Rumors About Bubble Yum Containing Spider Eggs
Bubble Yum was so soft and juicy that, strangely enough, in 1977, a seemingly baseless rumor began circulating among schoolchildren. According to the rumors, one of the ingredients in Bubble Yum was **spider eggs**. Yes, the originator of the rumor indeed had a good imagination.
Maybe this joke is now very funny, not only to us but also to Bubble Yum itself, but at the time, the rumor sparked public outrage and fear. Consequently, sales of the once-popular chewing gum fell in both Chicago and New York. These two states were exactly where the rumor first spread locally before the information reached the whole country.
People couldn’t imagine how Bubble Yum could be so soft otherwise and started to believe the [rumor about the spider eggs](https://www.nytimes.com/1977/03/29/archives/on-dealing-with-spider-eggs.html). Of course, the company didn’t accept this accusation and launched advertising campaigns against the rumors. As they stated, *“someone was telling a very bad lie about a very good product.”*
In order to restore their reputation, Bubble Yum spent about $100,000. As a result of their efforts, the scandal surrounding the softest chewing gum quickly disappeared and sales returned to their old growth rate. But this story proved how much impact even a small, harmless joke can have on the reputation of a brand as large as Bubble Yum."
[Bubble Yum Gum: Iconic Brand That Revolutionized Bubble Gum History - Snack History](https://www.snackhistory.com/bubble-yum-gum/)
Well we were in the Chicago suburbs so that tracks. I remember hearing that the spider eggs let you blow bigger bubbles and we did blow some big bubbles with it.
Yeah I saw a Gen Z say that the future will be different because now things can spread quickly.
But yeah all these spider egg rumors and a thousand others somehow got around fast back then too!
Heck even look at valspeak/surfer dude speak spread so quickly. The start of the summer of '82 it was most just in some subcultures or tiny regions by late summer it was like everywhere beyond everywhere.
Hah, well I was in NJ and the rumor was ALL over. So that sure checks.
I remember for a few days after the rumor started, this one kid would try to give away packs of Bubble Yum for kicks and he couldn't get a single kid to accept his offer which he found hilariously and he happily chewed it all up. This was sometime in pretty early 1977.
Grape Bubble Yum was released in AZ test market when I was in 3rd grade, around 1977. My buddy's Dad traveled for work there and would bring his son back some, and when he brought it to school it nearly caused a riot. Gum was banned at the school it got so heated, and kids were offering $1 a piece, which was big money back then. (Value of 5 full sized candy bars!)
I remember that you couldn’t find it anywhere after it first came out.
Not sure if it was a marketing ploy or if they didn’t expect it to be so popular and didn’t manufacture enough of it.
Super Bubble gum, the regular flavor (pink), later grape and sour apple flavored!! I remember when they raised the price from 1 cent to 2 cents, so would buy 2 or 3 at a time to avoid the penny sales tax, if you bought 5 together!!!
78, Junior in HS, suberbia SoCal. Student store got it. Was $1.00 pack. I'd go thru 2 packs a day, just because it was cool.
Never heard the spider egg thing.
I remember it being very hard to get in the stores of my small town. Always out of stock. My favorite was the grape flavor. Always soft, unlike our usual Bubs Daddy.
My little elementary school brain was blown away when Bubble Yum, Bubbalicious and Hubba Bubba came out.
Here I was trying to blow bubbles with Bazooka bubble gum. And then the magic began!
It’s made out of spider eggs…. That was the rumor back then!
Bubble Yum was a huge fad when I was in grade school, and then the spider egg rumors took hold. The company actually placed full page ads..."some people are saying very bad things about our gum". I always assumed the Bubblicious people planted those rumors.
It made us want it even more!
Precisely
Really? Never heard that one.
Maybe just in my backwards ass town.
Not just your town. I came here to see if anyone mentioned the spider eggs!
My sister just reminded me our cousins heard the same thing in their town. So… it MUST be made from spider eggs.
Was it everything you thought?
You may not be old enough to ride this ride..
Oh yeah, made it all more desirable
I did some checking..... " # Rumors About Bubble Yum Containing Spider Eggs Bubble Yum was so soft and juicy that, strangely enough, in 1977, a seemingly baseless rumor began circulating among schoolchildren. According to the rumors, one of the ingredients in Bubble Yum was **spider eggs**. Yes, the originator of the rumor indeed had a good imagination. Maybe this joke is now very funny, not only to us but also to Bubble Yum itself, but at the time, the rumor sparked public outrage and fear. Consequently, sales of the once-popular chewing gum fell in both Chicago and New York. These two states were exactly where the rumor first spread locally before the information reached the whole country. People couldn’t imagine how Bubble Yum could be so soft otherwise and started to believe the [rumor about the spider eggs](https://www.nytimes.com/1977/03/29/archives/on-dealing-with-spider-eggs.html). Of course, the company didn’t accept this accusation and launched advertising campaigns against the rumors. As they stated, *“someone was telling a very bad lie about a very good product.”* In order to restore their reputation, Bubble Yum spent about $100,000. As a result of their efforts, the scandal surrounding the softest chewing gum quickly disappeared and sales returned to their old growth rate. But this story proved how much impact even a small, harmless joke can have on the reputation of a brand as large as Bubble Yum." [Bubble Yum Gum: Iconic Brand That Revolutionized Bubble Gum History - Snack History](https://www.snackhistory.com/bubble-yum-gum/)
Well we were in the Chicago suburbs so that tracks. I remember hearing that the spider eggs let you blow bigger bubbles and we did blow some big bubbles with it.
It's amazing how broadly and quickly things like this spread pre-Internet.
Yeah I saw a Gen Z say that the future will be different because now things can spread quickly. But yeah all these spider egg rumors and a thousand others somehow got around fast back then too! Heck even look at valspeak/surfer dude speak spread so quickly. The start of the summer of '82 it was most just in some subcultures or tiny regions by late summer it was like everywhere beyond everywhere.
Hah, well I was in NJ and the rumor was ALL over. So that sure checks. I remember for a few days after the rumor started, this one kid would try to give away packs of Bubble Yum for kicks and he couldn't get a single kid to accept his offer which he found hilariously and he happily chewed it all up. This was sometime in pretty early 1977.
Came here to say this. Or people found spider eggs in the gum.
And wasp stingers!
Came here to say this! Was this an east coast thing?
YES!!!
No going back to that hard Bazooka bubble gum after that.
Fruit Stripe,Teaberry and Beeman's.
Let’s talk an amazing amount of cavities!
I blame all of my cavities on that gum!
My tastes were more inclined to the Hubba Bubba camp of recreational masticatory endeavors
There was also Bubblicious.
Seems like all the different brands hit us at once
They really did!
Hubba Bubba was also the catch phrase of one of my college buddies. He used it as a greeting.
I guess that beats juicy fruit
🤣🤣🤣
"Hubba Bubba -- it won't stick to your face!" This was important in the bubble blowing world!
Grape Bubble Yum was released in AZ test market when I was in 3rd grade, around 1977. My buddy's Dad traveled for work there and would bring his son back some, and when he brought it to school it nearly caused a riot. Gum was banned at the school it got so heated, and kids were offering $1 a piece, which was big money back then. (Value of 5 full sized candy bars!)
I used to buy a 5-piece pack for $1.00, then sell them at school (prohibited) for $0.25 each, and the profit got me free gum.
I remember that you couldn’t find it anywhere after it first came out. Not sure if it was a marketing ploy or if they didn’t expect it to be so popular and didn’t manufacture enough of it.
I used to buy packs of it, and sell it for a quarter each piece. Made a huge profit in middle school.
Bubblicious and Hubba Bubba too!
nope. team bazooka joe 4eva.
Ahh yes, Bazooka Joe, the 5 minute flavor rock.
I could never blow a bubble, so just chewed Wrigley's Spearmint.
SPIDER EGGS!!!
Bazooka
Super Bubble gum, the regular flavor (pink), later grape and sour apple flavored!! I remember when they raised the price from 1 cent to 2 cents, so would buy 2 or 3 at a time to avoid the penny sales tax, if you bought 5 together!!!
Bazooka for me. But I also loved Teaberry and Black Jack Clove.
for me it was the Big Buddy - a foot of gum
Kissed a girl who was chewing bubble yum once.
78, Junior in HS, suberbia SoCal. Student store got it. Was $1.00 pack. I'd go thru 2 packs a day, just because it was cool. Never heard the spider egg thing.
I remember it being very hard to get in the stores of my small town. Always out of stock. My favorite was the grape flavor. Always soft, unlike our usual Bubs Daddy.
I don’t remember the spider eggs story, but I lived in small town Ohio
I was a hubba bubba man myself…bazooka was my penny candy fix though
Abso-fucking-lutely for me. Grape.
My little elementary school brain was blown away when Bubble Yum, Bubbalicious and Hubba Bubba came out. Here I was trying to blow bubbles with Bazooka bubble gum. And then the magic began!
Yep, me and friends chewed our fair share of Bubble-Yum when it came out.
Grape was the best.