Chiclets facts for kids
Chiclets is a well-known American brand of chewing gum. It is famous for its hard, candy-coated shell. The company that makes Chiclets today is called Mondelez International. This popular gum first appeared in 1900. It was created by the American Chicle Company, which was started by a man named Thomas Adams.
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What Does "Chiclets" Mean?
The name "Chiclets" comes from a Mexican Spanish word, "chicle". This word itself comes from an older Aztec language called Nahuatl. In Nahuatl, "chictli" or "tzictli" means "sticky stuff." This "sticky stuff" was a type of natural chewing gum. People in ancient Mesoamerica (like the Aztecs) chewed it long before Europeans arrived. They got this gum by tapping sap from certain trees.
How Chiclets Are Made
Chiclets gum is very similar to the original "chicle" chewed by ancient people. The big difference is that Chiclets have a hard sugar coating. This coating comes in many different flavors and colors. When Chiclets first came out, the main flavor was peppermint. Over time, many fruit flavors were added. These fruit flavors became popular in many countries around the world.
In some places, like Mexico, the gum is still called "Adam's Chiclets." This name honors Thomas Adams, who founded the company.
Chiclets Around the World
Chiclets became so popular that its name became a general word for chewing gum in some countries. For example, in both Brazil and Portugal, people often use the word chiclete to mean any chewing gum. In Greece, the word for gum, "τσίχλα", also comes from Chiclets. This happened after the product was first brought to Greece after World War II.
Who Invented Chiclets?
Many people are given credit for inventing Chiclets. Among them are the brothers Robert and Frank Fleer, and also Louis Mahle. It's not entirely clear who first came up with the idea for the candy-coated gum.
Chiclets Today
For a short time around 2016, Chiclets were not sold in the United States. However, they reappeared in 2019. Now, many Chiclets sold in the U.S. are made in Mexico. You can often find them at stores like Walmart, Kmart, and online at Amazon.
Modern Chiclets still contain sugar and glucose. But they also use aspartame as a sweetener. Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that helps make the gum sweet without adding too much sugar.
