When I was little, my grandmother told me that if I swallowed my gum, it would grow into a gum tree in my stomach. I was so worried about this happening that I immediately threw all of my gum into the trash. My grandfather saw me doing this and asked why I was wasting perfectly good gum.
“I’m afraid that if I swallow it, it will turn into a gum tree!” I told him.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he said. “It won’t grow into a tree. But it will sit in your stomach for seven whole years, so don’t swallow it!”
As an adult, I know that my grandmother was only joking—there is no way that gum can turn into a tree in my stomach. But what about my grandfather’s idea: could a swallowed piece of gum really stay inside your stomach for seven years?
Before answering that question, it is important to understand what chewing gum is made out of. Chewing gum has been around for thousands of years. The first gum was made out of chicle, a natural rubber that comes from the sapodilla tree in Central America. During World War II, when natural rubber was greatly in demand, scientists discovered ways to make synthetic rubbers like polyethylene and polyvinyl acetate. These synthetic rubbers are now the base of most chewing gum. Gum manufacturers add flavors, sweeteners, and other chemicals to the rubber base to make it more pleasant to chew.
If you swallow your chewing gum, your stomach’s digestive juices will break down any of the flavorings or sweeteners in the gum without any problem. The rubber base of the gum cannot be digested. However, this does not mean that it will sit in your stomach for years. Instead, the gum will travel through your digestive system until it is eliminated from your body. This entire process only takes about three days.
While occasionally swallowing your gum is harmless, doctors do say that swallowing large amounts of gum in short periods of time can lead to problems. Gum trees will not grow in your stomach, but there have even been rare cases where people who have swallowed very large amounts of gum have needed surgery to remove the gum from their bodies. Although these cases are very uncommon, it is best to take my grandfather’s advice and spit out your gum when you are done chewing it.
Het arrangement A Gum Tree in your Stomach? is gemaakt met
Wikiwijs van
Kennisnet. Wikiwijs is hét onderwijsplatform waar je leermiddelen zoekt,
maakt en deelt.
Auteur
Patricia Termeer
Je moet eerst inloggen om feedback aan de auteur te kunnen geven.
Laatst gewijzigd
2018-02-22 15:17:43
Licentie
Dit lesmateriaal is gepubliceerd onder de Creative Commons Naamsvermelding 4.0 Internationale licentie. Dit houdt in dat je onder de voorwaarde van naamsvermelding vrij bent om:
het werk te delen - te kopiëren, te verspreiden en door te geven via elk medium of bestandsformaat
het werk te bewerken - te remixen, te veranderen en afgeleide werken te maken
voor alle doeleinden, inclusief commerciële doeleinden.
Leeromgevingen die gebruik maken van LTI kunnen Wikiwijs arrangementen en toetsen afspelen en resultaten
terugkoppelen. Hiervoor moet de leeromgeving wel bij Wikiwijs aangemeld zijn. Wil je gebruik maken van de LTI
koppeling? Meld je aan via info@wikiwijs.nl met het verzoek om een LTI
koppeling aan te gaan.
Maak je al gebruik van LTI? Gebruik dan de onderstaande Launch URL’s.
Arrangement
IMSCC package
Wil je de Launch URL’s niet los kopiëren, maar in één keer downloaden? Download dan de IMSCC package.
Wikiwijs lesmateriaal kan worden gebruikt in een externe leeromgeving. Er kunnen koppelingen worden gemaakt en
het lesmateriaal kan op verschillende manieren worden geëxporteerd. Meer informatie hierover kun je vinden op
onze Developers Wiki.
