Invented by Ruth Spiro and celebrated on the first Friday in February, Bubble Gum Day is a holiday whose original intent was to raise money for school activities without anything having to be sold. How? Well, since most classrooms forbid the use of bubble gum in class, donations of 50 cents will give the child the privilege of chewing gum. All that money is then set aside for school activities. It’s a unique and fun way to raise money for school programs, and one that many schools have begun to celebrate.

The History of Bubble Gum Day

In 2006, Ruth Spiro decided to found this holiday so that children could become more involved in school fundraising activities. This allows children to take pride in the fundraising process and to do it in a fun way. It’s also a holiday that encourages children to consider what other things they could do to raise money for a particular cause—so it’s an important classroom lesson that teachers can incorporate into their curriculum.

The founder of this holiday, Ruth Spiro, is a freelance writer and a children’s book author. Some of the books she has written include “Baby Loves Gravity,” “Baby Loves Green Energy,” “Baby Loves Quantum Physics,” “Baby Loves Quarks,” and “Baby Loves Structural Engineering.”

The History of Bubble Gum

Although people were chewing things such as birch bark tar, the first true chewing gum that was commercially available wasn’t introduced to the public until the late 1840s. This is when John Curtis developed the first spruce tree gum by taking spruce resin and boiling it. He would then cut it into strips and coat them in cornstarch so they didn’t stick together. People would continue to chew chewing gum for the next 80+ years when something even better came along: bubble gum.

Walter Diemer, an accountant for the Fleer Chewing Gum Company in Pennsylvania, decided to try out some new gum recipes. One of those recipes was a chewing gum named Blibber-Blubber. This product wasn’t as sticky as ordinary chewing gum and it could stretch better. It was colored pink because the original concoction was an unappetizing gray color, so Diemer used the only dye he had available—a pink dye. Regardless of its color, it became an instant hit and would eventually be renamed Dubble Bubble—the first bubble gum to be invented.

Observing This Holiday

Bubble Gum Day is a holiday that can be celebrated by not only children but also parents and teachers as well. As such, it’s a holiday that can be celebrated in a variety of different ways. Parents can give their children the bubble gum they need for this day—assuming that the child’s school is observing this holiday—and teachers can plan lessons on fundraising on this day. It’s also a great day for both parents and teachers to teach children about fundraising. And finally, teachers can fund bubble-blowing contests during recess or lunchtime to help encourage student participation on this day. Who could resist a day that combines bubble gum and fundraising