A Land Free of Gum

In 1992, Singapore banned both the import and the personal possession of chewing gum.  The country, obsessed with the appearance of their land, was concerned that the gum would end up not in trash cans, but on seats and under railings.

The country practices a rigidly enforced and lengthly list of laws and statues to make sure that everything remains clean.  Don't believe me?  It is illegal to fail to flush a public toilet.  Or ask Michael Fay, the American teenager, who spray painted some graffiti (clearly more serious than gum chewing or leaving the urinal without a flush, but a misdemeanor in the U.S.).  He was sentenced to a caning (basically a public flogging).  How's that for a totalitarian regime (actually they are a democracy, so all of this is done with the consent of the governed).

You can buy almost anything you can imagine in Disney World.  In fact, the whole place is almost as much a shopping destination as it is a theme park.  In addition to the obligatory $10 memory trinkets, there is a wide, wide field of products available.

Need groceries?  The resorts have small convenience store like corners in their gift shops.  Need toys, games, DVDs?  All over the place.  Want a camera or film?  No problem.  Cookware or home goods?  You can get anything from subtle Mickey patterns to over the top screaming garish icons.  And if you are looking for more exotic fare, they probably have it at Epcot:  $1500 jade sculptures in China, wasabi coated peas and dried squid in Japan, perfume in France, and even athletic shoes in Germany.

But like Singapore, what you can't buy at Disney World is chewing gum.  And the ban at Disney theme parks goes way past '92.  When Walt opened Disneyland in California 55 years ago, he imagined not the enjoyment of those at the park chewing gum, but the terminus of said gum.  He decreed that there would be no chewing gum on the overflowing racks of merchandise.

It is not illegal to bring it into the park, but that may be just because even Disney doesn't have that sort of governmental authority.  But if you are caught defacing the property by leaving it in the wrong place, you can be certain there will be consequences.

Disney doesn't need the toilet law now that modern electric eye technology has made their toilets flush automatically.  And graffiti is non-existent since the company would eject you from the park if you were caught and have been known to ban some persons from the property for life.

So the next time you are on Jeopardy and Alex looks you in the eye on Final Jeopardy with Ken Jennings smugly smiling beside you and says, "Its not available in Singapore or Disney World."  You can smugly smile having risked it all and write the question "What is gum?"