Can you fit three feet of gum in your mouth?

Every Friday at work, we have New Toy Friday. This Friday was three-foot long sticks of gum bought at the dollar store. The challenge was to see if one could fit an ENTIRE piece of yardstick gum into his/her mouth at once.

THE SPECS:
* THREE feet of gum.
* 24 servings in one package.
* 2 grams of sugar per serving, so...
* 48 grams of sugar... that's just like a can of soda.
Surely this would be a breeze.

THE PLAYAZ:
* Billy: Blue Raspberry
* Dave: Strawberry (pictured above)
* Matt: Green Apple

Upon the first couple bites it was deemed that all flavors of the gum were "icky."

Things were going pretty good at first. Happily chewing on gum. *chew* *chew* happy Tribune employees having a jolly good time.

Then it quickly changed into the pure CHEWING CHALLENGE!!! Fellow employees soon became grossed out by the sound of gum smacking. Colored drool was extruding from our lips. It was clear that strategies were needed to be employed to accomplish our mission.

STRATEGIES FOR CHEWING 3 FEET OF GUM AT ONCE:
1) Gum packing:
Billy opted to go with the method of rolling the gum up into a tight package and shoving it into his mouth. Dave and I merely chomped off pieces at a time.

2) Gum stick as tool:
It's easier when you clump all the gum onto one side of your mouth. To achieve this, you can use your unchewed gum as a stick to mush the gum onto one side.

3) Laughter:
Laughing does not help. It only increased the extrusion of drool.

4) Talking:
Talking on a cell phone with 2 feet of gum in your mouth is quite challenging. Leave this only to the pros.

5) Careful chewing
Do not bite your lip. I bite my lip in three different places causing blood to infect my gum. Bloody gum. Not good.

6) Toothpaste and toothbrush:
Essential post-game ritual. This feat is like swishing soda around in your mouth for 15 minutes.