Projo Offbeat Blog

A sticky problem has prompted Mexico to tell its people to swallow their gum.

An Associated Press story under the headline "Gulp! Mexico tells citizens to swallow their gum" reports that the average square yard of Mexico City sidewalk has 70 blobs of discarded gum.

For your reference, I'd estimate that that average square yard of sidewalk in the United States has 10 blobs of gum, but another 100 discarded cigarette butts.

In Mexico City, discarded gum has apparently become such a problem that you can't walk down a sidewalk in a pair of loafers without losing your shoes.

People who dare walk in bare feet face an even bigger problem, the prospect of getting stuck to the sidewalk for hours while thousands of their fellow citizens shuffle by spitting gum at them.

The swallow command has alarmed at least one pediatrician, who says swallowed gum usually passes through the digestive system, but that it can ball up with other objects and cause intestinal blockages, according to the AP story.

But I think it's great advice, and if we could only get American smokers to swallow their cigarette butts.

 Tags  chewing gum cigarette butts Mexico

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