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Accountant Walter Diemer, the inventor of bubblegum, circa 1980.
Credit: Courtesy of Concord Confections, LTD.
In 1928, Walter E. Diemer (1905-1998) an accountant for the Fleer Chewing Gum Company in Philadelphia, invented bubble gum when he stumbled upon a recipe for a gum that was less sticky and that stretched better than the standard chewing gum produced by Fleer. Diemer never patented or received royalties for his discovery, but did travel around the world for Fleer, marketing the gum and overseeing the construction of plants for its manufacture.