I hope these tips are helpful to blow bigger and better bubbles. New wisdom is always welcome. E-mail new tips to me at bkelly@dimensional.com
The major brands of bubble gum like Bubble Yum and Bubbicilious have been working hard in the last several years to make their products more appealing. We’ve seen cool new flavors like “banana-berry blast” or “orange mamba” that last longer, soft pieces that are easy to chew, sugarless gum that 4 out of 5 dentists recommend, and no-stick gum so clean up after a bubble is a snap.
All of these improvements are great for the casual blower, but are terrible for people who want to blow the biggest bubble possible. Soft, flavorful, sugarless no-stick gum has a harder time sticking to itself, so the bubbles are small. If you want to blow large bubbles, pick the “less popular”, original flavor, sugar-full brands of gum like Double Bubble, Super Bubble or the hard 2-cent Bazooka squares.
Expect these gums to be hard and sticky, but your bubbles to be larger. For tips on keeping the mess to a minimum, check out the "Oh no, now what do I do?" section.
Maybe.
Certainly bigger bubbles need more gum, but putting another piece in your mouth might hurt your performance more than it helps. You can’t make a good bubble when your mouth is tired from working a large wad of gum, so it is silly to add another piece when your jaw already aches.
Most people learn to use only so much gum for each bubble, so additional pieces only mean a larger wad of gum but not a larger bubble. You must ask yourself if you can put more gum into the bubble of if another piece of gum will only sit in your mouth. If most of your gum is already not part of the bubble, then you probably need more practice, not more gum.
Also, keep in mind that you are only permitted three pieces of gum when going for the world’s record. If you plan to challenge Susan Montgomery Williams for her title someday, you need to learn to blow with just a few pieces.
Two things that are a bane to giant bubble blowers are wind and temperature. Outside, the slightest breeze will turn your masterpiece into a sticky mess covering your face and hair. Big bubbles are very delicate, so blow indoors and insure there will be no drafts by closing the doors and windows.
You also need to be sure you blow at just the right temperature. Too cold and your gum becomes slightly brittle. Too warm and the gum melts. Watch your bubbles to see if either is the case. It’s too cold if your bubbles pop with a snap before the skin gets very thin. If the bubble sags a lot or just collapses as a small hole grows, then you should turn down the heat.
All bubble gum has sugar and artificial flavors and colors in it, and as we discussed in section 1, this do not help people who want to blow big bubbles. If you chew the gum for a while, you will work out most of these additives and can blow bigger bubbles. To get them out faster, some people have suggested chewing with water in your mouth or kneading your gum with your hands under running water.
The next step is to work the gum to the right consistency. Bubble gum is slightly hard right after a bubble, but gets softer as it warms back up to your body temperature. With the next bubble, it again cools off to room temperature making it harder again.
You want to try to keep your gum at the temperature that lets you put the most gum into the bubble. Too cold and you can’t push your tongue through the full wad of gum to form the gum pocket for the bubble. Too warm and your tongue pokes right through putting very little gum in your bubble. What works best is a personal preference, so experiment until you discover what works.
The biggest bubbles are very fragile, so you need to be careful as you blow. Slow breaths will give your gum time to stretch and grow while even breaths keep the pressure distributed.
Don’t hold your lips around the bubble like you’re kissing someone because this makes you blow harder and holds gum in your mouth. Try to keep your lips open so you inflate the bubble through a larger hole.
When your bubbles get so big, you almost have to start using you hands at least a little just to keep the bubble from sagging and popping on your chin or nose. One hand is enough to hold it in place which is best done near the mouth because the bubble is the thickest there.
Susan Montgomery Williams holds her bubbles on each side to shape them as they grow and draw more gum out of her mouth. This is allowable for the world’s record as long as the bubble is not deformed. You can see Rob using this technique in the Hall of Fame.
For sticky bubble gum situations, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Be sure to shave or tie back any hair that might get in the way. Putting a little moisturizer on your face beforehand will also keep the gum from sticking. But if you’re reading this section, it may be too late for prevention.
A majority of gum on skin can be gotten off with your own wad. Gum would rather stick to itself than your skin, so pressing or rolling it over sticky areas will get most of it off.
Stubborn messes or pops involving hair can be much trickier. Fingernails or a comb may work for the more mild problems, but not for them all. You could try oils like vegetable oil or peanut butter. These have moderate success.
Susan Montgomery Williams sells a bubble gum remover which get gum out of anything. If you’re interested in purchasing some, send her email at montgumeryw@aol.com.
Not only do the above tips require practice to get just right, but also blowing large bubbles requires a strong jaw, tongue and diaphragm. Keep working and let me know how it goes!