A century ago, on December 9, 1924 William Wrigley secured the trademark for Wrigley's gum. So it seems appropriate to take a bite out of the history of those bits of foil covered joy. And the surprising history of gum might, well, blow your mind.
During the civil war, the manufacture of powder and explosives was often handled by the most vulnerable, young women and children, whose labor was needed when so many men had been sent off to war. On March 13, 1863, the confederacy experienced a munitions disaster, in the confederate capitol of Richmond.