Walter Diemer, a home-kitchen chemist, outsmarted scientists to create bubble gum in America.

Walter Diemer made it more fun to be a kid.

After enjoying the benefits of his contribution to global consumer culture, both business owners and ballplayers experienced satisfaction and financial gain.

Diemer invented bubble gum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1928.

The high-school graduate accountant for a gum company found inspiration for his side hustle as a home-kitchen chemist.

To alter the explanation of why humans chew, Diemer combined creativity, curiosity, and instinct with a touch of luck and pink food coloring.

Despite being only 23 years old and lacking scientific training, the young man possessed a fervor for the artistic process and an acceptance of failure.

According to Lee Wardlaw, the author of "Bubblemania: A Chewy History of Bubblegum," Planet Chronicle Digital, he is the embodiment of 100% American ingenuity.

"For a long time, humans attempted to create bubble gum. Diemer succeeded in doing so in his own kitchen, despite not being a chemist. He persisted through trial and error," stated Wardlaw.

"Edison and Diemer both knew 99 ways to fail in their respective inventions of lightbulbs and bubble gum."

One of the oldest candies in the world

On January 8, 1905, in Philadelphia, Edwin and Mary Elizabeth (Rhode) Diemer gave birth to their son, Walter Edwin Diemer.

He grew up during a time of rapid innovation in American lifestyle.

Automobiles and airplanes revolutionized travel and made the nation smaller.

For the first time in human history, daily domesticity in the United States included electricity and indoor plumbing, which we now take for granted.

One part of human life, however, changed little for millennia.

"He’s the perfect example of 100% American ingenuity."

According to the ICGA, historians believe that civilizations worldwide were chewing natural gum thousands of years ago, but no one can be absolutely certain who the first gum chewers were.

"Prior to the development of the electric light bulb, telephone, and soda pop, individuals experienced the enjoyment and advantages of chewing gum."

The ICGA states that chewing gum is one of the oldest candies in existence.

It's also a uniquely human habit.

Humans are the only animals that chew gums, resins, and latex plant secretions for pleasure.

The simple pleasure is deeply ingrained in our psyche and dreams.

One of the most renowned children in American literature, after being granted the genie's wish for anything in the world, wished for an excessive amount of gum.

"In "Huckleberry Finn," the title character excitedly declared, "If he tells them to construct a 40-mile-long palace made of diamonds and filled with chewing gum, they must comply.""

The Volstead Act of 1919 prohibited alcohol during the 1920s, making it an era of outlawed pleasure.

In the 1920s, bubble gum became a profitable way for chewing-gum companies and confectioners to satisfy the human desire to chew and capitalize on America's thirst for new pleasures of the palate.

Why bubble gum is pink

The four basic ingredients used to make all chewing gum include a synthetic base resin, flavorings like spearmint, sweeteners such as natural or synthetic sugars, and coloring.

Bubble gum, in most instances, is pink.

To create bubble gum that is both stretchy and strong, yet easy to chew, a specific formula must be followed, regardless of its color.

"Build a palace 40 miles long out of di’monds and fill it full of chewing gum." — Huckleberry Finn

For decades, chemists and food scientists have been unsuccessful in discovering the ideal formula.

In 1906, Frank Henry Fleer, the owner of the company that employed Diemer, made some of his own advances by introducing Blibber-Blubber.

The would-be bubble gum was just as bad as its name.

"In "Bubblemania," Wardlaw describes the brittleness of the stuff, stating that bubbles would burst unexpectedly."

"The bubbles had a messy habit of sticking to the blower's face. The only way to remove it from someone's skin was by scrubbing it with turpentine."

A chewy resin that produced bubbles proved the elusive Holy Grail of gum.

Despite the challenges, Diemer remained unfazed. He spent a year experimenting with recipes at home, with the approval and bemused low expectations of his bosses.

In August 1928, the young accountant entered the office with a 5-pound batch of his homemade gum, which he blew into a bubble larger than anyone had ever seen, leaving his coworkers stunned.

""Finally, it popped softly and easily peeled off his skin," Wardlaw writes."

"Diemer later remembered that "it really went to our heads. We were blowing bubbles and prancing all over the place!" after everyone tried some."

By the end of the year, Diemer had perfected a 300-pound batch of Dubble Bubble.

On December 26, 1928, 100 pieces of candy were wrapped in taffy paper and taken to a nearby candy store.

"I had it! Everybody tried some … We were blowing bubbles and prancing all over the place!"

In 1923, coincidentally, Fleer entered the baseball trading card business. As a result, manufacturers discovered that including bubble gum in their packages was an effective way to entice kids to purchase their products.

The pink color of bubble gum was a major factor in its appeal to kids, which was a result of marketing brilliance by Fleer Co. and Diemer.

Not quite.

"On Dec. 1928, Wardlaw writes that the only pink food coloring available was used, and it was poured into a large vat."

With few exceptions, the color of bubble gum has never changed.

‘I've done something with my life'

On his 93rd birthday, Walter Diemer passed away on January 8, 1998, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

His zest for life never faltered.

In 1991, after his wife passed away, he relocated to Lancaster and became a well-known figure in the town, known for his carefree nature and love for cycling on a large tricycle, as described in his obituary published by the New York Times News Service.

He remarried in 1996 — at 91 years old.

"Saturday Night Live" featured a "too soon" moment of comedy about Diemer's impact on American life a few days after his death, which served as a bellwether of cultural relevance.

"According to Colin Quinn on "Weekend Update," the inventor of bubble gum passed away this week. His body was discovered trapped beneath a movie seat."

The standard for measuring bubble-gum bubbles is Diemer's Dubble Bubble.

On April 24, 2004, Chad Fell of Alabama created a 20-inch bubble-gum bubble, which remains the largest ever known.

According to Guinness World Records, he created the pink balloon using the combined strength of three Dubble Bubble gum pieces.

Diemer's invention inspired a new genre of music, characterized by flirtatious fun and an upbeat, breezy tune.

Ella Fitzgerald sang in her 1939 recording "Chew, Chew, Chew (Your Bubble Gum)," an early example of the genre, and she acknowledged that she was having fun while chewing on her bubble gum.

In 1969, "Sugar, Sugar" by the Archies became the top-selling song in America, providing a sweet escape from the tumultuous times of the Vietnam War and social upheaval.

"He was known as a free spirit who rode around town on a big tricycle."

Bubble gum helps sell books to kids today.

Dozens of bubble gum-themed books are listed at online retailers.

"Kids are instantly drawn to bubble gum due to its vibrant color and the enjoyment of blowing bubbles, which annoys parents."

Diemer apparently never received royalties for his invention.

He remained at Fleer and eventually rose to become a senior executive. He played a crucial role in promoting bubble gum in its initial stages by instructing salespeople on how to create bubbles.

Millions of children worldwide learn this skill at an early age with joy.

As reported in several tributes, his wife, Florence Diemer, said he was incredibly proud of it.

""I've made kids happy around the world," he would tell me, proudly boasting about what he had accomplished."

To discover more stories in the distinctive "Meet the American Who..." collection from Planet Chronicle Digital, please click here.

For more Lifestyle articles, visit planetchronicle.net/lifestyle.