From Bubble Tape to chewing gum (awake)

Today’s Beacon News, from northern Illinois, reports on the latest invention of retired chewing gum inventor (and Wrigley executive) Ron Reams, who has moved on from some of his earlier inventions, which included Mork bubble gum, Ouch bandage-shaped bubble gum, and Bubble Tape — five to 15 new products a year for 30 years, by his own estimation — has shifted his chewing gum invention focus to a new product with a serious intent — first responders who are fighting in the war in Iraq.

His new company, Marketright,  has introduced a new caffeinated gum after a decade of research, as the article reports:

Working with scientists at a Florida lab, (Reams) discovered that a stick of gum containing caffeine provided an instant boost compared to a cup of coffee, an espresso shot or energy bars being digested for example.

This past summer, after 10 years of research, Ream’s Plano firm Marketright has distributed a caffeine gum, available only to a very specific consumer: first-responders fighting the war in Iraq.

Ignited by a federal grant secured by former House Speaker Dennis Hastert back in 1998, Ream collaborated with scientists of the Walter Reed Army Institute to research the effects of a caffeine gum containing 100 mg of caffeine per piece. One piece is equivalent to a six-ounce cup of coffee.

“I was the gum man, and they were the clinical testing gurus,” Ream said.

Marketright firm has distributed 500,000 packages of Stay Alert Gum to the military so far, Ream said. The contract lasts two years.