A Dream Deferred | John Wayne

September 14th, 2010 |

A Dream Deferred

Â By James F. Cotter

Â

Remember the Alamo?Â In an indirect way, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna contributed to the development of chewing gum.

In exile in New York, the former dictator plotted to raise an army and return to power in Mexico.Â To do this, he would need money;Â Â and to acquire money, he would sell chicle, a substance made from the sap of the sapodilla tree.Â The chicle would be added to rubber, which was quite expensive.Â If he could reduce the cost of natural rubber, he would become rich and make his triumphal return to Mexico City.Â That was the plan.Â (1)

So he had chicle brought in from Mexico.Â At the time, Santa Anna was the houseguest of Thomas Adams, a struggling photographer and glassmaker who had been assigned to assist him during his exile in New York.Â (2)

After more than a year of trying to make various items like carriage tires, rain boots and toys with chicle, without success, Adams had decided to throw the remaining chicle into the East River.Â Then he remembered that Santa Anna enjoyed chewing the substance.Â That night, he mixed a batch of chicle gum in his kitchen and tried it.Â (1)

Most chewing Â gums at the time were paraffin gums.Â Adams found that the gum made with chicle was softer and better-tasting than the paraffin gums–not that there was much taste to it.Â (1) Â He decided to market this chicle gum, andÂ by 1871, Adams had to invent what became known as the gumball machine to keep up with demand for his gum. Â (3)Â

It still didn’t do Santa Anna much good.Â He was granted amnesty in 1874, returned to Mexico, and died two years later.Â

Although the original intentions of Adams and Santa Anna were not realized, the U.S. Census Bureau advises that “Americans chew about 1.8 pounds of gum per person per year.” Â (4)

This was not the first time, nor would it be the last, that something popular was invented quite by accident.

Â

REFERENCES

http://www.agilewriter.com/Biography/ThomasAdams.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_LÃ³pez_de_Santa_Anna http://www.essortment.com/all/chewinggumhis_rdjz.htm http://www.extramarks.com/blog_view.php?blog_auto_id=2368

Â

This article brought to you By BreadStreet Investors’ Union at http://BreadStreet.com

“Bringing Investors and Entrepreneurs Together for Profit”

Also see http://www.PrivateBusinessInvestments.com

http://www.breadstreet.com/ was established in 2004 to help entrepreneurs meet qualified accredited angel investors. BreadStreet.com provides instant access to a 10,000 + angel investors database. Both start-up companies and well established organizations are welcome. So, what is an angel capital investor, and what do they do? The term “angel capital” was coined in the early part of the 20th century. Angel capital investor was the term given to investors that would fund Broadway plays. Over time, the term angel capital investor or angel investor became synonymous with any investor willing to become involved with a startup business or a high risk venture. However historically, finding angel investors was a daunting task. But, today some groups have organized to make getting angel capital investors an easier process; BreadStreet is such an organization. Best Accredited Investor Profile: BreadStreet delivers a signed statement from the individual accredited investor; it includes the investorâs industry interests, contact details, annual income, net worth, available liquidity, investorâs financial professionalâs contact information, and project confidentiality agreement. Further, prior to delivery, the investor will have expressed an interest in speaking with you about your investment and will be expecting your call. These are the best accredited angel investor leads available. Many of the accredited investor leads are currently liquid in the millions of dollars with written proof! BreadStreet.com can further provide assistance in filing with the SEC, qualifying for the Private Offering Exemption and possibly with getting a business valuation by an accredited appraiser. Visit www.breadstreet.com

Article from articlesbase.com

Oldskool classic right at the start of the scene, Orange Lemon aka Todd Terry. This is my earliest memory of “raving”, the Thunderdome Manchester, wicked night in a shady as f**k club, whistles,airhorns and a top night.