Chapter 1 The Joy of Chewing Meg’s heart pounded in her chest Her palms were sweaty She kept tripping over her feet as she walked quickly down the sidewalk It was normal to be nervous Meg was on her way to her first job interview The pet hospital needed a helper Meg knew she was right for the job She loved animals more than anything Her good grades would show that she was a hard worker But Meg was still scared If you swallow a piece of gum it will not stay in your stomach for seven years That’s just a myth Gum can’t be broken down by your body but it doesn’t stay in your stomach It moves its way through just like everything else you eat
Suddenly Meg stopped She thought about her morning She had eaten breakfast Showered Dressed in her interview clothes She had missed one thing brushing her teeth She was already halfway to the pet hospital This was bad Really bad Wrigley’s Polar Ice sugar-free gum lasts a long time
Meg checked her pockets Then she looked in her purse Yes she thought Meg was in luck She always kept an extra stick of Wrigley’s Winterfresh in her purse It was buried deep but she found it This would freshen her breath and help her calm down FUN FACT About 100,000 tons 91,000 tonnes of gum is chewed each year That’s a lot Unfortunately much of it ends up in landfills Today some scientists are working hard to figure out how to recycle used chewing gum
