Obnoxious gum chewing comes in multiple variations. I will focus on the two that drive me nuts the most often: constant popping of the gum inside the mouth and chewing with the mouth open.
Many people like to pop their gum inside their mouths. It involves placing the gum strategically between your teeth and sucking in. Skilled internal gum poppers can get about 3 or 4 pops in before needing to readjust. Surprisingly, this practice creates a very loud popping sound, much louder than traditional external bubble blowing. Once or twice, it is no big deal. However, most internal gum poppers really go at it. I run into such people most often when I am taking public transportation, or trying to read at a coffee shop, or at the movies. The constant gum popping is extremely distracting. I mean, I am easily distracted always, but when an internal gum popper is really going at it, I can't read, I can't pay attention to the movie, I can't think of anything but wanting to grab the gum out of their mouth and throw it away. When the gum popping has been going on for a particularly long period of time, I sit there and wonder why it is taking so damn long for the gum to lose its flavor, and when is this person going to throw it out, already. As you can see, when a gum popper gets going, I am unable to do much else than sit there seething with irritation. It is not very productive.
The second variation of obnoxious gum chewing is with the mouth open. Besides being basic bad manners, open-mouthed gum chewing enables those around you to hear the sound of the gum sticking to and unsticking from your teeth. It sounds much like a cow chewing cud, or something similarly unappealing. The same effects ensue...I can't do anything but think about how annoying the sound is, how rude it is, and suppress my urge to tell them they sound like a cow. Do I tell them they sound like a cow? No, because that would be rude. And two wrongs don't make a right. When it has been my friends doing the open-mouthed chewing, I have contemplated asking them to kindly chew with their mouths closed. But is there a tactful way to do that? No, I don't believe that there is.
So I ask...is it THAT hard to enjoy a piece of gum without disturbing those around you? I really don't think so.
Many people like to pop their gum inside their mouths. It involves placing the gum strategically between your teeth and sucking in. Skilled internal gum poppers can get about 3 or 4 pops in before needing to readjust. Surprisingly, this practice creates a very loud popping sound, much louder than traditional external bubble blowing. Once or twice, it is no big deal. However, most internal gum poppers really go at it. I run into such people most often when I am taking public transportation, or trying to read at a coffee shop, or at the movies. The constant gum popping is extremely distracting. I mean, I am easily distracted always, but when an internal gum popper is really going at it, I can't read, I can't pay attention to the movie, I can't think of anything but wanting to grab the gum out of their mouth and throw it away. When the gum popping has been going on for a particularly long period of time, I sit there and wonder why it is taking so damn long for the gum to lose its flavor, and when is this person going to throw it out, already. As you can see, when a gum popper gets going, I am unable to do much else than sit there seething with irritation. It is not very productive.
The second variation of obnoxious gum chewing is with the mouth open. Besides being basic bad manners, open-mouthed gum chewing enables those around you to hear the sound of the gum sticking to and unsticking from your teeth. It sounds much like a cow chewing cud, or something similarly unappealing. The same effects ensue...I can't do anything but think about how annoying the sound is, how rude it is, and suppress my urge to tell them they sound like a cow. Do I tell them they sound like a cow? No, because that would be rude. And two wrongs don't make a right. When it has been my friends doing the open-mouthed chewing, I have contemplated asking them to kindly chew with their mouths closed. But is there a tactful way to do that? No, I don't believe that there is.
So I ask...is it THAT hard to enjoy a piece of gum without disturbing those around you? I really don't think so.
5 comments:
Oh My God!
You hit it right on.
Glad someone else is bothered by this as much of me. I can't focus either, I find myself waiting for the next pop, with angered tension. I've left a movie theater to the manager before when it was so bad, it ruis everything. Plus it creates a tension in me that usually leaves me imaging how i would pull the gum out of their mouth while either choking or putting the gum in their hair after...
Thank you!! My comment exactly - Oh My God!!
I lose my mind when I'm around someone chewing gum. I cannot believe they do not know they are sounding so uncouth and how rude it is to everyone around them - especially in meetings, the car, church, class and the theatre. I realize some people chew because they are nervous - but there is a time and place and if you can't chew politely without popping and snapping - DON'T CHEW GUM. I learned that in school and with my parents.
I don't think I'm OCD but I go nuts when people eat like slobs and snap and pop gum.
Thank goodness I'm not alone.
Wow, this post is awesome! Gum popping and chewing loudly are at the top of my "pet peeves" list. I used to have a cubemate that I sat next to 8+ hours a day who insisted on chewing her gum. I always wondered why her jaw wasn't sore, hours after putting the minty evil capsule in her mouth. I remember she would come in in the morning, gumless. Then I would hear the sound of the gum unwrapping. You could even hear it over head phones, sadly. It wasn't until my friend at work pushed me to write a friendly, yet not so friendly email telling her that it was distracting. In the long run, she claimed she didn't even realize how often she did it. End of that story. Also, last night I was sitting at the Beyonce concert and was in a SEA of gum poppers. It was like an orchestra of chaos since everyone had their own tune, tempo, pitch, and so on. There were a few times I forgot I was at a concert since I was so distracted. The worst part, every time the girl behind me would pop her gum, a stale minty smell would be thrown my way. Ew.
Great. I'm not the only crazy one. I take public transit daily and there is almost always an obnoxious gum chewer nearby. It irritates me more than anything. I have fantasies of slapping some of them and yanking the gum out of their mouth. It is especially annoying when it is a person over thirty. How can someone go through life and have no concept of good manners.
Flattery is like chewing gum.
Enjoy it but don't swallow it. See the link below for more info.
#gums
www.ufgop.org
Post a Comment