Remembering the cost of the iconic Chappies bubblegum reveals your age. If you paid 1c or 2c for Chappies, congratulations, you’re officially old. We shopped around the city to see how much it costs now, the best price at a local vendor was 30c each, inflation has taken its toll.
Before there was Google, there was ‘Did you know’ on every Chappies wrapper. It was a way to test your general knowledge and fun lunchtime banter on the school playground. Chappies was created in the late 1940’s and everyone had a favourite colour, there were yellow, pink, green and the elusive blue.
In 2012, a Cape Town advertising agency, Ogilvy and Mather were tasked with refreshing the Chappies brand. How exactly do you upgrade something so familiar to all? You don’t. They instead just brightened up the packaging and updated the ‘Did you know’ facts. To date, the wrappers have over 60 years of information wrapped up in it.
Here are some “Did you know” facts that might burst your bubble:
Did you know?
Bubble Gum Day is celebrated on 2 February to raise awareness for education and philanthropy.
Did you know?
Chappies was invented by confectioner Arthur Ginsburg who created the bubblegum to rival Wicks.
Did you know?
Chappies has been sold in South Africa for more than 60 years.
Did you know?
About 10 000 tons of Chappies are produced each year.
Did you know?
The first set of “Did you know” questions were formulated by The Three Wise Men, a popular quiz programme on Springbok Radio. Wits University students were later asked to formulate factual questions.
Did you know?
Chewing gum helps improve memory and cognitive performance, as well as eating habits and managing weight.
The next time you find yourself blowing a Chappies bubble, try and educate someone with a ‘Did you know’.
