Did your parents ever scare you with the urban legend that if you swallowed gum, it would live inside you forever?
Yeah, us too. But what really happens to our bodies when we swallow chewing gum? And does it really take seven years to digest it?
Well, Youtube channel "Reactions" has the answer — and you can stop worrying that you've built up a massive gum ball in your stomach.
In the video, we learn that no, chewing gum doesn't live in your stomach until the end of time. However (dun, dun, dunnnnn), there is a bit of truth to the age-old myth.
The video explains that while enzymes in our saliva can break down most of the ingredients in gum, they can't break down the rubber polymers, which form the base ingredient.
If you do end up swallowing a piece of gum, it will stay as a solid lump down your throat and into your stomach, which is why people think it will live in there forever.
Although it's kinda neat (and a bit scary) to think that way, what actually will happen is that the gum will pass in its original form after a few days.
Watch the video above and they'll break down how it all works.
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