Florida airport lifts their chewing gum ban

by Scott Carmichael on

What do Singapore and Palm Beach Airport have in common? They both ban the chewing of gum. At least, that was the case until last week.

Palm Beach airport had long been a gum-free zone. The airport operator banned the sticky candy in 1988 when they opened their newest terminal.

Back then, the airport was too afraid to deal with the rude and inconsiderate passengers who spit their gum out on the floor, or stick it to the bottom of chairs and tables (you know who you are!).

But as is often the case, money talks, so the airport finally lifted the ban, citing the possibility of $225,000 in extra revenue from gum sales alone.

That figure would mean the local county snags itself a not too shabby $50,000 in free money each year.

Honestly, do people buy that much gum at the airport?

Check out these other stories from the airport checkpoint!

Alternatives for ice-chewers traveling to Spain

by Abha Malpani on

Alert for travel-industry: the next lucrative market niche you must target is that of ice-chewers — people addicted to chewing ice who, alongside price, look at the availability of ice-chewing options when they travel. Yes, the cult of ice-chewers is on the brink of a revolution as more and more of them come out of the closet and share their fetish for ice-chewing.

The underground world of ice-chewers was exposed recently by the Wall Street Journal that reveals how these people spend their time fascinating over the feeling of different ice-forms in their mouth while ice-machine makers are competing over how to make the best chewable ice.

There is an online forum of ice-chewers (that currently has 3334 registered members) where “ice restaurants” are a topic of discussion. The Wall Street Journal article quotes Amy Grant’s ice-chewer husband saying: “Europe is a drag…I ask for ice, and they give me one or two cubes. They’re stingy with their ice. I’d never survive there.”

That’s true, I have lived in Europe for over 18-months and never have I been served ice in any other form but cubes. However, here are a few suggestions to get your dose of crushed ice to chew on — but you can’t be fussy about it being flavored: (does it make a difference?)

  • Ice-popsicles: Available everywhere in every imaginable flavor. In the various brands and shapes available, you will probably find a form of compact ice that will match the type you like to chew on.
  • “Flashes”: Well, that’s what they are called here. They are long bags of plastic filled with flavored ice, mainly made for kids to chew on.
  • “Granizados”: In Spain people are big on a slush called “granizado” — which translates to something “grained”, in this case, it’s ice. Lemon and coffee flavor are available almost everywhere; the density and crunch-ability of the ice varies so I’m sure you’ll be able to find something similar to the type of ice you like to chew on. If you drink the flavor out quickly, what you are left with is plain chewable ice. Since these places serve these slushes year-round, they are probably your best shot, but you’d have to ask for it and try your luck.

So, ice-chewers, if these alternatives work for you, you can add Spain to your list of countries to visit :)