1. Holt’s “Gun Gum” is an automotive repair paste. In the U.S., the name was first trademarked in 1956. Holts was founded in 1919 in the UK. Because of this they use the British term for muffler: silencer, which also sounds sort of gun-like to American ears.

2. Another kind of “gun gum” (or maybe we should call these “gum guns”) are gun shaped blisters packs manufactured in China, containing gumballs which are sometimes bullet-shaped.

I’m guessing that the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shootings may have lowered the demand for this type of gun-shaped, kids packaging in the U.S.

(One more thing about children, guns and gum packaging, after the fold…)

On rare occasions, gum packaging has been known to stop bullets. Or so claims this article from a 1958 issue of the Miami News…

Gum In Pocket Blocks Bullet

The chewing gum 12-year-old Patsy Lewis had in her shirt pocket probably saved her from serious injury.

A stray .22 caliber bullet struck her in the chest, but the package of gum cushioned the impact and she suffered only a slight bruise.

Considering the NRA ongoing lobbying effort to lessen the impact of the recent Sandy Hook Shootings on gun regulation, I expect that Wayne Lapierre will soon be advocating gum packaging as a much better means of protecting children.

(See also: Gun-Shaped Bottles)