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Last week, a chandelier made of Gummi Bears made the rounds on the ‘net. I was inspired to look up the history of the Gummi Bear. Did you know Gummi Bears were first produced in 1922?! Candymaker Hans Riegel called them “dancing bears”. It wasn’t until 1981 that they became widely available in the United States. Besides appealing to kids’ tastes, Gummi Bears turned out to be useful in many other ways.
Scientific Experiments
Make your Gummi Bear grow by soaking him in water overnight. Another scientific experiment involves burning Gummi Bears in the name of science.
Pranks
The folks at Amazon redecorated a vacationing co-worker’s desk with about twenty-five pounds of Gummi Bears.
Home Decor
Brighten your home with these cordless Gummi Lights, which run on lithium batteries. They’re made of real rubber, not sugar.
More uses for Gummi Bears, after the jump.
Gummi Bears contain the best material for fooling fingerprint scanners.
Cake Decorating
Gummi Bears are candy is wonderful for decorating cakes, and taste better with icing than those cheese-flavored fish. You’ll find notes on how this cake was made at Candy Addict, and more notes at Flickr. Here’s another cake, this one with bears.
Fashion
Gummis stick to the skin. At least I hope so, in this case. They might be more useful to you as jewelry.
The Arts
Gummi Bears are such an icon that artists are inspired. This Gummi Bear is an oil pastel drawing on paper, for sale through Deviant Art.
The aforementioned Gummi chandelier was made by artist Ya Ya Chou, who also constructed this bearskin rug and other delights (from her website, click on “sculpture” to see the Gummi Bear series).
They lend themselves handily to stop-motion animation. This experimental film uses Gummi Bears for their elasticity and adhesiveness.
In researching this, I came across a lot of references to Gummi Bears and sonograms. Apparently, fetuses go through a stage where they quite resemble the candy! I decided that posting a photo would be too personal, but you can find such photos with a simple search.
Can you think of other imaginative uses for Gummi Bears?
Those aren’t Gummi Bears in the cake photo; they’re Teddy Grahams, which are far easier to decorate and just as delicious. Mmm… edible animals…
posted by MOD on 3-15-2007 at 7:55 am
You’re right! Now that I’ve taken a closer look at the recipe… the Gummi in the cake is Gummi Life Savers. I wonder if Teddy Grahams and Gummi Bears could reproduce?
posted by Miss Cellania on 3-15-2007 at 8:01 am
the diving board is fruit stripe gum. remember, with the zebra?
posted by Rebecca on 3-15-2007 at 8:15 am
my friend made a model of an argon atom for our important science project entirely out of gummy bears and straws
posted by bronwen on 3-15-2007 at 8:40 am
Years ago the idea suddenly struck me to find out if I could make a gummi bear stick to my bedroom wall. I licked its back and pressed it on. Not suprisingly, it stuck. Amused, I decided to see how long it would stay put. For about a week the first thing I did upon my return from work was run to see if my gummi had fallen to his doom. The gummi stayed there until my husband pulled it off the wall as we were moving out- four years later.
posted by Deeda on 3-15-2007 at 12:25 pm
There is a whole gallery of gummie bear photos on tabblo–just go the site and search for “gummie” and you can see a collage of photos from the Flickr gummie bears group. Having spent several years of my childhood in Germany I have had many a gummie bear over the years but never realized the secret lives they lead!
posted by Liesel Pollvogt on 3-15-2007 at 2:20 pm
Heh. I can just imagine the look on the face of that amazon.com worker when they got back.
My dad just LOVES these things. He spent some of his childhood in Germany where gummis are really popular and he’d love to see these.
posted by heather on 3-15-2007 at 10:35 pm
Who could forget the gummi worm? Ahh childhood memories… *sigh*
posted by A.J. on 3-22-2007 at 8:53 am
Great. Now I’m craving gummi bears, and that’s one craving that doesn’t go away unless you satisfy it. Here, gummi gummi gummi . . .
posted by Larissa on 3-22-2007 at 4:09 pm
Well, my gummi days ended with the last crown I had to have placed on a molar. Too much money invested to risk it on gummi anything!
posted by Cheryl on 3-22-2007 at 7:44 pm
And don’t forget that dreaded affliction… gummy tummy! My gut can only handle so much before it rebels.
posted by Ruth on 3-27-2007 at 2:21 pm
Everyone missed the best one. Put a gummy in a jello shot when you make them and have the best gummy ever. Works best with tequila and gummy worms. ;)
posted by Cindy on 4-11-2008 at 6:23 am
I hope the gummy bear bra falls quick
posted by andrew on 9-27-2008 at 8:47 pm