A corker of a question in from Cosmic66, who asks 'What happens if you swallow your chewing gum?'

帳號為 Cosmic66 的粉絲問說：「如果吞下口香糖會怎樣？」

Brilliant!

很棒的問題！

Now I remember my mum used to say to me "Don't swallow your chewing gum because it will get stuck between your ribs and will stay in your stomach for seven years. "

我記得我媽總會跟我說：「不要吞下口香糖，因為它會卡在你肋骨間，甚至留在胃裡長達七年。」

Give us a thumbs up if you also heard that old chestnut!

如果你也曾聽過這老掉牙的說法，按下喜歡吧！

Or indeed if you swallow your chewing gum like Tom the cameraman who often does it.

或者你跟攝影師 Tom 一樣，常常會吞下口香糖。

Anyway, first of all, we've been kicking back for a chew for centuries right back in 7000 BC, in Northern Europe, there's evidence that we chewed small bits of black tar.

總之，口香糖的歷史可以回溯至西元前七千年，在北歐有證據顯示，當時的人嚼的是一種小小的黑色焦油。

Each to their own, I guess.

只是說法各有不同。

But if you do swallow your own chewing gum these days don't worry your stomach can deal with it.

但現今，如果你吞下口香糖的話，別擔心，你的胃是可以負擔並消化的。

Say you swallow something like a tasty burger, it goes down into your stomach where your stomach acid and enzymes start digesting it.

就像是你吞下了美味的漢堡，它進入到你的胃後，胃酸和酵素會開始消化它。

Then it's over to your intestines with a little bit of help from your liver and your pancreas start breaking it down further into something your body can use for energy.

接著食物會進入腸道，肝臟及胰臟會進一步將食物分解成身體可以使用的能量。

So what about chewing gum?

那口香糖會如何被消化呢？

Well, your body can use the sweeteners, the flavourings and the softeners for fuel but the gum base does hang around for a little while.

你的身體可以利用甜味劑、香料和柔軟劑作為燃料，但口香糖膠的確會在體內停留一陣子。

And that's because the synthetic chemicals that make the gum chewy have no role in the body.

那是因為口香糖膠是使口香糖變黏著的化學合成物，而它對人體毫無用處。

So just like the bouncer at a night club, it will kick the troublemaker out the back door, if you know what I mean.

就像是夜店的保鑣會把鬧事的人踢出門外一樣，我想你了解我的意思。

So for once, my mum was wrong on this one, it doesn't hang around for years, just a little while.

所以這次是我媽媽說錯了，口香糖不會永遠滯留在體內，而是暫時停留而已。

But get this, there was a journal in 1998 that studied three cases of kids who constantly swallowed their chewing gum.

但聽聽看這個，1998 年的一則期刊研究了三名持續不斷吞下口香糖的孩童。

There was one four year old girl who swallowed so much that she ended up with, and I quote, "multiple spheres of chewed gum congealed into a rectal mass."

有名四歲女童吞下太多口香糖，最後導致以下我引述的結果：「不同種類的口香糖最終會凝固成直腸糞便」。

Lovely stuff.

真有趣。

Anyway, that's all the time I got right now.

不管怎樣，這部影片到此為止。

If you do have any questions on stuff you've always wondered about, then send them in on twitter, on Facebook or in the comments below.

如果有任何事物總讓你百思不得其解，可以在我們的推特或臉書或是影片下方留言。

And just like the old chewing gum adverts used to say, if you enjoyed this, please share it with a friend.

就如同以前的口香糖廣告所說，如果你喜歡這部影片，請分享給你的朋友。

Happy Head Squeezing!

祝你們開心！