Up A Gum Tree

It's a health-giving, circulation-boosting, teeth-preserving, breath-freshening, digestion-aiding, brain-clearing, chest-developing, nerve-settling national past time. Love it or hate it, chewing gum is here to stay. But it turns out it's not only today's teenagers who munch on gum. The ancient remains of a gum buried with a stone-age teenager have also been discovered.

So just how long has chewing gum been around? Pete McCarthy takes you on a whirlwind tour of the bubblegum years.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1999.