May 31st, 2004

Chewing gum legalized in Singapore

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

After twelve years, Singapore has relaxed its ban on chewing gum. But not so fast.

Before Singaporeans think about unwrapping a pack of Wrigley’s Orbit gum that’s just started selling here — and only in pharmacies — they must submit their names and ID card numbers. If they don’t, pharmacists who sell them gum could be jailed up to two years and fined 5,000 Singapore dollars ($2,940).

Chewing gum, or more precisely the threat of chewing gum, is employed in the wonderful movie I Not Stupid, which I heartily recommend. It seems to revel in the mixed feelings Singaporeans harbor towards their own culture. (My favorite character is the chubby kid.)

Category
Old New Thing
Topics
Non-Computer

Author

Raymond Chen

Raymond has been involved in the evolution of Windows for more than 30 years. In 2003, he began a Web site known as The Old New Thing which has grown in popularity far beyond his wildest imagination, a development which still gives him the heebie-jeebies. The Web site spawned a book, coincidentally also titled The Old New Thing (Addison Wesley 2007). He occasionally appears on the Windows Dev Docs Twitter account to tell stories which convey no useful information.

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