Note: This experiment ends in faaaaiillluuuurrre. I found a great different way to make xylitol candy, though, that I'll post in a day or two.

Xylitol is a pretty fun sugar substitute. You'll find it advertised as being in a lot of gums and the like, and that's because when xylitol dissolves in your mouth, it actually makes your mouth colder. Some things like cinnamon or spicy peppers make your mouth think it's getting hotter, but they...

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I was excited to learn that two of my favorite things, New York City and gum, have a bit of shared history. Here's the short version: 

In 1869, General Santa Anna, eleven-time former President of Mexico, was exiled in Staten Island, staying with Thomas Adams, a former photographer he had met decades before. 

Santa Anna thought chicle could be mixed with rubber to make cheaper tires and suggested it to Adams as a business...

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