On a wall in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, thousands of pounds of chewing gum have built up over the past 20 years, stuck there by locals and visitors, eventually becoming a tourist attraction on its own. This week, the millions of gum wads are being scraped and steam-cleaned away, in a move to preserve the historic buildings, according to a story in The Seattle Times. The Times also reports that the Pike Place Market Preservation & Development Authority plans to weigh the removed gum before throwing it out. There are apparently no plans to prevent the gum wall from returning once the cleaning is complete.
Scrape It Off, Scrape It Off
Hints:
View this page full screen.
Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.
- Read more
-
-
-
-
-
We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.