A closer look
Imagine inventing the most iconic candy of the 20th century and immediately fumbling the legal bag. In 1928, an accountant at Fleer named Walter Diemer accidentally stumbled upon a recipe for gum that was stretchy enough to blow bubbles but wouldn't stick to your face. He made it pink because it was the only food coloring he had. Fleer sold millions but incredibly never bothered to patent the chemical formula, allowing massive competitors to instantly reverse-engineer it and steal all the profits.
