A Sticky Site

Thousands of visitors to Seattle, Washington, have stopped to take a picture of the city’s most disgusting attraction—a brick wall completely covered in pieces of chewed gum. People began sticking wads of spit-soaked gum to the now-famous “Gum Wall” decades ago, while waiting to enter a local theater in Seattle’s popular Pike Place Market.

The main ingredient in most gum is a type of synthetic rubber. This artificial material doesn’t biodegrade, or break down naturally. Over the years, the amount of gum attached to the wall has just continued to grow, creating a colorful backdrop for selfie-snapping tourists. But when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, people stayed home to avoid catching and spreading the virus. The Gum Wall and many nearby shops became deserted.

Without customers, many area restaurants didn’t have enough money to stay in business. But the Gum Wall gave local website developers Mark Michael and Patrick Opie an idea about how to help the city’s hospitality industry. The team brought the Gum Wall online! Michael and Opie created a site called GumWall.co. People could go to the website and donate $1 or more to interact with a virtual gum wall. The project, which is now closed, raised about $2,000 for Big Table, an organization that helps restaurant workers in need.

Michael and Opie often walk by the real Gum Wall. “During a pandemic, the idea of touching a germy, saliva-covered wall seems grosser than ever,” says Michael. “A virtual gum wall seemed like the perfect fit.”