Alright Bubbilicious addicts, good news. Chewing gum has proven to be useful for more than just quitting smoking. New studies suggest that it reduces stress, improves alertness and relieves anxiety. Most importantly though, it can boost academic performance.

Having apparently given up on curing cancer and HIV, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine looked at 108 students, ages 13 to 16, who chewed and did not chew.

After 14 weeks of jaw clenching and unclenching, their grades were looked at to determine if there was any difference in results.  Amazingly, those who chewed gum had a 3% increase in standardized math test scores and had final math grades that were significantly better than the other students. It was also obseved that they sat still longer.

Had only Charlie from the Chocolate factory have known this, perhaps he would have been softer on poor Violet.