Say Goodbye to Seattle’s Gum Wall

By the time you've read this, it should all be gone. Gum, gum, and more gum is being steam-cleaned off Seattle's famous "Gum Wall," near Pike Place Market. Over the last 20 or so years, it's estimated that Seattle residents and visitors have deposited over 1 million pieces of gum on the wall. One local woman, doing the math, estimates that each piece of gun weighs in at around 1 gram. That would put the weight of the collective gum on the wall at around 2300 pounds.

From NBC News:

Emily Crawford, a Pike Place Market spokeswoman, said that following a busy summer season, market leaders decided now was as good a time as any to wipe the wall clean. But they expect people will start leaving gum on the space again soon.

"It's an icon. It's history," said onlooker Zoe Freeman, who works near Pike Place. "The market is famous for the gum wall. But it also draws rats."

So, how did this get started?

People first began smooshing their gum to the wall while waiting for shows at the nearby Market Theater. Since then, the "gum wall" has expanded beyond one wall and onto other walls of an alley, pipes and even the theater's box office window.

Crawford said the cleaning crew will collect and weigh the gum each day it is removed. The cleaning is expected to take three days.

Take a look: