Snickers Meets Spearmint

The election of 2008 may wed the cultures of Washington and Chicago, with one presidential candidate, Barack Obama, a Chicago resident, and another, Hillary Rodham Clinton, a Chicago native.

But now the marriage of two cities has an even more tangible flavor, as McLean-based Mars Corporation has bought the best-known Chicago brand, the gum-making Wrigley Company.

Snickers and Milky Way meet Spearmint and Juicy Fruit. Wrigley-owned Altoids, once enjoyed by Monica Lewinsky is now a local taste as well.

Although many of the flavors of Wrigley products are familiar, some of the company’s scientific endeavors are not. Researchers at NIH may soon find themselves upstaged by the Wrigley Science Institute. The institute studies “the advancement and benefits of gum” and has linked chewing gum to better brain activity and oral and dental health.

Because it is likely that Sam Zell, new owner of the Chicago Cubs, will sell the naming rights to the famed Wrigley Field, could Obama or Clinton broker a deal with the wealthy Mars family to name the new Nationals stadium Wrigley Field?

This article appears in the June 2008 issue of Washingtonian. To see more articles in this issue, click here.

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Kim Eisler