Category: Business

A simulation has shown what actually happens if you swallow chewing gum, and it’s not pretty.

It’s a warning that many of us were given as teenagers, whether from parents, teachers trying to deter chewing gum, or on the grapevine at school – don’t swallow your chewing gum, because it will stay in your stomach for seven years.

Horror stories also circulated about people who kept swallowing gum, which then built up in their bodies over time.

But what would actually happen if you were to swallow a piece of gum?

Well, while swallowing it every time is not a good idea, the good news is that if you accidentally swallow your chewing gum then your body knows how to deal with it.

The video was shared to YouTube by the account @Simplihowww, has an animated clip of a man swallowing gum.

It then goes to an internal view of the man’s stomach, where the gum begins to bubble and fizz in the stomach acid, leaving just the core.

A voiceover explains that some parts of the gum are digestible, for example any flavourings or some additives which are put into the gum.

In fact, this is how things like nicotine gum allow the chemical to pass into the body.

However, the base of the gum itself is not digested, the video explained, as it shows how the gum passes through the intestine.

But unlike all those terrifying warnings about gum staying in your stomach for seven long years, it showed that this is not what happens if you do swallow your gum.

The truth is far more predictable, and pretty obvious once you think about it.

Your body actually just treats a piece of chewing gum like anything else you swallow which it can’t digest – it goes through your intestine, and eventually comes out the other end.

Our bodies often have things that we can’t process or draw nutrients from,, and getting rid of them is literally the main reason that we poo.

So gum is just like any other matter the body expels, and the video explains that after a couple of days or so the gum will just come out when you go to the toilet.

Nonetheless there have been some rare cases where swallowing gum has led to some health problems, however this is more extreme – if you swallow your gum by accident once or twice this is probably not going to be a cause for concern.

One boy however did get some problems when he started eating chewing gum on purpose, blocking up his digestive tract as a result.

The boy began to complain that he was experiencing pain in his abdomen as well as diarrhoea, with doctors then finding that he had a large mass of chewing gum in his stomach.

Medics had to remove the gum by placing a metal tube down the boy’s throat and bringing the gum up that way, and it took ‘several passes’ to get all of the gob of gum out.

With that in mind, it’s probably best to not make a habit out of swallowing chewing gum – just make sure you throw it away properly and don’t stick it under the desks or tables.

If you’re even in the position where you’re visiting a water park and get stuck in one of the various rides, then there’s a simulation you can use to get yourself out of a pickle.

Zack D Films is a YouTuber who has been making simulations of every situation you could ever think of, and for years.

He’s done historic torture methods, swallowing alcohol, Ozempic, and more.

However, it’s his water slide simulation that we’re talking about today.

There’s something about being unable to move in an enclosed, wet, space that you know is going to lead to a scary collision with another person if you don’t think fast.

It’s not common, but it’s almost like a helpless situation where you have to wriggle, or wait until the inevitable.

But Zack has revealed your options if you want to break free.

In his simulation, which shows a man attempting to flee a water slide, there is a major way you could potentially use to escape your situation.

He revealed in the clip that first, there’s one thing not to do.

He said: “If you’re stuck in a water slide that’s filing up with water, most people think they should try to climb back up. But the slippery surface makes this nearly impossible.”

He added: “Instead, focus on staying calm and try to create space for air by tilting your head back. If water keeps rising, use your hands to push yourself forward. If you can’t move, brace yourself as the water fills the slide entirely. Once the pressure equalises, you may be able to push forward and float to safety.”

From there, the video shows the man sliding back to safety, with the water dispersing into the wider pool.

According to the Water Incident Research Hub, a 20-year cross-sectional study of the US National Electronic Injury Surveillance System found there had been 1,823 injury reports involving waterslides, including 725 on garden waterslides, and 1,098 on public waterslides.

According to the study, the most common diagnosis was laceration (28.4%) and internal organ injury (27.2%), however, 75 per cent of cases involved injury to the head and face.

Well, that’s creepy.

Anyway, in the comments, people were rightly afraid of the scenario.

One person wrote: “’Stay Calm’, nah bro I would die on the spot because of the lack of space.”

Another said: “New fear unlocked; thanks Zack!”

Someone else said: “Claustrophobia would definitely kill me.”

However, one person shared their real-life story of a moment where they really were stuck in a water slide.

They wrote: “To everyone who hasn’t experienced this, I was once stuck in a water slide. I tried to slide down, but I was stuck in a slide that was pitch black. I couldn’t see any light, so I was scared. Eventually, I panicked, so I tried to stay calm and just… lay. I can approve this way works, as I had maken it out in ~2 minutes.”

So, maybe Zack is right?

Either way, you wouldn’t catch me relaxing for long as the wait time between freedom and another slider crashing into me got shorter and shorter.

Tennessee’s prisons chief has resigned after the failed execution of Christa Pike on 30 September.

Frank Strada has stepped down from his post after Pike’s lethal injection attempts went wrong, leading to her to be taken to hospital where she remains ‘critical’.

Strada will leave his role this month after being the residing commissioner of Tennessee’s Department of Correction for the past three years, and also in the role when the May execution of Tony Carruthers, was called off due to problems finding a vein for his lethal injection.

Last year in October, the lawyer of convicted child killer Byron Black alleged he showed signs of ‘sustained cardiac activity’ two minutes after he was pronounced dead after his execution.

Prior to his death, Black had a defibrillator implanted in his chest, which was the topic of concern for his legal team and the implications for a complication-free passing.

Similarly, Pike’s legal team petitioned to stop her execution months before it was scheduled to go ahead due to her apparent thin veins and blood clotting disorder, which an expert recently described as being what potentially stopped her from dying even after the 50-year-old was given two doses of pentobarbital, a lethal drug.

Shortly after Pike’s failed execution, an independent review was launched to find out what happened, per state governor Bill Lee.

Currently, Pike is on a ventilator and unconscious, her lawyers say, with burns to her arms due to the effects of the legal injections.

In a statement, Strada called his resignation ‘the best interest of Tennesseans’.

“I believe this review is entirely appropriate and necessary, and I look forward to doing everything I can to help determine exactly what occurred,” he added of the review.

However, per Sky News, Pikes legal team said his resignation ‘does nothing to help Christa now’, adding: “What happened to her Wednesday reflects a systemic failure that goes far beyond any one person.

“We hope the governor’s call for a full, independent review will expose the profound problems within Tennessee’s entire death penalty system.”

Strada took over the department in January 2023 after serving as deputy director of the Arizona Department of Correction – where similar concerns were made.

Under Strada, there had been three botched Arizona executions.

This includes the May 2022 execution of Clarence Dixon, the June 2022 execution of Frank Atwood, and the November 2022 execution of Murray Hooper.

All allegedly were botched due to troubles finding a suitable vein to insert the drug.

Also under Strada, the Guardian reports Tennessee removed a key training requirement for those who inject the lethal injections, per Kit Thomas, a death row attorney.

Thomas said: “No IV is inserted into the person playing the role of the inmate. He reduced the training requirements and we’ve seen disastrous results.

He added. “He oversaw executions in Arizona which involved prolonged, torturous attempts to establish IV lines, and he brought a similar practice here.”

Strada went on to change its lethal injection protocol one year after his hiring, and instead of a three-drug injection, they would only use pentobarbital.

Pike has been the only woman on death row in Tennessee for 30 years and was set to become the first to be executed in the state in over 200 years.

She was convicted in 1996 of killing her classmate, Colleen Slemmer, and ever since her date was set, Pike’s legal team have tried time and time again to stop the planned death from occurring.

Pike was 18 at the time when she was convicted of killing Slemmer, with her then-boyfriend, 17-year-old Tadaryl Shipp.

She was sentenced to death.

Andy Carroll has named former Fame Academy dance teacher Kevin Adams as the man who abused him in 2021.

The former Newcastle United star revealed that a male celebrity had sexually assaulted him five years ago in his new memoir Owning It: In My Own Words, but declined to name the man in question.

Now, an investigation by The Sun has revealed that Adams, best known for his work as a dancing coach on the short-lived BBC series, was the man in question – which Carroll has since verified.

Speaking to the outlet after learning that Adams’ name was publicly available in court records, Carroll gave the following statement: “Now that Kevin Adams has been named in court documents as my abuser, I can confirm it.

“Hopefully now I can finally start to put this chapter behind me.”

Carroll went on to ask the public not to share images of Adam alongside him, adding that he doesn’t want to be reminded of him every time the story comes up.

“I just ask that people don’t constantly share pictures of my abuser alongside me,” he said.

“I don’t want to keep seeing his face or being reminded of him every time this story is spoken about. I’m ready to move forward. This had a devastating impact on my life and loved ones.”

Adams, now 59, was found guilty of sexually assaulting Carroll in September 2023 at Chelmsford Crown Court and jailed for 20 months. He was also instructed to put his name on the sex offender register for 10 years and stay away from the village where Carroll lived.

Carroll opened up about the impact the assault had on him and his family in his memoir, writing that it was ‘humiliating and horrendous’ to have to give evidence against him in court.

The 37-year-old explained that he’d gone to bed after having a ‘few drinks’ before waking up to Adams, described in the book as a ‘celebrity pal’, sexually assaulting him.

Reflecting on the trauma the assault left him with, Carroll wrote: “What happened to me affected every facet of my life.

“I’d think about it every day, making it difficult to focus on anything else, including football… The trauma of what happened to me hasn’t gone away.”

During her sentencing remarks, Judge Mary Loram accused Adams of believing his own lies when it came to the incident, telling him: “You spun a literally incredible tale in which you painted yourself as the victim.

“In your narrative, you were the put-upon reluctant friend doing no more than helping out.

“The end of your unbelievable tale was that you were the victim of the most serious sexual assaults yourself.

“However incredible your account, it seems to me that you’ve actually started to believe your own lies.”

Adams has since set all of his social media accounts to private since the news broke.

LADbible has approached representatives of both Andy Carroll and Kevin Adams for comment.

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivors Trust for free on 08088 010 818, available 10am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-3pm and 6pm-8pm Monday to Thursday, 10am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-3pm on Fridays, 10am-12.30pm on Saturdays and 6pm-8pm on Sundays.

Additionally, Male Survivors Partnership is available to support adult male survivors of sexual abuse. You can contact the organisation on their website or on their free helpline 0808 800 5005, open 9am–8pm Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays; 8am–8pm Tuesdays and Thursdays; 10am–2pm Saturdays.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard had spoken about her ideal wedding to Ken Urker just months before he died at the age of 34.

Blanchard, 35, spoke to TMZ back in May, opening up about her plans for her wedding, and saying that she did not want it to be ‘quick’.

“I don’t want to have a quick wedding,” she said, “I want to have the big wedding.”

Blanchard had previously married Ryan Anderson in 2022 while still serving out her prison sentence for the second-degree murder of her mother Clauddine ‘Dee Dee’ Blanchard, though she would go on to separate from Anderson.

Now, Blanchard had said that after her first wedding was behind bars she wanted the next one to be a big wedding.

“I want to have the poofy dress, I want to have the family there, because my first marriage, I got married in the visitation room by the bathroom of a prison,” Blanchard told TMZ previously, adding: “I deserve my wedding.”

Blanchard also previously spoke about feeling a pressure to get married, saying: “I feel like I don’t feel pressure from him, he doesn’t feel pressure from me, so we don’t pressure each other, but I feel like the world does.”

She added: “I feel like the world is just asking that question nonstop and it kind of sucks because, you know, what happens if we are one of those couples who, you know — we don’t want to get married right away. We don’t want to rush it.”

Urker had met Blanchard after seeing an HBO docuseries Mommy Dead and Dearest in 2017, and wrote a letter to Blanchard while she was in prison supporting her.

He would then propose to her in 2018, but they separated a year later. When Blanchard’s relationship with Anderson broke down, Blanchard and Urker reconciled.

They have a daughter together, Aurora, who was born in December 2024.

On 1 October 2026 Urker was found unresponsive at a residence in Louisiana at the age of 34.

Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Urker had died, saying that officers had ‘responded to a residence’ when they received a called at 6:15pm.

A statement released by the authorities after Urker’s death said that he was ‘found dead upon arrival’.

“At this time, we are continuing the death investigation,” it added.

Us obtained a report from Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office which said that in an interview that Anita Blanchard, the wife of Blanchard’s half brother Dylan Blanchard, had made a call to 911 after Urker did not answer either his phone or the front door of his apartment when she, Dylan, and Urker’s boss Justin Daigle when to check in on him.

During the call, Anita reportedly told the 911 dispatcher that Dylan and Daigle entered the residence through a window after moving some blinds, and found Urker ‘cold to the touch’ and unconscious.

The report added: “They stated Mr. Urker made comments of being depressed and upset.”

Blanchard has also released a statement after Urker’s death, telling PEOPLE: “I’m in disbelief. I can’t think. I’ve screamed until my throat burns.”

She added: “He was not in a good state of mind lately.”