In 1870 Thomas Adams was working with the Mexican President, Antonio López de Santa Ana to create a cheaper alternative to the then expensive rubber tire.   They were using rubber from the Chicle tree.  After a year of unsuccessful experiments, Adams gave up on the idea of Chicle based rubber.  Instead, he recalled that Santa Ana and the population of Mexico enjoyed chewing on the chicle sap.  So, he used the same chicle sap to create a marketable chewing gum that was different from the paraffin wax gum that was being sold in the United States at the time.  He created the first modern chewing gum and molded them into small gumballs with colorful wrappers.  The gum was a success!