Gum Wall --an awesome but gross attraction in Seattle (6)

San Francisco Nov. 30, (People's Daily Online) Standing in front of the gum wall, I must admit that my first thought was "oh, look at the the pretty colors", and then it immediately came to me that "it's so disgusting".

However, it is a definite photo spot in Downtown Seattle. Hidden in an alley behind Pike's Place, the gum wall has attracted thousands of visitors around the world.

Just like one visitor described "it's impressive, disgusting, artistic and interesting. You will stop a passerby and ask for your photo to be taken in front of it, and then that passerby will have you do the same."

People can see gum in the shape of people's names, bottle caps and credit cards, movie tickets and business cards stuck in the chewed gum. .

As a local landmark in downtown Seattle, the gum wall has been forming since around 1933 although it didn't become a big attraction until 1999. Theatre patrons began placing their gum on the wall while waiting in line to buy tickets. At first, they would use the gum to stick small coins to the wall, but the tradition of coins disappeared later and the gum remained.

It continues to grow in popularity and, therefore, in length and width and height. Now it is filled with thousands of pieces of chewing gum with all colors.