The Market Theatre Gum Wall announced this week that they will be cleaning the famous landmark in Pike Place for the first time in 20 years on November 10th.
If you haven’t heard of the gum wall, it’s exactly what it sounds like: a huge brick wall that tourists flock to so they can stick their ABC gum on it and take an #artsy insta pic.
Gif courtesy of tumblr.com
This all started in 1993, when people visiting the theatre would get bored waiting in line for tickets. To pass the time, they stuck gum and coins onto the wall. It became a sort of tradition, and over the past couple of decades, the gum wall became a popular attraction.
Photo courtesy of Daveynin on flickr.com
After 20 years of people sticking their chewed gym on it, the wall is apparently becoming too grimy (it’s actually one of the top 5 germiest attractions in the world), because the powers that be decided to clean it next week.
So, if you get a chance to stop by before then, be sure to add your gum to the wall and take a Snapchat. There’s a contest for the best photo of the wall before they scrub all of the gum off.
If you can’t take a trip out to Seattle before November 10th, don’t worry. Officials say that people will be able to start sticking gum up again as soon as the wall is cleaned.