way back in the day (1964)
I was six and 3/4, not yet seven
my sister and best friend and i
spent much of our entire summer
‘working’ for free for our friend’s teenage sister
who had plans to go to see the beatles
at olympia arena
when they landed in detroit.
we were recruited by her
to spend our time creating
‘the world’s longest gum wrapper chain’
that she planned to present with her fan club
to the beatles at the concert.
she funded our gum and provided us each with a cigar box
and we sat in the yard for hours upon hours
just talking and laughing
and listening to music on her transistor radio
and creating the chain
until we’d get called home.
we never questioned the project
as were we caught up
in the whirlwind of her excitement
when the time came
she went to the show and presented the chain
later regaling us with the stories and craziness of the concert
and suddenly it was over
our summer of working for free had ended
and I looked forward to my own concerts ahead
wondering who I could recruit to make my paper chains.
—
what you’ll need:
- Gum Wrappers: You’ll need a ton of these. We made our dress using paper wrappers, but you can use foil too. The process is the same!
- Patience: You’ll also need a lot of this.
1. Fold It in Half
Take a single wrapper and fold it longways, or hot-dog style. Do this three times. Try to fold the jagged edge inside because it can get in the way when making the chains.
2. Fold It Through the Middle
Fold the wrapper in half the other way, right through the middle. It should make a “V” shape. Next, fold the sides into the middle, making a little “v.” This little guy will be one link on your chain.
Before you proceed, you’ll have to repeat these steps to make another chain link. Once you have two, you’re ready to connect them!
4. Connect the Pieces
Just take the two ends of one and push it through the two holes in the other. This is why you’ll want your gum wrappers to be folded neatly—if the jagged ends stick out, it can get difficult to see what you’re doing or where to push the wrappers through and connect them. Keep it neat!
5. Keep Going
Keep on going forever and ever this same way. Eventually, you’ll have a long and fairly sturdy chain!
credits: ‘The Beatles’ Patrick Julian – Beyond Olympia Stadium, Pinterest, felt magnet
The Beatles
“It was like hearing the future.”
–Tom Hanks
“They blew the walls down for everybody else.”
–Barack Obama
“We’ve never seen anything like this before, ever. Never. Not even for kings and queens.”
–Unnamed airport official