…and their flagship magazine will be called Chewing

Calvin would be so happy:

Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., though, is so hopeful of the possibilities that it is launching a multimillion-dollar, multi-year effort to prove them. Citing “emerging research” that suggests chewing may be beneficial, the gum maker has created the Wrigley Science Institute, consisting of an international advisory panel of scientists and research experts who are studying the sticky matter.

Surinder Kumar, Wrigley’s chief innovation officer, says the 115-year-old company has been hearing from consumers for decades about chewing’s benefits — some of them, he contends, “just plain common sense.” Now it is looking for scientific proof to back up the anecdotal evidence.

(þPaul Hsieh and, as he says, “no, really.”)

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