9 Ways To Hack College With Just A Pack Of Gum

There are plenty of college essentials you need before shipping off to your dorm, but there's one item that can calm you down, help you do better in class, and cure, or at least ease, hangovers that should be at the top of everyone's college survival lists. That magical item is a measly pack of gum, and you'd be surprised to see all of the ways gum can help you totally win at college.

These tips and tricks come from College Hacks by Keith Bradford, who is something of an expert when it comes to life hacks. (He is the owner of Bradford Media, which publishes 1000LifeHacks.com, after all.) College Hacks is filled with ways students can easily and quickly tackle some of the most common day-to-day problems you face on campus, from how to ace your college courses to how to deal with a hangover.

One item that keeps popping up in College Hacks is gum, which, it turns out, can be any college student's secret weapon, capable of so much more than making your breath smell fresh. So if you're ready for college life as you know it to change forever, here are nine ways to hack college with just a pack of gum.

Calm Down

If you're dreading giving a big presentation or taking a major exam and are looking for quick way to calm down, start chewing gum. "This tricks your brain into thinking you’re not in danger, because if you were, you would not be eating.” Just remember to spit out your gum before you start presenting in front of the class.

Help Your Memory

If you're cramming for an exam and are worried about remembering everything, “Chew gum when you’re studying, and then chew the same flavor when you take the test. This has been known to improve memory.” You'll start associating the facts with the flavor, so this hack might be the perfect excuse to try out that weird, new gum you've been eyeing at the convenience store.

Read Faster

Getting through long chapters in textbooks can be painful, but there's a way to speed up the process. Chewing gum while you read "can double or even triple your reading speed because it distracts brain signals from your eyes, ears, and mouth by giving them something to focus on.”

Pick Peppermint

“It’s been proven that peppermint stimulates brain activity and makes you concentrate better," so if you're just looking for a quick pick-me-up while you're deep in a study session, grab a pack of peppermint gum.

Prevent Puking

Peppermint gum, while great for studying, is also great if you had a bit too much fun outside of the library on Friday night. If you're feeling nauseous, or have the "urge to vomit," as Bradford delicately describes the feeling, go for that same peppermint-flavored gum you used to stimulate brain activity. "You can stop yourself by eating a mint or chewing minty gum."

Stay Awake

Some professors have strict rules about chewing gum in class, but they might want to re-think those anti-chewing rules after hearing about this hack. If you're dozing off during an interminable lecture, grab a pack of Big Red or anything with a spicy cinnamon. “Chewing cinnamon-flavored gum will keep you awake and alert.” So really, chewing gum in class is in everyone's best interest.

Clean It Up

Even if you're not a big fan of chewing gum, and are somehow not totally sold on all of these gum hacks, you still might step in someone else's spit out, chewed up wad of gum on the sidewalk or street, so this is a good hack for everyone to know. If you find some gum on the sole of your shoe, "Drop by the janitor closet and spray it with WD-40. It will come right off!”

Get It Off Fabric

There are few things more disheartening, or disgusting, than finding a stray piece of gum stuck to your jeans or, perhaps more commonly, somehow stuck inside of your purse. But with this hack, you'll be able to get it off without picking at it and making more of a mess. “Boil vinegar and pour it over the gum" that's stuck on the fabric. Then, "Use a brush to wipe off. The gum will come off instantly!”

Keep It To Yourself

Once your friends and classmates figure out all of these hacks, they'll probably be asking you for gum all of the time. But you can trick them by always keeping two packs on you: "One pack full of gum and an empty pack to show people you don’t have any.” But now that you know how a simple pack of gum can help you ace college, you'll probably want to have a few packs of gum on you at all times anyway.

Images: cycrolu, martinamelitta, nchica835, batterypower, owlbookdreams/Flickr; Pexels