How can you be flying in space without chewing gum?

Space station springs a leak, prompting current resident Michael Foale to ask the question:

"Any regular sailing ship would have chewing gum on board to patch the leak, but we don't have any chewing gum. Someone left it off our menu. How can you be flying in space without chewing gum?"

Foale has faced bigger space quandaries; he spent some time on Mir before that pile of junk finally went to the big orbit in the sky (hmmm...that metaphor is missing something...) and was on board when it got rammed in 1997 by a supply ship.

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