Are you as GOOD as a 1st Grader?

How cool and cute and AMAZING is this? 6 year old Benjamin Hinkle of WV is raising money to buy Jolt Gum to send to troops overseas for xmas presents. Needless to say, we’re seeding and then matching his donations. Forget the part where it’s Jolt Gum – just imagine if our country had more kids (or people!) like Benjamin.

In remembrance of all U.S. veterans who have fought and sacrificed for us, we wanted to share this post from the Military Times Broadside Blog:

It was a day of peace.

November 11, 1918 was the day the guns were silenced. The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month marked an armistice between the Allied powers and Germany, marking the de facto end to World War I.

A year later, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed, “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…”.

Twenty Years later, on November 11, 1938, Congress added that the day should be, “…dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as “Armistice Day.”

But the war to end all wars, the war Congress proclaimed to be, “…the most destructive, sanguinary, and far reaching war in human annals”, never lived up to its billing. Many, many more men and women would lose their lives in wars to come.

In 1954, the day was renamed Veterans Day, to honor all of those who have served their country in uniform. While celebration of enduring world peace was a noble goal, it was more appropriate and proper that we honor those who have striven for peace with their service and blood.

Veterans Day

Today it is a day of honor, sadness, and dignity. There will be parades. There will be flags. And there will be memories. A ton of memories.

Those who lost their lives will be honored, but so will those who lived. They all raised their hands and swore to protect and defend the Constitution and the country whose course it directs. To them, that country has a face. It is the face of a mother who wakes up each morning with a prayer to keep her son or daughter safe. It is the face of a child who misses her parent, whose last words to her were, “I’ll be home soon.” It is the face of a friend, brother, wife. It is a small town who waits for its children to return home to a hero’s salute.

It is America.

Veterans are ordinary people who willingly confronted extraordinary events, because someone had to. They are still out there, on the frontier. To them, and to those who have served throughout the history of this nation, there is only one appropriate and proper thing we can say.

We can say thanks.

The uploaded, you voted, they won! Check out the results of our photo contest on Facebook! Congratulations to Runners Up Paula and Brady and Grand-Prize Winner Bryan!

Want to win a load of free gum? Head to our Facebook fan page and enter into our Photo Contest. It’s super easy! Just upload a photo of yourself chewing more and doing more, tell your friends to vote, and you could win!

Most of you may not have heard, but we’ve gotten a few emails about Jolt Cola’s Chapter 11 filing.  Never fear, this will have ZERO effect on Jolt Gum and mints.   Nor should it have any kind of long-term effect on Jolt Soda or Energy Drinks.  According to Reuters, it was all just a money thing.  OK, that’s obvious but read on and get the details:

A break from the usual programming to introduce ya’ll to Corporal Angel Cadena. Jolt Energy Gum is proud to announce that we are sponsoring him for the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge, an endurance race from the Florida Keys all the way to (no joke) Alaska, the proceeds of which go to plenty of deserving groups.

Corporal  Cadena enlisted in the Marine Corps in June  2006. Active duty and a Veteran of both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Angel is looking forward to the next phase in his life in which he plans on majoring in Political Science at Southern Connecticut State University and spending time with his newborn daughter. Here’s what he has to say.

The Challenge which will take place on June 20, 2010, is an endurance race from the Florida Keys to the Peninsula of Alaska.  The Hoka Hey Motorcycle challenge supports many military and civilian charities some of which include the Vietnam Veterans of America, Disabled Veterans of America, American Indian College fund and many others. The prize for being the first (hopefully me) to complete the challenge is $500,000 worth of gold.

I am looking for secure several sponsors to help secure entrance fee for other Veterans and myself.  Riding accessories to help on the long journey and just plain words of encouragement.  If you would like to sponsor me or one of the other veterans involved in the challenge  please contact beth.durham@hokaheychallenge.com with details of how you would like to support your troops. Thank you Jolt Gum for your sponsorship… Till We Speak Again — Angel Cadena.

A recent study found that caffeine can ease muscle pain! So next time you’ve worn yourself out, just chew more, then you can do more!

From Inquirer.net:

According to the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, the caffeine in coffee may lessen muscle pain by blocking the activity of a chemical called adenosine. This is released as part of the anti-inflammatory response to muscle injury which then activates pain receptors in body cells.

Researches had several men pedal on a stationary bike for a high-intensity workout. They were given 2-3 cups of coffee an hour before the workout.

Less thigh muscle pain was experienced by the men who had coffee than the group who were given placebo. Coffee may not be an urgent need before every workout, but if you are trying a new sport or exercise routine, a cup or two might just do the trick to prevent or ease muscle pain.

Image courtest of OnSugar.com

We’re proud to introduce our guest blogger. Please welcome Army Staff Sargeant Natasha Gibson. She’s currently stationed at Fort Dix in New Jersey. Though she’s from Southern New Jersey, Natasha says, “I was born in Germany and lived there with my parents for seven years. Yes, I am a military brat. I have been serving the U.S. Army for nine years exactly.”

The Push Up

I’ll finally took my first Army Physical Fitness Test since giving birth to my 8-month-old daughter on Dec. 29, 2008. Prior to getting pregnant, the push up part of the test was always a breeze. My goal was always to “max out” by hitting a level of 100 percent fitness for my age group by doing at least 45 push-ups in a two-minute period. “Too easy”

On Sept. 8, I took a PT test and discovered that what was once a quick 45 push-ups in well under two minutes turned into a slow 23 barely keeping myself from collapsing face first in to the dew-coated grass beneath me. I asked myself, “Am I still out of shape? Have all those months of training up after child birth been in vain?”

The answer I was given was “No.” I had just forgotten the correct form and thus worked twice as hard only to produce half the results. So I did some research and found this help video. In this video, two Army Drill Sergeants demonstrate how to execute the a correct “Army” push-up. Check it out.

From MilitaryTimes.com

The makers of Jolt Gum want to supply one lucky company with 100 packs of their minty, spill-proof caffeine delivery system.

To be the caffeine fairy of your unit, write OFFduty@militarytimes.com with a story of a recent accomplishment. A winner will be chosen randomly from the entries, which may be used on the Jolt Gum blog. But even if you don’t get any Jolt free, you can still get it at a discount: The company is offering 1-cent shipping to any APO or FPO address through October.

Ally Rosenberg makes sculptures…out of gum! From the Prestfield and Whitefield Guide.

Ally’s top grade in art owed much to an off-beat project last September, when he challenged 50 friends to chew 1,000 bits of gum in two weeks.

He then created a gum sculpture of an elderly woman he had met on a street in Manchester a few weeks earlier.

Ally said: “She was a charismatic old woman who had long ginger hair. She also had no teeth, so it was fitting that I should make the artwork out of gum.”

Ally with his sculpture