science

Gobstopper

Gobstopper is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gobstopper rather than just read about it. In short: A gobstopper, also known as a jawbreaker in Canada and the United States, is a type of boiled sweet. It is usually round and usually ranges from 1 to 3 cm (0.4 to 1.2 in) across, although gobstoppers billed as having a diameter as large as 3.25 in (83 mm) have been marketed.

Key takeaways

Gobstopper belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Gobstopper to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Gobstopper from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A gobstopper, also known as a jawbreaker in Canada and the United States, is a type of boiled sweet. It is usually round and usually ranges from 1 to 3 cm (0.4 to 1.2 in) across, although gobstoppers billed as having a diameter as large as 3.25 in (83 mm) have been marketed. The term "gobstopper" derives from "gob", which is slang in the United Kingdom and Ireland for mouth. The sweet was a favourite among British schoolboys in the first half of the twentieth century; author Roald Dahl, who wrote about a jar of gobstoppers featuring in the prank he played in his local sweet shop in 1924, also referred to them in his fictional Everlasting Gobstopper, a candy in his 1964 children's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Gobstoppers have been sold in traditional sweet shops for at least a century, often by weight from jars. As gobstoppers dissolve very slowly, they last a very long time in the mouth, which is a major factor in their popularity.

Manufacturing

Gobstoppers are made by slowly depositing layers onto a core, such as a pressed ball of sugar, a single seed of anise or a gumball. Gobstoppers are made in large, rotating, heated pans in a process known as "hot panning". The sweets take several weeks to manufacture, as the process of adding liquid sugar is repeated multiple times. Natural and artificial colours and flavours are also added during the panning process.

Everlasting Gobstoppers

The Everlasting Gobstoppers, sold under Nestlé's Willy Wonka Candy Company brand, were first introduced in 1976 by Breaker Confections and are named after the Everlasting Gobstoppers in Roald Dahl's children's book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In Dahl's story, Everlasting Gobstoppers last forever. Dahl named the sweet after gobstoppers, which were a favourite among British schoolboys between the two World Wars. A jar of gobstoppers featured in the prank Dahl played on the owner of his local sweet shop in 1924, which he recorded in his autobiography Boy: Tales of Childhood.

In popular culture

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory In the 1964 children's book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl described "Everlasting Gobstoppers," a fictional gobstopper that could never get smaller or be finished.

Ed, Edd n Eddy The animated series Ed, Edd n Eddy revolves around jawbreakers. Most episodes feature the titular characters running a variety of scams to earn money to buy the confections. The jawbreakers themselves are depicted as comically oversized, often with a circumference larger than that of the heads of the characters; a character's cheeks would swell to the same size when the jawbreakers are placed in their mouths. Jawbreakers are also the main subject of one of the series' tie-in video games, Ed, Edd n Eddy: Jawbreakers!.

Jawbreaker The 1999 American teen comedy Jawbreaker centers around the main characters accidentally killing their friend after gagging her with a jawbreaker.

Lawsuit

In 2003, Taquandra Diggs, a nine-year-old girl in Starke, Florida, US suffered severe burns, allegedly from biting on an exploding Wonka Everlasting Gobstopper that had been refrigerated, left out in the sun, then refrigerated again. Diggs and several other alleged victims' families filed lawsuits against Nestlé for medical bills resulting from plastic surgery as well as pain and suffering. This was later settled outside of court for an undisclosed amount.

See also Everlasting Gobstopper Aniseed ball Atomic Fireball Benne ball Humbug Hard candy

References

External links Media related to Gobstoppers at Wikimedia Commons

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gobstopper

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gobstopper claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gobstopper before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gobstopper ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gobstopper

In research: Gobstopper appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gobstopper in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gobstopper is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics British confectionery, British inventions, Candy, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gobstopper outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Gobstopper in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gobstopper means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gobstopper out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gobstopper in simple terms?

Why does Gobstopper matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gobstopper?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gobstopper.