Why 32?

32 Chews is a travelogue about driving across America after months of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gwenn and I worked at home during lock down, and we found ourselves eating quickly so we could get back to business. At some point we made an effort to eat more slowly, and we started chewing each bite 32 times.

At the same time, Gwenn and I got hooked on watching YouTube travel vloggers. We enjoyed being able to virtually adventure, even though we weren’t going out much at all, and that inspired me to document our road trip so that other home-bound people could travel along with us.

After getting vaccinated (and thinking the pandemic was coming to an end), we drove across the country in the summer of 2001 to go visit our west coast family. It had been several years since we’d seen them. Since we didn’t feel safe flying, we camped our way across America instead.

Why 32?

Chewing your food 32 times (mastication) inspires you to slow down, taste all the flavors, and digest nutrients efficiently. It’s fun, try it!

In the late 1800s, Horace Fletcher came up with the idea that people should chew food 32 times before swallowing. The practice became known as “fletcherizing,” and it attracted die-hard followers including Upton Sinclair, John D. Rockefeller, and Theodore Roosevelt.

While Horace Fletcher had an influence on our travels, the real inspiration came from the following video makers:

- SQUEEZEtheDay
- Nomadic Noms
- Jennelle Eliana
- Sarah Yak

My goal in making 32 Chews was to simply create without getting too precious about the process, or the product. It was fun composing the music, and shooting and editing the videos. I hope you enjoy traveling along with us. Thanks for watching, and adventure wherever you are!