Chewing Gum

OK. I've spoken to Mr. Bennett twice about this, and he probably thinks I've gone off the deep end because of how silly it sounds, but hear me out. Chewing gum seems to have a big part in Dr. Strangelove. General Buck Turgidson is frequently shown stuffing his mouth with it. In the airplane when Kong is reading off the list of supplies, he says that there are 9 packs of chewing gum. In a brief scene that shows Mandrake locked in the office with Ripper, Mandrake is sitting on the couch with something in his hand. Look sharply at it. It looks an awful lot like a stick of gum.

So yes, it is possible I am looking for mysteries that don't exist, but you cannot say my reasoning is flawed. There is a lot of chewing gum in this film. But what could it possibly mean? Does it have something to do with being nervous? Certainly that is why Turgidson is chewing so much, and that could be why Mandrake is seen stroking a stick of gum. And if your plane goes down and you land in Russia and you happen to be alive, you may be a little scared and want to pop some gum in your mouth. Or is this just a case where "the cigar is just a cigar"? I really want to hear some feedback, but please try to avoid calling me crazy.