My thought exactly. I hate when I'm on public transportation and someone is smacking on gum. Sometimes I fantasize I am invisible and I go up and smack them silly. One of these days I am going to muster up a burp and say it doesn't hurt anybody. Smacking gum, especially in public is rude. If I met the perfect man who chomped I would let him know early. If he didn't stop the relationship would have to end.

For everyone who says it doesn't "hurt" anyone when people chew with their mouthes open, it is not about hurting anyone...it is just TERRIBLY annoying. My roommate chews louder than anyone I know, I am not being hurt by him, but when I am trying to study or do anything and all I can hear is the distinct sound of chomping, it's very frustrating. And like many others have said, it is nearly impossible for my to stop hearing the chomping once it starts. I have been trying to figure out a way to tell my roommate but I haven't figured out how to do it without being too rude.

I just started seeing someone and she chews with her mouth open and makes noises and it annoys the crap out of me. I like her a lot but how the hell do I tell her about this. I don't want to introduce her to my friends because they'll have a fit when she does it. How do I approach this subject and not hurt her feelings?

My brother does this all the time, ticks me off so much.

Hey, if you are not a cow, please try not to chew like one!!!

My father makes all kinds of noise when he eats. I can not stand it. I imagine a giant pig sitting there. It is one of those times when murder should be legal. To add to it, he also gaurds his food, and shovels it into his mouth like someone is going to take it away from him. I timed him while he ate a whopper. Had it down in under a minute. Makes me want to feed him till he explodes.

Since each time Brittney Spears is interviewed, I see her pie-hole gnawing on some wad of gum, yeah, it's annoying.  What's worse is that it's some sort of cultural thing with people talking loudly enough to be heard over the din of the pit of the stock market, and snapping gum at the same time.  Such talent...where do we GET such people?  Ghetto/trailer trash are running the show now, aren't they...on any given weekend I could tell upwards of 20 people to knock off the cell phones on the elevators and to close their mouths when chewing gum, like their mommas told 'em, but there are millions more...and they all seem to come from America.  Y'all are gonna have to pick up the pace of your asswhoopin' activities, k?  I'm gettin' tired of carrying your and my load.  [;^p

Doesn't usually bother me because I don't pay attention.

I think of it like this. Animals smack their food. Chewing wih your mouth closed goes along with having opposable thumbs and walking upright.
There's no way that you should sound the same as your dog when you eat.

I can't stand it. My boyfriend does it and I don't know how to tell him it bothers me. I was taught to keep my mouth shut- I thought it was a universal habit you are taught when you are young? How do I tell him it drives me crazy without hurting his feelings?

What a great topic. I have heard many adults smack their food. I guess they were never taught properly to chew with their mouths close. Many a times I just want to walk up to someone when smacking food and smack them...not really but would love to if it were allowed!!

Oh boy, this is so annoying. Especially when there is an accompanying chewing noise. I am way to conscious of how I conduct myself in public to ever do this but some people just lack personal awareness. A continuous five minutes of this could proabably make a sane person anything but that!

Especially when you can see bits of meal flying out from their mouth and landing on what you are eating. Aghhhh

Pretty gross and also a cause of gas and indigestion.

Unless you cannot breathe through your nose and are risking self-suffocation to eat that hot dog, it's one of the worst.

absolutely disgusting. it's loud and gross. my mom does this ALL the time. i don't want to hurt her feelings by telling her, but it's so rude and sick. she does it on the phone too. she doesn't even know she's doing it. but it's so loud and so disgusting. this is the worst bad habit ever. ugh i get sick thinking about how gross it is.

i hate this.we were taught this is not acceptable at all. when i see someone doing this it makes me wonder how could you not tell you are doing this and not no its inconsiderate and gross

Pet hate. It angers me but I never complain. I want to because it really gets to me. My father does it, my flatmate does it. Good guys but I dont want to hear the food slopping around in peoples mouths. It`s fu*king loud too.

I don't mind seeing the food on your plate but no one wants to see what's in your mouth. If you enjoy eating with other don't do this.

This is a nasty habit. Just deny it.

One of the most sick things ever. No one wants to see that! I want a decent meal. I don't want to lose my appetite and throw up on whoever does this habit. So don't do it. Just let others have a decent meal.

Why let something so petty get to you? There's nothing wrong with it. Furthermore, for me at least, the food tastes better if you chew with your mouth open, due to oxidization. For example, if you drink something with breaths in between, won't the overall drinking experience be more enjoyable than if you were to drink the entire thing in one gulp? Same principle.

I can look away but I can't escape the maddening sound of the lips smacking together. I cured my husband and am now battling my seven year-old stepson. You can be sure the ones coming up will be trained early!

I can't say much more than has already been said, but chewing with one's mouth open is completely uncivilized, slovenly, careless, and phenomenally abnoxious! I cannot express the amount of disgust I feel when surrounded by people who weren't taught basic manners and courtesies by their families when they were children. It is completely unacceptable and despicable.

its a horrible habit. it can ruin a meal for those around them. i have a relative that eats with their mouth open and i have decided never to eat with them again. looking at the food in their mouth, the sickening sound of the mouth smacking, and the slurping. its just gross.

This is in the same boat as popping and smacking gum. HATE IT! Those gum/food smackers should be burned at the stake.

It is really hard to watch someone chewing with their mouth wide open. I just try to look away and I always wish I was somewhere else.

A gross and useless habit that should stop at childhood.

A problem I have at school and other social occasions is that there are other people who do not share the same table manners as me. A universal system of chewing with the mouth closed is what we need.

Whats with the whole thing of making noise when you eat? Why do we feel that we can't asked these people to stop doing it? Like were the ones in the wrong for being digusted, disturbed, sickened, sadness, annoyed, distroyed, i could go on, but you all know what is going on in my head when I hear those noises and see those jaws munching away. And why if you do ask someone to stop it, they seem to think it a good idea to then get closer to your ear and smack away. The years I have suffered with this. There must be help out there, somewhere, its has to be something more that just a noise i dont like, the kettle is almost over boiling.....

Does it really matter either way?If looking at someone chew with thier mouth open bothers you,look away.It's not like they're spitting it into your mouth or anything.

this is fun. unless you have braces...but if you ahve a normal mouth and chew mouth wide open, thats cool. jsut dont expect me to applaud you.

This has got to be one of the most stomach-turning things. When I was growing up, my family knew someone that always would chew with their mouth open. We would try to be polite when this person was eating while near us, however, sometimes I had to excuse myself from the room because it would just turn my stomach. Finally one day, I fed the dog potato chips and taped it eating. I played the tape for the open mouthed chewer, and then they realized just how bad they sounded. I told him then to add the sucking of the teeth sound to the smacking sound. To this day, some twenty years later, I STILL can not stand someone being so rude and crude. It is very offensive and unattractive to chew with your mouth open.

Oh aiye, there are others out there who cant stand noisy eaters. I cant describe how aggravated I feel when I hear someone slopping and slurping away - GGGGGGRrrrrr. Even seeing their jaw flapping around drives me mad. My sympathy goes out to all other 'sufferers'. Does anyone know anywhere you can get help - psychology, hypnotherapy, anything or any other websites about this? Matt.

Ah, there's nothing I enjoy more while eating a meal then seeing the chewed up food of the person sitting across from me.

I find this as an extremely rude habit. Granted, some people can't eat with their mouths closed...I don't hold anything against them, it's not their fault, but for the rest of them , there is no excuse. Be kind and CHEW WITH YOUR MOUTH CLOSED ! Thank you.

I know some people can't help it, especially if they have nasal problems and breathe through their mouth, but it is pretty gross to watch.

Sorry, but I don't like to see someone's food while thier eating. Completely disgusting, and so many people do it.

chew w/ your mouth open chew w/ your mouth close.... does it hurt you? sure doesn't hurt me

I sit next to a fairly attractive young black girl (23) at work.....imagaine having to hear her chew not only her gum but food with her mouth open like a COW!!!!! She slirps and has a unique way of smacking her lips together that makes her so unattractive. I've addressed the issue once, asking her to chew with her mouth closed...she must have not be taught as a child because she does it and apparently must not realize it. 1

Imagine laying in bed watching a movie with your significant other.You're all relaxed and content and the person next to you reaches for a candy bar or a bag of chips. The first bite isn't so bad until you hear the next and then the next! All of a sudden you can't hear what's giong on in the movie as you hear the sloshing around of food in someones mouth! It becomes more and more annoying as it seems it's never going to end! Anyway, it's gross and illmannered in every way. No one wants to hear or see the process of chewing food so keep it closed!

Probably one of the most annoying features someone can posses, not only is it disruptive it's really disgusting too.

I don't understand how people can eat with their mouths open! Surely they must know that the people around them find it disgusting and embarassing? And CastleBee, I'm in my early 20's and I do not eat or chew with my mouth open, I think this has more to do with intelligence than age or gender. What can be even worse is the sound that they make whilst chewing or eating - these people should be recorded whilst in the act then play it back to them so they can see how bad it looks!

I hate this habit like you would not believe. With the gum thing, I hate that too but I hate it even more when people in their 30s and 40s(9 times out of ten it is a woman). Grow up, why don't you? Someone said that this is the first thing that kids are taught. Well, my cousin sure hasn't taught her kids this. Her nearly five-year-old does it and it drives me NUTS. I should say something the next time I have the chance.

Personally, I think this is one of the worst. When you're eating with someone, and a big wad of food comes trickling down out of their mouth and onto the table, that is by no means an attractive sight.

yeecchhh

yuk!!!!!!

This is one of the worst habits I've seen people do. I usually lose my appetite whenever I see this. Worse place is in restaurants.

This is one of the basic things little kids are taught not to do. It's one thing that it's disgusting to watch food being broken up by the enzymes in your mouth, but it's another when you are talking while eating. Food particles get all over the person; thus giving unwanted special effects to the conversation. And the "chewer" also faces a higher risk of choking...thank God I know CPR!!!!

I don't do it - I find it repulsive, so is it abd habit or a bad habit that I hate? I think this was one of the first rules that parents taught you, even if you were raised in a trailer park like I was