How many journalists does it take to write about gum?

Six.

That wasn’t a setup to a joke. That was a reference to an actual article published this week by Washingtonian magazine.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer has an admitted addiction to gum. He chews about three packs of Orbit cinnamon gum every day before noon, and he swallows each piece.

“I talked to my doctor about it, he said it’s no problem,” Spicer told the Washington Post.

As strange as this is, it’s not really the sort of thing that deserves an investigative dive from a lone reporter. It certainly doesn’t deserve the combined efforts of a half-dozen professional writers.

But this is the world we live in today.

The Washingtonian article, titled “Some Disgusting Facts About Sean Spicer’s Disgusting Gum Habit,” lists four official bylines at the very beginning.

Two additional names are mentioned at the story’s conclusion, bringing the combined number of people who worked on this article to six.

I’ve written plenty of silly, tongue-in-cheek articles before. But I’ve never managed to take five of my coworkers down with me. I don’t think my editors would allow it. (Editor’s note: No, we wouldn’t.)

Six people worked on an article that’s barely more than 200 words. Seems appropriate that a magazine named for a city in which a bloated and inefficient bureaucracy grows ever more bloated and inefficient would feature a six-person story about bubble gum.