Tootsie Pop facts for kids
A Tootsie Pop is a popular hard candy lollipop. What makes it special is that it's filled with a chewy, chocolate-flavored Tootsie Roll inside! In some places like Latin America, it's called "Tutsi Chupa Pop."
Tootsie Pops were first created in 1931. An employee at The Sweets Company of America came up with the idea. He was licking his daughter's lollipop while also chewing a Tootsie Roll. He loved the combination and shared his idea with the company. The original Tootsie Roll candy itself was invented much earlier, in 1896, by Leo Hirschfield. The company that makes them changed its name to Tootsie Roll Industries in 1969.
These candies are made in huge numbers! In 2002, about 20 million Tootsie Pops were produced every single day. That's a lot of lollipops!
Contents
Famous Commercials and the Big Question
Tootsie Pops are famous for a question asked in their commercials: "How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?" This phrase first appeared in an animated TV commercial in August 1969.
The Original Commercial
In the first commercial, a curious boy asks different animals this question. He asks a cow, a fox, and a turtle. Each animal tells him to ask someone else, saying they would just bite the lollipop instead of licking it.
Finally, the boy asks a wise-looking owl. The owl offers to help figure it out. He starts licking an orange Tootsie Pop. But after only three licks, he bites into it! The boy walks away, saying, "If there's anything I can't stand, it's a smart aleck." The commercial ends with a narrator asking, "How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop? The world may never know."
This original commercial was 60 seconds long. Shorter versions, 30 seconds and 15 seconds, have been shown many, many times over the years. The 15-second commercial is still shown today!
Newer Commercials
In the 1990s, new commercials were made. These showed a boy asking a robot and a dragon the same question. The famous phrase was slightly changed to "How many licks to the center of a Tootsie Pop?"
Fun Facts and Experiments
Over the years, people have tried to answer the famous question: "How many licks does it take?"
Wrapper Rumors
A rumor once spread that if your Tootsie Pop wrapper had three unbroken circles, you could get free candy or even other prizes. This wasn't true, but some stores did give away free pops if kids brought in these wrappers!
Another rumor said that wrappers with a "shooting star" (showing a child dressed as a Native American aiming a bow and arrow at a star) could be traded for a free lollipop. This was up to each store owner, not the company. For example, some stores in Iowa City, Iowa, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, used to give away candy for these wrappers. Tootsie Roll Industries now sends a short story called The Legend of the Indian Wrapper to kids who mail in these special wrappers.
Lick Tests by Students
Many students have tried to find the answer!
- A study at Purdue University used a "licking machine." It took an average of 365 licks to reach the center. When 20 students tried it themselves, it took an average of 253 licks.
- Another study at the University of Michigan found it took 412 licks.
- Students at Swarthmore College in 1996 found it took about 146 licks. The number of licks varied from 70 to 222.
In 2014, scientists at the University of Florida also studied this! They looked at how the lollipops wore down. They found that it took about 195 licks if you licked one side. If you licked the whole surface, it took about 184 licks. So, the exact number can depend on how you lick!
Tootsie Pop Flavors
Tootsie Pops come in many delicious flavors!
Tropical Stormz
- Strawberry/Banana
- Citrus Punch
- Berry Berry Punch
- Lemon/Lime
- Orange/Pineapple
"Wild Berry" Assortment
- Wild Apple Berry
- Wild Blueberry
- Wild Black Cherry
- Wild Cherry Berry
- Wild Mango Berry
Other Flavors
Some flavors are rotated in and out, or sold in special bulk packages:
- Pomegranate
- Blueberry
- Lemon-Lime
- Blue Raspberry
- Watermelon
- Strawberry
- Strawberry-Watermelon
- Pineapple
- Tangerine
- Fruit Punch
- Strawberry-Vanilla
- Wild Blackberry
Seasonal Flavors
- Candy Cane (for Christmas)
- Caramel (for Halloween, but sometimes sold all year)
"Sweet & Sour Bunch" Pops
These come in a mix of sweet and sour flavors:
- Sour Apple
- Sour Blackberry
- Sour Blue Raspberry
- Sour Lemon
- Sweet Cherry
- Sweet Grape
- Sweet Orange
- Sweet Raspberry
Tootsie Fruit Chews Pops
These have a hard candy shell with a chewy fruit chew center:
- Orange Pop with Lime Center
- Strawberry Pop with Lemon Center
- Lemon Lime Pop with Orange Center
- Blue Raspberry Pop with Cherry Center
Other Tootsie Treats
Tootsie Roll Industries makes other fun candies too!
- Tootsie Rolls: These are the original chewy chocolate candies that inspired the Tootsie Pop.
- Tootsie Pop Drops: These are smaller Tootsie Pops without the stick. They are easy to carry around.
- Pop Drops Assortment: Blue Raspberry, Cherry, Chocolate, Orange, and Grape
- Candy Cane Pop Drops (seasonal)
- Caramel Apple Pops: These are flat lollipops with apple-flavored hard candy covered in a chewy caramel layer.
- Caramel Apple Pops (original Green Apple flavor)
- Caramel Apple Orchard Pops (Red Macintosh, Green Apple, Golden Delicious flavors)
- Charms Blow Pops: These are like Tootsie Pops, but they have bubble gum in the center instead of a Tootsie Roll!
- Charms Blow Pops Assortment: Cherry, Sour Apple, Grape, Watermelon, Strawberry, Blue Raspberry
- Super Blow Pops
- Blow Pops Minis
- Way-2-Sour Blow Pops
See also
