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Tootsie PopThe Tootsie Pop, also known as the Tootsie Roll Pop, is a hard-candy lollipop with a chocolatey, chewy Tootsie Roll filling at its center. The Tootsie Pop was invented in 1931 by the Sweets Company of America, which changed its name in 1966 to Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. In 1996, Tootsie Roll Industries celebrated its 100th anniversary. As of 2003, sixty million Tootsie Rolls and twenty million Tootsie Pops were produced every day. In 2004, Tootsie Roll Industries introduced smaller Tootsie Pop Minatures. The Commercial In 1970, Tootsie Roll Industries aired one of the most famous TV commercials of all time, featuring a boy trying to ascertain how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop. - Boy: Mr. Turtle, how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?
- Mr. Turtle: I never made it without biting, ask Mr. Owl.
- Boy: Mr. Owl, how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?
- Mr. Owl: Let's find out! One...two...three....
- Mr. Owl: Crunch!
- Mr. Owl: Three.
- Narrator: How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?
- Narrator: Crunch!
- Narrator: The world may never know.
How Many Licks? According to The official Tootsie Roll website, Tootsie Roll Industries has received over 20,000 letters from children claiming to have solved the riddle since the commercial first aired in 1970. The typical range of responses is between 100 and 5,800 with an average of 600-800. There is no official number, as everyone's saliva is different. According to Tootsie Roll Industries, there have been several scientific or pseudo-scientific studies attempting to answer the "How Many Licks?" question, including the creation and testing of two unique "licking machines" by engineering students at Purdue University and the University of Michigan. http://www.tootsie.com/memoriesLicksMachine.html Urban Legend Tootsie Pops traditionally were wrapped in paper with icons and symbols, including but not limited to, an American Indian with a bow and arrow. From soon after the introduction of Tootsie Pops in 1931 to the present day (currently generating about 150 letters a week http://www.snopes.com/business/redeem/tootsie.asp), a rumor has circulated that a wrapper containing the American Indian icon shooting a star could be traded-in for a bag of Tootsie Pops. According to Tootsie Roll Industries and web site Snopes.com, this rumor is an urban legend. However, according to Snopes.com, individual merchants have chosen to honor the wrapper legend over the years. http://www.snopes.com/business/redeem/tootsie.asp With the innovation and spread of the Internet and email, many queries to Tootsie Roll Industries are in the form of email. Below is the company's response, dated March 24, 2005, to one such query: Thank you for your interest in our Tootsie Pop wrappers. We are pleased to have an opportunity to tell the true story about our Tootsie Pop wrappers. Many years ago, a rumor surfaced that said if the wrapper of a Tootsie Pop with a star was found and returned to the company, a free Tootsie Pop, or any number of things would be sent to the lucky person. We truly don't know why or where this rumor started, as our records do not indicate that our company ever sponsored any type of promotion surrounding images on the wrapper. We hope we have been able to clarify this matter for you and we thank you for contacting us. References
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