So, how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?
A question almost as important as the meaning of life itself. Ok... maybe not, but stick
with us as we count down the Top 10 Untold Truths Of Tootsie Rolls And Tootsie Pops!
Mr. Owl
Mr. Owl was first featured in a 1970 commercial for the brand. The commercial also starred
three other animals - Mr. Cow, Mr. Fox, and Mr. Turtle - who revealed that, despite their
cleverness and life experience, they always end up biting a Tootsie Pop before getting
to the middle, much like the rest of us. Finally, Mr. Owl is asked, “How many licks does it
take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?” Mr. Owl—glasses, mortarboard,
and all—licks three times before finally biting the candy, declaring that it takes
three licks, much to the dismay of the boy asking. There’s actually a reason for Mr.
Owl’s animal form. Historically, owls are associated with wisdom. His creators really
wanted to emphasize that Mr. Owl was the smartest of all the animals, as indicated by his academic
cap, usually worn by graduates. He was created by the ad agency Doner and voiced by Paul
Winchell, a familiar voice in commercials and notable for roles such as Tigger from
Winnie the Pooh and Crackle of Rice Krispies fame.
Tootsie Rolls Are Over 100 Years Old
Tootsie rolls first entered the scene in 1907, after Leo Hirschfield, an Austrian immigrant,
patented the technique that gives Tootsie rolls their unique texture. They resemble
taffy or caramels but aren’t quite either confection. Tootsie rolls were the first penny
candy to be individually wrapped in America. It’s no wonder this treat became so popular,
especially among soldiers. The U.S. military valued them for their sustainability and hardiness.
They wouldn’t melt in the heat or go bad over time and were a source of “quick energy.”
In one instance, a pilot survived on Tootsie Rolls for three days after his plane was shot
down over the Sahara desert. Now, that's a sustainable candy. In 1950, during the Korean
War, “Tootsie Rolls” was the codename for mortar shells in the Marines. At the Battle
of Chosin Reservoir, the First Marine Division radioed for an airdrop of “Tootsie Rolls.”
You can probably guess what happened next. Instead of getting mortar shells, the boxes
were filled with the candy. Luckily, it boosted morale and kept the Marines sustained through
the below-freezing temperatures. They also discovered that chewed-up Tootsie Rolls could
patch holes in their vehicles’ fuel lines. (Talk about “DIY”!) Tootsie Roll's cousin,
the Tootsie Pop, became popular during the Great Depression because of their low cost.
Originally, they came in five traditional flavors: chocolate, cherry, raspberry, orange,
and grape. Tootsie Pops really do take lollipops to a whole new level by adding a chocolate-flavored
Tootsie Roll at the center of the hard candy. Not only is it tasty, but it’s fun to eat!
60 Million Tootsie Rolls A Day
In 2002, it was reported that over 60 million Tootsie Rolls and 20 million Tootsie Pops
were produced every day! Think about it, that's a lot of candy! Despite being around for
so long, Tootsie candies have managed to stay popular through the generations. One explanation
for this is likely their advertising. After their popular catchphrase, “How many licks
does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?" came out in the 1970s,
customers have kept coming back to answer the brand’s famous question. Of course,
their loveable mascot, Mr. Owl, has stayed in business ever since, with his no-fuss answer
of 3 licks. Tootsie confections are all gluten and nut-free, meaning they can be enjoyed
by even more people, especially those with food allergies. Unfortunately, they aren’t
vegan as they contain certain dairy products, but vegetarians should be able to eat them
just fine. As a testament to their popularity, the company claims to receive over 20,000
letters from children around the world yearly. You can probably guess what question they
keep asking.
Captain Tootsie
You’ve heard of Captain America, Captain Marvel, even Captain Underpants, but we can
bet you’ve probably never heard of this candy's ambassador hero: Captain Tootsie.
He was created for Tootsie Roll in 1943 and first appeared in Ace Comics #76. The comic
strips and books featured Captain Tootsie and his sidekick, a boy named Rollo, along
with two other cohorts (Fatso and Fisty) who together made up the Secret Legion. The Secret
Legion was a group of kids mentored by Captain Tootsie and often went on adventures. Captain
Tootsie, whose real name was Thomas Tootsie, had blond hair and wore a red T-shirt with
a yellow “T” in the middle, black pants, and yellow boots. He was known for having
superhuman strength and eating Tootsie Rolls as a power-up whenever he needed a boost of
energy. His adventures took place in the ‘40s and ‘50s, and at some point, even went to
space. The one-page Sunday strips were frequently featured by publishers and even made several
appearances in newspapers. The stories were light and “kid-friendly,” with Captain
Tootsie quickly and easily defeating his enemies. Even though the comics ended in the 1950s,
Captain Tootsie will always live on in our hearts as the OG mascot for Tootsie Roll candies
- no offence, Mr. Owl.
The Shooting Star Wrapper
This rumor has been going around for quite a while. No one is really sure when or where
it started, but legend has it, that if you find a wrapper with a Native American shooting
a star from his bow, you could get a free Tootsie Pop. While the company itself has
never offered this, some shops in the 70s and 80s honored this rumor on their own volition
but they eventually had to stop when it became too expensive for their business. According
to Tootsie Roll Industries, 1 in every 4 to 6 candy wrappers has the shooting star, which
is just as frequent as any of the other images appear. It's easy to see why this type of
promotion would be ridiculously costly. In the 1980s, the brand began distributing the
short story, The Legend of the Indian Wrapper, as a consolation prize to children who had mailed
in their star wrappers. It is also said that it was Mr. Owl’s idea to add the shooting
star to the wrappers. The story goes that he was sitting on his branch one night when
he saw a shooting star in the sky. This gave him the idea to add the star to the wrappers
in order to give fans the necessary luck that may be needed to discover how many licks it
takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop. So, even though you don't get a free lollipop
from the star wrapper, at least you’re getting some well-deserved good luck!
How Many Licks Does It Really Take?
This truly is the question that has plagued many generations. An absurd amount of studies
have been conducted with generally wide or inconclusive results. Letters to the company
have been written, and household experiments and competitions have taken place since the
question was first posed in the 1970s. Today, we give you the answer. Well, sort of. According
to studies and some YouTubers, there really isn’t just one answer. The number of licks
it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop is entirely dependent on so many factors.
The University of Wisconsin tallied up a theoretical average of 319.8 licks using mathematical
models. The University of Michigan had engineers create “an automated licking machine”
- whatever that means - and averaged out at 411 licks to reach the middle of the candy.
Purdue University came up with 364 licks. One YouTube Food Theorist insists that there
are more variables to take into consideration when conducting these experiments. For example,
saliva, mouth PH, mouth temperature, and texture of the tongue all play a role in how quickly
the candy melts down. With a team gathered, he concluded that it takes an average of 364.5
licks, which is on par with the results from the universities. However, while trying to
reach the middle with the least number of licks possible, it was discovered that heat
and saliva production are the biggest factors contributing to the rapid melting of the hard-shell
candy. So, there you go. A nice, general, inconclusive answer for ya. Of course, you
can always test it yourself and mail in your results to Tootsie Roll Industries, where
you'll be rewarded with a personalized Clean Stick Award from Mr. Owl himself!
A Revolutionary Candy
Tootsie Roll is undoubtedly a candy with a lot of tricks up its sleeve. It has had some
major breakthroughs ever since it was created in the 1890s. For example, They were pioneers
in the way candy is now sold. While today, individually wrapped candy sounds like Basic
Hygiene 101, it wasn't always the norm. In fact, Tootsie Rolls were the first candy to
be sold that way, all the way back in 1905. It represented a considerable advancement
in the food world and led to a whole new perspective on candy sales. Tootsie Rolls were also responsible
for solving a big problem that plagued candy makers back in the 20th century. As delicious
as chocolate confections were, during the hot summer days - before luxuries like refrigeration
or air conditioning were invented - it was impossible to keep them from melting in the
sun. Candy makers were constantly trying to come up with new solutions to keep chocolate
from melting in the heat, which was nearly impossible. While Tootsie Rolls aren't chocolate,
per se, they are a pretty satisfying chocolaty substitute when they remained intact during
those hot days, which basically gave them god-like status. No wonder they became so
popular so quickly. If you're the one still standing after the others have melted away,
of course, you're going to get the recognition you deserve!
Disturbingly Durable?
As we've established before, Tootsie Rolls aren't technically chocolate. They're kind
of like a mix between a taffy, caramel, and chocolate - and they aren't exactly a confection
either. They don't really have a real "category" yet. And since they don't have a food group,
it would make sense that they don't really have an expiration date either. Yes, all candies
have a relatively long shelf life - as they should - but Tootsie Rolls are surprisingly
in the lead when it comes to being the most durable. Melvin Gordon, a 95-year-old Tootsie
Roll Industries CEO, praised just how much the candy was indestructible before he died
in 2015. He claimed that they would still eat some of the candy that had been made back
in 1938 and that it still tasted as good as new. And if it happened to be too hard for
them to bite into, they would just lick it instead. The company has since continued to
boast about the candy's resilience, claiming it's the perfect candy since it travels well,
doesn't melt, and doesn't spoil. The perfect snack, indeed! So, those little Tootsie Rolls
you found in the bottom of the drawer from a few Halloweens back, well, chances are,
they're still technically good. Who would've thought!
Lawsuit?
Every successful major company is bound to see its fair share of lawsuits over the years,
and Tootsie Roll Industries is no exception. In December of 2018, a class-action lawsuit
was filed against the company for the use of partially hydrogenated oil (PHO) in their
candies, a food additive banned by the FDA. The company claimed Tootsie Rolls and Tootsie
Pops were safe for consumption, but PHOs are known to cause cardiovascular disease, cancer,
and Alzheimer’s disease. That doesn't sound so safe, does it? This type of oil comes from
soybeans and has added hydrogen atoms to extend shelf life and keep food from breaking down.
PHOs, while less expensive than animal fats, are the “primary dietary source of artificial
trans-fat in processed foods”. Although trans-fat occurs at low levels naturally in
meat, dairy products, and other edible oils, there’s a reason for the big stink made
about it. Consuming too much of it can lead to heart disease and other complications.
The FDA extended the compliance date for the termination of the use of PHOs until January
2020 for products that were produced before June 18th, 2018. Tootsie Roll Industries has
since respected this deadline and, as of now, the list of ingredients for both Tootsie Rolls
and Tootsie Pops does not include the additive anymore. Yay for us!
All The Flavors
While the original flavor for both Tootsie Rolls and Pops is chocolate, the candies have
since expanded to include a multitude of different flavors. Fruit Chews are essentially bite-sized
Tootsie Rolls that come in variety bags. If you happen to really love these candies, they’re
sold in different sized bags, with the largest being four pounds! (That’s over 270 individually
wrapped pieces of candy!) While Tootsie Roll flavors are pretty standard, Tootsie Pops
are on a whole other level. There’s Blackberry, Caramel, Orange, Strawberry-Vanilla, Banana,
and Pomegranate, just to name a few. There are also seasonal flavors such as Candy Cane
around Christmas time; Vanilla-Cherry for Valentine’s Day; Purple Punch for Easter;
and Candy Corn around Halloween. Tootsie Rolls are sold everywhere from supermarkets to vending
machines, and even dollar stores in over 75 countries. So no matter where you are, you
should be able to get your Tootsie fix.
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