Tootsie Roll Pops
No guide to Tootsie Rolls would be complete without mention of the popular Tootsie Roll Pop, or to the teeming masses of Tootsie Roll fans, just Tootsie Pop will do.
Created in 1931 by Tom Medric, an employee of what would become Tootsie Roll Industries, this non-perishable confection consisting of a hard candy outer coating and an original Tootsie Roll center has been almost as popular as its famous forebearer.
In 1970, Tootsie Roll Industried, through an advertising agency that was a fully owned subsidiary of TRI, launched a commercial that would prove one of the most enduring in advertising history.
In the commercial, a young lad visited various animals asking a now famous question:
Boy: Mr. Cow… Mr. Cow: Yeeeeesss?
Boy: How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?
Mr. Cow: I don’t know, I always end up biting. Ask Mr. Fox, for he’s much more clever than I.
Boy: Mr. Fox, how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?
Mr. Fox: Why don’t you ask Mr. Turtle, for he’s been around a lot longer than I? Me, heheh, I bite.
Boy: Mr. Turtle, how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?
Mr. Turtle: I’ve never even made it without biting. Ask Mr. Owl, for he is the wisest of us all.
Boy: Mr. Owl, how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?
Mr. Owl (voiced by Paul Winchell): A good question. Let’s find out. A One… A.two-HOO…A three..
(crunching sound effect)
Mr. Owl: Three!
Boy: If there’s anything I can’t stand, it’s a smart owl.
Narrator (Herschel Bernardi): How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?
(crunch sound effect)
Narrator: The world may never know.
After that airing, the owl became the mascot for Tootsie Roll Pops.
In the 1990s, the concept was modernized by having the boy ask a robot and a dragon, but none were ever as popular as the original.
The original Tootsie Roll Pop was chocolate flavor. Since its beginning, several others have been added. Among them are (including their wrapper color):
- Chocolate (brown)
- Cherry (red)
- Orange (orange)
- Grape (blue)
- Raspberry (purple)
- Strawberry (pink)
- Watermelon (green)
- Blue Raspberry (light blue)
- Pomegranate (orange with maroon text)
Oh By the Way
From www.TootsieRoll.com
“The Quest for the Answer
How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?
Since Mr. Owl first dared to unravel one of the confectionary world’s most puzzling secrets in the classic 1970 TV commercial, dedicated Tootsie Pop fans everywhere have tried to provide a definitive answer.
Many have attempted, and failed, to lick their way to the center of the Tootsie Pop. The temptation to bite and reach the embedded Tootsie Roll prize has proven too great… just like it was for Mr. Owl.
For the truly disciplined who have made it successfully to the center, Tootsie places them in its highest regard. And the pages linked below are dedicated to their valiant struggle.”
Lest you think this a foolish or meaningless question, unworthy of your time or consideration, consider this:
Engineering students at Purdue University created a ‘licking machine’ fashioned after the human tongue. Their machine averaged 364 licks to reach the center. At the same time, students undertook the challenge and they averaged 252 licks.
Big 10 rival, the University of Michigan was not about to be trumped by Purdue, so a chemical engineering doctorate student built a machine of his own. It required 411 licks.
With widely varying results, what is the actual answer to that age old question? The world may never know!