# Licking Tootsie Pops **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 5, 2001, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-tootsie-pops/85486 "2001-10-05T01:18:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![j0j0c0uchp0tat0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dc4da7/32.png) [@j0j0c0uchp0tat0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j0j0c0uchp0tat0)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-tootsie-pops/85486/1 "2001-10-05T01:18:49Z")
How many licks does it really take to get to the center of a tootsie pop? Now don’t go 1, 2, 3ing on me. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-tootsie-pops/85486/2 "2001-10-05T01:22:28Z")
The world may never know. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![nineiron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e56c9b/32.png) [@nineiron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nineiron)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-tootsie-pops/85486/3 "2001-10-05T01:31:57Z")
I’ve never seen anyone actually lick them. Everyone I know tends to suck them. (We are still talking about Tootsie Pops here.) ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-tootsie-pops/85486/4 "2001-10-05T01:59:52Z")
[http://www.tootsie-roll.com/FAQ.html](http://www.tootsie-roll.com/FAQ.html) [http://www.tootsie-roll.com/memoriesLicksMachine.html](http://www.tootsie-roll.com/memoriesLicksMachine.html) > [@](#): > > Based on the wide range of results from these scientific studies, it is clear that the world may never know how many licks it really takes to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop. As such, this isn’t really a GQ. Off to MPSIMS. bibliophage moderator GQ ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-tootsie-pops/85486/5 "2001-10-06T01:47:34Z")
whew. I made this my mission. I stayed home from work even…it is THAT important. it is exactly 87,368 and 3/4 licks. ---
**Author:** ![Odieman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a87d85/32.png) [@Odieman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odieman)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-tootsie-pops/85486/6 "2001-10-06T01:49:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bad News Baboon \* > \*\*whew. > > I made this my mission. > > I stayed home from work even…it is THAT important. > it is exactly 87,368 and 3/4 licks. \*\* Cite!!! ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-tootsie-pops/85486/7 "2001-10-06T01:56:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bad News Baboon \* > \*\*it is exactly 87,368 and 3/4 licks. \*\* I did this experiment with 4 different Tootsie Pops and got the following results: Orange pop: 54,218 Cherry pop: 60,872 Grape pop: 56,940 Orange pop again (I like the orange ones): 55,853 Average licks to get to the center: 56,970 and 3/4 licks. Way less than yours. Maybe my tongue is bigger or I have a more efficient licking technique. ---
**Author:** ![Angkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@Angkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angkins)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-tootsie-pops/85486/8 "2001-10-06T02:00:53Z")
1 lick 2 licks 3 licks 4 licks 5 licks 6 licks - CRUNCH!!!\* DAMN! Now I have to start all over again 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-tootsie-pops/85486/9 "2001-10-06T02:01:48Z")
maybe your tongue is lumpier? ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-tootsie-pops/85486/10 "2001-10-06T02:03:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bad News Baboon \* > \*\*maybe your tongue is lumpier? \*\* That’s just a bizarre thought. **Crunchy Frog’s** tongue: ribbed for her pleasure. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-tootsie-pops/85486/11 "2001-10-06T05:07:25Z")
If you ever do manage to get all the hard candy licked off you can then throw the soft part against the wall and try and get it to stick. On a side note for how long have they been running that “Mr. Owl? …” commercial. Is this the longest running commercial or what? ---
**Author:** ![Shera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Shera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shera)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-tootsie-pops/85486/12 "2001-10-06T05:47:56Z")
I did this when I was a kid. I did it in shifts, though so my result were probably affected. I still remember that it took me 90,237 licks to get to center. What can I say, I lived in a small town and there really wasn’t much else for me to do. ---
**Author:** ![Iguana\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@Iguana\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iguana_Boy)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-tootsie-pops/85486/13 "2001-10-06T16:06:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Crunchy Frog \* > **Crunchy Frog’s** tongue: ribbed for her pleasure. \*\* HEY! I got the patent on that! As to the OP - Tootsie and I are just goods friends… ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-tootsie-pops/85486/14 "2001-10-06T21:25:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Iguana Boy \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Crunchy Frog \* > > **Crunchy Frog’s** tongue: ribbed for her pleasure. \*\* > > HEY! I got the patent on that!\*\* How can you patent _my_ tongue? ---
**Author:** ![Swampwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Swampwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swampwolf)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-tootsie-pops/85486/15 "2001-10-06T22:01:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Crunchy Frog \* > \*\*Orange pop: 54,218 > Cherry pop: 60,872 > Grape pop: 56,940 > Orange pop again (I like the orange ones): 55,853 > > Average licks to get to the center: 56,970 and 3/4 licks. > \*\* It took you in the 50-60 **thousand** range? Maybe they’re different now, but when I was younger (about 7 or ) I tried it and was completely freaked out by the number I got (I swear to any and every god you care to suggest, this is completely true!) – 666 licks. ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-tootsie-pops/85486/16 "2001-10-06T22:10:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by blessedwolf \* > \*\*It took you in the 50-60 **thousand** range? \*\* So were you licking on just one side of the Tootsie Roll or all around it? I think it’s a matter of varying licking styles. ---
**Author:** ![Anubis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@Anubis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anubis)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-tootsie-pops/85486/17 "2001-10-06T22:21:07Z")
Hmmm… None. I hat Tootsie pops. I like tootsie rolls and lolliepops, just not Tootsie pops. Just like me and chocolate milk. Love chocolate, love milk, hate chocolate milk. Wonder why that is? [sym]lahblahblahblahblahilovethisthing![/sym] ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-tootsie-pops/85486/18 "2001-10-06T23:29:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bobevilsquid \* > \*\*Hmmm… None. I hat Tootsie pops. \*\* how does one hat a tootsie pop? doesn’t it get all over your hair? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2001, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-tootsie-pops/85486/19 "2001-10-07T00:25:58Z")
Well, let’s ask a form letter I found on Usenet that Tootsie Roll was sending out to people in the late 1960s. Form letter? > [@](#): > > Dear Friend, > > We received your letter about Tootsie Pop licks, > And now we are in a most terrible fix. > The reason, dear friend, is easy to see. > Out of thousands of letters no two lickers agree! > > Said one, ‘Tell your Tootsie Pop TV commercial inventor > That I carefully licked to the Tootsie Roll center. > From first lick to last the taste was just fine, > And the licks totalled three thousand seventy-nine.’ > > But another said, ‘Sirs, when my licking was done, > I had counted to only four hundred and one.’ > > Can we say to the world that _your_ number is right? > If we did, we’re afraid we’d be in for a fight. > > But what made the differences do you suppose? > Was it partly the Tootsie Pop flavor you chose? > Was it the length of your tongue? The shape of your knees? > Your color of hair? The way that you sneeze? > > Whatever the reason that no licks agreed, > The lickings say something which all kids should heed. > And that is, _your_ answer is good, just as good as can be. > As good, my friend, for _you_ … as _my_ answer’s for _me_! > > Thanks for your letter. We hold it most dearly. > Believe me, I speak from my heart, Most sincerely, > Albert H. Lewis, Consumer Relations ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2001, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-tootsie-pops/85486/20 "2001-10-07T00:31:13Z")
Also, to answer another question that came up, according to Tootsie Roll Industries’ web site, Mr. Owl has been pondering the answer to this question since 1970. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/licking-tootsie-pops/85486.md?page=2)