Answer · confidence: partial
Was the famous lick test done by a machine or a person, and how?
Research question: Did a machine or a person perform the lick test shown in the famous commercial, and how was it set up?
The commercial is documented only as showing a boy asking a wise owl how many licks it takes to reach the center of a Tootsie Pop 3. The facts do not say whether a person or a machine performed the lick test shown on screen, or how that test was set up. Later, researchers at NYU's Applied Mathematics Lab simulated the licking process using lasers, flow tanks, and high-speed cameras 1, a study originally designed to examine how pills dissolve or landscapes erode rather than lollipops specifically 2. The newest fact provided dates to 2015, about eleven years before October 2026 5.
Checked 2026-10-21. Only documented and supported facts are used.
Dig deeper on this questionSources
[1] supported
Researchers at NYU's Applied Mathematics Lab used lasers, flow tanks, and high-speed cameras to simulate the licking process.
"several researchers at NYU’s Applied Mathematics Lab set up an elaborate experiment involving lasers, flow tanks, and high-speed cameras, in hopes of answering that question."How Many Licks Does It Take to Get to the Center of a Tootsie Roll Pop?
[2] supported
The experiment was originally designed to study how pills dissolve or landscapes erode, not specifically lollipops.
"Actually they were aiming to study how pills dissolve or landscapes erode—but the math and physics apply to lollipops as well."How Many Licks Does It Take to Get to the Center of a Tootsie Roll Pop?
[3] supported
The famous commercial depicted a boy asking a wise owl how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop.
"Those that can remember the classic 1969 commercial of a boy asking the "wise" owl how many licks it would take to get to the chewy chocolate center can finally rest at ease."Experts discover how many licks it takes to get to center of Tootsie Pop - ABC7 New York
[4] supported
Mathematicians at New York University solved the conundrum of how many licks it takes to reach the center of a Tootsie Pop.
"In perhaps the most important scientific study in the past 36 years, mathematicians at New York University have solved the conundrum."Experts discover how many licks it takes to get to center of Tootsie Pop - ABC7 New York
[5] supported
Graduate student Jinzi Mac Huang determined that it takes 1,000 licks to make it through one centimeter of candy.
"Good Morning America reports that graduate student Jinzi Mac Huang determined that it would take 1,000 licks licks to make it through one centimeter of candy, which is about half the length of a Tootsie Pop."Experts discover how many licks it takes to get to center of Tootsie Pop - ABC7 New York