Three Licks on Screen, 364 in a Study, and No Settled Answer

In short
The Tootsie Pop was invented in 1931 by an unnamed employee of The Sweets Company of America, which later became Tootsie Roll Industries, and it debuted that same year 3334. Its chewy Tootsie Roll center came first, invented in the late 1800s, but it was not paired with a hard candy shell until the 1930s 4145. The original 1970s commercial featured Mr. Owl, who claimed he needed only three licks to reach the center 38. Purdue University research later contradicted that claim, finding it takes around 364 licks 3538. In September 2025, Tootsie Roll revived the mystery with a refreshed commercial, in which Mr. Owl still bites on the third lick 4510, and the official count remains undetermined after five decades 8.
A Candy Born in 1931
The Tootsie Pop was invented in 1931 by an unnamed employee of The Sweets Company of America, later Tootsie Roll Industries, and it debuted that same year 33. Other sources give the same 1931 date for the first Tootsie Roll Pops 34.
The chewy center came first. The Tootsie Roll at the middle of the lollipop was invented in the late 1800s, but it was not paired with a hard candy shell until the 1930s 4145.
The Owl Gives an Answer
The original Tootsie Pop commercial, which aired in the 1970s 38, featured Mr. Owl, who was voiced by Paul Winchell, a ventriloquist also known as the voice of Tigger 586263. In that ad, Mr. Owl needed only three licks to reach the center 38.
The original 1970s Tootsie Pop commercial claimed that Mr. Owl needed only three licks to reach the center 38. That claim was later contradicted by Purdue University research, which found it takes around 364 licks to reach the center of a Tootsie Pop 3538.
Corporate Mystery, Classroom Experiments
In its 2012 annual report, the company described its 'How Many Licks?' commercial as long-standing and said it ran on cable television during that year 49. The same year's digital campaign ended with a video contest asking consumers for testimonials on the 'enduring question' 50.
Where Things Stand Now
In September 2025, Tootsie Roll revived the mystery with a refreshed version of the 1970s commercial, planned to run on TV, YouTube, and social media through Halloween 45. The company's Chief Operating Officer, Henry Mills, said the refresh honors the company's heritage 9. In the remake, Mr. Owl still bites the Tootsie Pop on the third lick 10, and the official count is still described as undetermined after five decades 8.
Still unknown
The Purdue 364-lick figure is the only named research count in the checked evidence, but its study date, sample size, tester method, and controls are not stated, and no independent repeat is documented.
The checked evidence contains no controlled machine or human lick trial for the Tootsie Pop, so the lane on how tests were run and who ran them is still thin.
The 411-lick figure appears in the research questions but no checked evidence item verifies it, so its origin and reliability remain open.
Whether today's candy size, shape, or formulation matches the 1970s test conditions is not established by any checked source.
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Sources
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"Center-filled gum lollipop with hard candy shell."MXPA03006488A - Center-filled gum lollipop with hard candy shell ...
"According to Tootsie Roll's newest commercial, the world still may never know."Tootsie Pop's 'How Many Licks' commercial gets a makeover - NBC New York · saved copy
"Tootsie Roll revisited a five-decade-long mystery with the release of a refreshed version of its 1970s"Tootsie Pop's 'How Many Licks' commercial gets a makeover - NBC New York · saved copy
"The remake will run from now until Halloween on TV, YouTube and social media, allowing fans old and new to revisit the decades-long mystery"Tootsie Pop's 'How Many Licks' commercial gets a makeover - NBC New York · saved copy
"means for rotating the clamping means so that the loose ends of the wrapperwill be twisted about the stick at the base of the head."US1530171A - Wrapping machine - Google Patents
"by which the top andbottom sides of the wrapper are first folded down against the lollypop and then the side edges are folded under, one upon the other."US1530171A - Wrapping machine - Google Patents
"As for the eternal question? After five decades, the official lick count is still TBD."Tootsie Pop Reveals "How Many Licks" Ad Update—Read Fan ... - Delish
"“Nostalgia continues to be a driving force in today’s culture, and few characters are as iconic and fun as Mr. Owl,” said Henry Mills, Chief Operating Officer at Tootsie Roll Industries. “Refreshing the ‘How Many Licks’ spot honors our rich heritage and brings the story to a new generation of candy lovers.”"Tootsie Pop Reveals "How Many Licks" Ad Update—Read Fan ... - Delish
"Mr. Owl didn’t change his methods—chomp at lick No. 3—but Tootsie Pop’s refreshed “How Many Licks?” spot just landed with sharper animation and updated voice work"Tootsie Pop Reveals "How Many Licks" Ad Update—Read Fan ... - Delish
"The lesson covers mean, median, mode, range, outliers, tables, graphs, box and whisker plots, data collection, pre and post discussion questions, experimental procedures, and student reflection."Tootsie pop licks - TPT · saved copy
"consistency is key to results. You can decide as a whole class what licking technique to use and the definition of "the center", or for a more advanced approach, have individually groups of students mak"Tootsie pop licks - TPT · saved copy
"Only TWO materials needed: *1 sucker per student (Choose a type: small ones, Blow Pop , or Tootsie Roll Pop ) *1 printed paper"Tootsie pop licks - TPT · saved copy
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"contacting such sugar with gas at a pressure of 50 to 1,000 psig for a time sufficient to permit incorporation in said sugar of 0.5 to 15 cm 3 of gas per gram of sugar"US4289794A - Process of preparing gasified candy - Google Patents · saved copy
"The gasified candy, when placed in the mouth, produces an entertaining but short-lived popping sensation. As the candy is wetted in the mouth the candy melts and the gas escapes."US4289794A - Process of preparing gasified candy - Google Patents · saved copy
"When the solidified gasified candy is fractured by the release of pressure from the preparation vessel, the resultant granulated pieces are irregular, randomed-sized pieces having the appearance of pieces of broken glass or what might be termed sharp-faced pieces of gravel."US4289794A - Process of preparing gasified candy - Google Patents · saved copy
"Lower melt temperatures promote larger gas bubbles because both the viscosity and the surface tension of the melt is increased as the temperature is reduced and bubble diameter is proportional to both viscosity and surface tension."US4289794A - Process of preparing gasified candy - Google Patents · saved copy
"High moisture levels result in a soft, sticky matrix which rapidly liberates the entrapped gas and is thus not storage stable."US4289794A - Process of preparing gasified candy - Google Patents · saved copy
"Students will be able to apply the steps of the scientific method to the prompt “How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?”"PDF The Scientific Method - A Tootsie Pop Experiment · saved copy
"For this experiment, students will each get one tootsie pop and will record the number of licks that it takes for them to reach the center of the tootsie pop. Once the students have completed their experiment, they will share their results with the class. As a group, the class will calculate the overall average of their results."PDF The Scientific Method - A Tootsie Pop Experiment · saved copy
"How did the way you licked your Tootsie Pop impact the number of licks it took?"PDF The Scientific Method - A Tootsie Pop Experiment · saved copy
"Did you reject or fail to reject your hypothesis? (Hypotheses can never be proven with 100% accuracy, so instead of saying, “I proved my hypothesis” it is more correct to say, “I failed to reject my hypothesis.”)"PDF The Scientific Method - A Tootsie Pop Experiment · saved copy
"They will then form a Question based off of the company's famous slogan, "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? The World may never know." Students will then form a Hypothesis."Tootsie Pop Lab: The Scientific Method of Eating a Tootsie Pop · saved copy
"An answer key follows to help teachers guide students to discover that they all ended up with different data."Tootsie Pop Lab: The Scientific Method of Eating a Tootsie Pop · saved copy
"Problem/Question: How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop?"DOCX Tootsie Pop Lab - Weebly · saved copy
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"The soft center 11 is substantially entirely surrounded by the hard outer shell portion 13 of the lollipop 1 and the lollipop stick 9 passes substantially through or entirely through the soft chewy center 11"CA2782257A1 - A deposited hard shell and soft chewy center candy and ... · saved copy
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"A yet still further embodiment of the present invention is to develop an operational standard for manufacturing of deposited lollipops on standard glucose and sugar recipes at about a 31 gram weight which develops an output of about 250-300 lollipops per minute."CA2782257A1 - A deposited hard shell and soft chewy center candy and ... · saved copy
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"In the early days of the Tootsie Pop Drop, the candies were actually sold in tubes rather like Lifesavers, and so there were no unique wrappers used for the individual candies."Tootsie Pop Drops History & Origins | SnackHistory · saved copy
"This same theme was again promoted on popular cable television programs airing our long-standing How Many Licks? Tootsie Pop commercial."10-K TOOTSIE ROLL INDUSTRIES INC (TR, TROLB) (CIK 0000098677) 2013-03-01
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"We strive to make our venerable brands available to consumers in a wide variety of presentations and"10-K TOOTSIE ROLL INDUSTRIES INC (TR, TROLB) (CIK 0000098677) 2013-03-01
"lolly pops and like candy have been offered to the trade wrapped in a plain sheet of parafiined paper with the wrapper only inclosing the candy part of the lolly pop."US1348761A - Candy-wrapper - Google Patents
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"In 1988, the Charms Candy Company was sold to Tootsie Roll Industries"Charms Candy Company
"In the 1960s besides making other Holiday candy lollipops they also produced Charms "Jellies" and Chuckles Gum Drops."Charms Candy Company
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"The stick 6 is entirely edible and is made from compressed candy 16 and a multiplicity of confectionary chips 18 interspersed in the pressed candy 16 ."US6345977B1 - Method and apparatus for manufacturing 100% edible ...
"the stick is provided with a dividable end and a candy retention end, the major portion of the stick being dividable into two elongated halves by insertion into a compact lollipop container"US20040258804A1 - Lollipop stick, a lollipop container and a method of ...
"The lolly pop can be removed from the wrapper by withdrawing the same from the end of the skirted body portion by the stick, thus leaving the wrapper intact and capable of being used for the purpose specified."US1348761A - Candy-wrapper - Google Patents
"The complete lollipop assembly 1 includes a plastic sleeve 20 surrounding the stick 6 ."US6345977B1 - Method and apparatus for manufacturing 100% edible ...
"the compact lollipop container being further provided with a reunification device, whereby on opening of the container and withdrawal there from of the candy said two elongated stick halves pass through the reunification device and are firmly rejoined thereby to form a substantially straight rigid stick supporting said candy"US20040258804A1 - Lollipop stick, a lollipop container and a method of ...
"As heretofore practised, lolly pops and like candy have been offered to the trade wrapped in a plain sheet of parafiined paper with the wrapper only inclosing the candy part of the lolly pop."US1348761A - Candy-wrapper - Google Patents
"The object of the present invention is to provide a wrapper which will not only act as a protection for the candy but at the same time so construct the same as to offer unusual inducement to the purchaser of the candy in that aside from purchasing the candy they are in reality purchasing a paper doll"US1348761A - Candy-wrapper - Google Patents
"The sleeve 20 is preferably transparent."US6345977B1 - Method and apparatus for manufacturing 100% edible ...
"optionally wrapping said candy"US20040258804A1 - Lollipop stick, a lollipop container and a method of ...
"said closure is readily removable and replaceable by children to allow storage of a partially consumed lollipop"US20040258804A1 - Lollipop stick, a lollipop container and a method of ...
"The lolly pop is illustrated as comprising a piece of candy 6 having the usual stick or handle 7."US1348761A - Candy-wrapper - Google Patents
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