Tootsie Roll Pop: How Many Licks?

An Ongoing Investigation

Principal Investigator: George Waksman
Copyright ©2004-2009 George Waksman
Data Contributors: George Waksman, Rachel Dillon, Megan Cohen, Jared Coffman, Brad Shilling, Cassidy Verlie

Abstract

Since the invention of the Tootsie Roll Pop, many men (and women and owls) have asked the question, "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop?" Previous research seems to suggest that one can reach the center with three licks and a bite (ref: Mr. Owl), but this does not sufficiently answer the question. Ongoing research is being conducted, and preliminary results have been obtained, towards solving the problem.

Purpose

The purpose of the research that is being conducted is to systematically determine how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop.

Method

Materials

1 Tootsie Roll Pop
1 Person

Setup

Unwrap the Tootsie Roll Pop

Procedure

Lick* side** of the Tootsie Roll Pop
Rotate to other side** of Tootsie Roll Pop
Repeat from Step 1 until center is reached***
Record results

* - A lick is when your tongue is run across the Tootsie Rolls Pop; sucking is strictly prohibitted in this experiment. The tongue need not, necessarily, be retracted into the mouth between individual licks, though it has been found to be more pleasant for the experimenter with frequent tongue retraction.
** - Tootsie Roll Pops are shaped in a roughly saucer shape; the broader parts are being referred to as sides
*** - The center is determined to have been reached when licking yields the texture of Tootsie Roll, flavor of Tootsie Roll and the discoloration of Tootsie Roll is visible with reference to the candy portion. This eliminates false positives as a result of bubbles in the candy, oddly textured regions and seeing chocolate through candy

Data

Trial #	Contributor	Trial Date	Color	# Of Licks	Trial Duration
1	George Waksman	2004-05-21	Blue	474
2	George Waksman	2004-05-22	Red	522
3	George Waksman	2004-05-23	Dark Red	233
4	George Waksman	2004-05-24	Orange	590
5	George Waksman	2004-05-24	Purple	765
6	George Waksman	2004-05-24	Brown	799	14m
7	George Waksman	2004-05-24	Dark Red	585	9m
8	George Waksman	2004-05-25	Blue	539	11m
9	George Waksman	2004-05-29	Dark Red	610
10	Rachel Dillon	2004-05-29	Blue	601
11	George Waksman	2004-05-29	Dark Red	595
12	George Waksman	2006-07-10	Red	141
13	George Waksman	2006-07-10	Orange	544
14	George Waksman	2006-07-12	Blue	392
15	George Waksman	2006-07-13	Dark Red	378
16	George Waksman	2006-07-16	Green	414
17	George Waksman	2006-07-18	Dark Red	378	12m
18	Megan Cohen	2006-07-18	Brown	607
19	Jared Coffman	1988-06-13	Dark Red	272
20	George Waksman	2006-11-07	Orange	480	12m
21	Brad Shilling	2008-05-05	Dark Red	689
22	Cassidy Verlie	2009-04-14	Pink	572

Calculations

Minimum Licks

Since the obtained data represents the licking of both sides, the minimum number of licks for a given Tootsie Roll Pop is half (round up) the number of licks obtained in the trial

Mean

x_0 = 1/N * sum[x_i, i=1=>N]
double sided: x₀ = 508
single sided: x₀ = 254

Standard Deviation

s = sqrt[1/N * sum[(x_i-x_0)^2, i=1=>N]
double sided: s = 164
single sided: s = 82

Tabulated

Trial #	Total Licks	Minimum Licks
1	474	237
2	522	261
3	233	117
4	590	295
5	765	383
6	799	400
7	585	293
8	539	270
9	610	305
10	601	301
11	595	298
12	141	71
13	544	272
14	392	196
15	378	189
16	414	207
17	378	189
18	607	304
19	272	136
20	480	240
21	689	345
22	572	286
Mean	508	254
Std. Dev.	164	82

(I will try to add some graphs once I have a few more datapoints)

Conclusions

The data suggests that it takes approximately 508 licks to reach the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop when alternating the licking side. Since the procedure calls for equal licking of both sides of the Tootsie Roll Pop and completion is determined by core contact on either side, one could reach the core with fewer licks by focusing on only one side of the Tootsie Roll Pop. If one were to select the side closer to the core, it would theoretically require approximately 254 licks to reach the center.

The data also suggests a substantial variability in the number of licks required to reach the center, with a standard deviation of 164 licks for two sided licking and 82 for single side licking.

Error Sources

The small number of trials makes for a very large standard deviation. The standard deviation is so large, in fact, that it is not reasonable to assume the conclusions are accurate.

Further Research

More trials must be conducted to obtain more data points.

As other possible areas of research, one could look into the effects of tongue size, saliva production, tongue retraction and other variables on the number of licks necessary. The methods contained are easily adapted to further experimentaion.

Outside data contribution

Outside data contributions are accepted and greatly appreciated as long as the outlined procedure is strictly adhered to. Contributions may be made by sending details to waksman@gwax.com. Please include number of licks, trial date, lollipop color and contributors full name as incomplete contributions can not be used (trial duration is optional). Please do not contribute poisoned data.

References

Tootsie Roll Industries - Memories => How Many Licks?

Licensing, Reproduction and Use

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