Getting to the Center of a Tootsie Pop

I remember being a kid and wondering the answer to that age old question, "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop?"

I always tried to figure it out - but after about a dozen licks, I'd grow impatient and CHOMP into it. So, for me, it was a dozen. That commercial, which debuted in 1970 and still runs to this day, is a big memory for me. They've made different versions, but I recently saw the original, with the wise old Owl, and it brought me right back to my childhood.

Minus the Holly Hobbie lunch box and the braces and the glasses - it was still the same.

I was super duper excited to get to challenge my younger children - could they withstand the pressure? Could they avoid crunching into the hard candy coating to get to the chewy Tootsie Roll Pop center - and could I join them?

I was ready to take one for the team - and then I noticed something really weird. When I dumped out the bag - out of my kids' sight - there was not ONE chocolate pop. NOT ONE. Those are my FAVORITE, the ones I jumble through the Halloween punkins for, the ones I hide in the bottom of my purse in order to have on bad days, and there wasn't a single one in the bag.

The original five-flavor mix--Chocolate, Cherry, Orange, Grape and Raspberry--has been expanded to include a new sixth flavor that alternates among Pomegranate, Banana, and now Green Apple flavored hard candy.

But my bag had no chocolate.

Emma chose Blueberry

Riley chose Cherry

And Gabe chose Grape!

I asked my kids how many licks they thought it would take. Emma said 1 million, Riley said 1000, and Gabe - well, he had a slightly more complicated answer.

And what were the results?

Emma finished in 205, Riley in 312, and Gabe - well, I'll let him tell you himself.

Each of you is invited to enter the "How Many Licks?" video contest where readers can win prizes by submitting a video which answers the ""How Many Licks Does it Take to Get to the Center of a Tootsie Pop?"" question. This was super, super fun for us, as you can see above. The contest begins October 1, 2012 at 2:00 a.m. PT and ends on October 25, 2012 at 11:30 p.m. PT .

HOW TO ENTER:
Access either the Tootsie Roll or Tootsie Pop Facebook pages, Like the Fan Page, click the How Many Licks Contest tab, and click Submit Entry. Then, follow the instructions to enter by uploading your How Many Licks video. There will be weekly winners, a grand prize winner, a funniest video winner and a viewersí choice winner as stated in the attached graphic of your post.

Comments

[Karen]

LOL LOVE it!

[Cheryl]

So cute!!! He's adorable and his explanation is just so ... so ... boy.

[Kathie M]

lol. I gave my 2 and change year old one of those for a car ride this weekend. He was still happily smacking away as we reached our destination...an hour and 15 minutes away. He was about down to the center. He hands them to me at that point anyway because he doesn't like the tootsie center. Go figure.

[Kristin @ Mommy Miscellaneous]

Gabe is so smart and so adorable! I loved his explanation. :) My kids LOVE tootsie pops.

[Megan]

LOL. I think Gabe needs to turn this into a science project! There are endless variables he could create.

[seanysuds]

Amazing contest! Jackson will be ready to take it on in a few years :P

[Red]

Tootsie Roll Pops are known for the catch phrase "How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?". The phrase was first ...