TOOTSIE POP: Intensive Study Discovers How Many Licks It Takes to Get to the Center

The question that’s been plaguing children for decades: How many licks does it take to get to the center of a  Tootsie Pop? While the majority of us seemed to stop counting after a a few hundred, others have turned this equation into a real-life experiment.

A recent study conducted by scientists at New York University and Florida State University has yielded the answer. Researchers from both universities’ Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences department have immersed themselves in this sweet experiment.

By dunking the candy underwater and studying its effect on water currents, they were able to estimate the number of licks it takes to get to the center. This was done by theorizing the impact of flows on dissolving and shrinking the candy.

Creating the candy in a controlled lab, the team created many different spheres and cylinders replicating the 2-inch candy.

Their conclusion? About 1,000 licks. Give or take.

Sure, their method was a little more practical than sitting in a room with countless Tootsie Pops licking away into the night, but it’s for a greater cause.

The study’s relevance is to help them understand how materials dissolve, an important factor in pharmaceuticals.

As for us, we’ll stick to the ever-popular three licks and crunch.