Science Has Finally Determined Just How Many Licks it Takes to Get to the Center of a Tootsie Pop [Video]

11 Feb, 2015 by Terresa Monroe-Hamilton

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Well, I can die happy now. The question of my lifetime has finally been answered… and no, it’s not three licks. Smart ass owl. Admit it… when you were a kid, you tried to do it, didn’t you? I think all of us did. I still love tootsie pops, although I long ago gave up counting licks. Typical American greed and impatience – just couldn’t hack delayed gratification and all that. But at least I didn’t go to the wild and start asking various animals about their eating habits. Nope – now I question politicians. Wait.

From Time:

Hint: it’s not three

Scientists have finally answered one of humanities most pressing questions: how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie pop?

Turns out, it takes an estimated 1,000 licks to get to the center of a lollipop. In a study recently published in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, researchers from New York University and Florida State University developed a theory for how flowing liquid dissolves and shrinks material which they then used to determine how long it would take to dissolve a lollipop. For Tootsie Rolls specifically, researchers told the New York Post, it’ll take about 2,500 licks. Go home, rest of the science world, there are no more questions left.

Though the lollipop finding is clearly the most pressing, the theory can also be used for important research in geology and pharmaceutical science, according to a report by Science Daily.

So, 1,000 licks, huh? Hmmm. I may have to try it just one more time. For science’ sake, I’m willing to take one for the team. I’m just that giving, y’all. Seriously, I’m sure the science can be used for other things as the New York Post points out. But, does that really matter? I mean, in the scheme of the universe? The question I have had gnawing at me for decades is now settled science. Now, if someone can just clarify the answer ’42’ to the ‘Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything,’ I may yet avoid a psychotic break. At least I know where my towel is.