“How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?”
This classic advertisement from the 1970’s shows a variation of our vintage candy for this week- Tootsie Rolls! 64,000,000 Tootsie Rolls are made every day, over 44,440 each minute, and approximately 740 a second.
This 122 year old candy was created by Leo Hirschfield, an Austrian immigrant, in Brooklyn. Hirschfield named his new candy after his daughter, Clara, whose nickname was Tootsie. The Tootsie Rolls began to be delivered by horse and buggy to a great number households in 1905. Tootsie Pops were created in 1931 and, still, 87 years later no one knows how many licks it takes to get to the center. They come in flavors such as orange, cherry, grape, and raspberry. In 1942, Frank Sinatra wowed our grandparents in a Tootsie Roll advertisement. People say that it was his favorite candy and he is rumored that he was buried with them.
Tootsie Rolls became an alternative to the classic chocolate known and loved by everyone, which would melt at temperatures starting at 85 degrees. This is why Tootsie Rolls became popular in the military. These classic sweets can withstand almost every environment on Earth, so soldiers would bring them as a part of their field rations to boost their morale.
Today, Tootsie Roll Industries has expanded and sells a great variety of candies, including Junior Mints, DOTS, Sugar Babies, Charleston Chews, and Double Bubble. But sadly, sales are not what they used to be for this iconic candy- so let’s go out and get a taste of the candy our great- grandparents ate before it’s too late!
Tootsie Roll Industries has their own social media pages! Feel free to follow, tweet, and like their pages @TootsieRollIndustries (Facebook), @TootsieRoll (Twitter), and @tootsieroll (Instagram)!
Sources:
http://tootsie.com/interactive-timeline/
http://mentalfloss.com/article/68805/12-sweet-and-chewy-facts-about-tootsie-rolls
I think the tootsie roll was a good choice of candy for your blog. It seems like a type of sweet that is applicable to many types of taste buds and people. If someone does not like chocolate, there are several other flavors to choose from, like you stated in paragraph 3. In addition, they are made small so that they can easily be transported or stuffed inside a pocket. Since you can carry so many at once, tootsie rolls are easily shared which creates a friendly environment in whatever setting you are in.
I think your comment about how tootsie rolls do not melt is an important fact. As a result, more of the product you are paying for goes into your mouth and is not wasted by melting on your hands.Therefore, it is more efficient.
I love that this is about candy. As a candy lover myself, it’s really interesting to learn about where they come from. I can’t tell you how many times I tried to figure out how many licks it took to get to the center of a Tootsie pop because of that ad. This is a really fun piece, and your comment at the end about sales dropping really made me think about the candy I gravitate toward. I can’t remember the last time I had a Tootsie roll, and this post really made me want to grab a bag of the fruit flavored ones!