Charger Opinion

How many licks does it take?

Leigh Ivey, Editor-in-Chief

With the many controversial opinions that fellow staff members have written, I decided to lighten the mood.

This article isn’t about rap music. It isn’t about teams at the high school or the issue of cheating or anything else that is serious in the least.

I hope.

I decided to discuss something that doesn’t matter in the least-- Tootsie Roll Pops. What could be less controversial?

Whoever came up with the ingenious idea to take a Tootsie Roll and put it in the center of a sucker was truly a mastermind.

Although other various items have been inserted inside pops, the chewy chocolate candy is definitely the best idea.

Everyone remembers those commercials that showed an old owl telling a small child that he could count how many licks it would take to get to the center of the Tootsie Roll Pop.

The sly owl takes two licks before biting into the pop--a simple solution.

Until recently, I was never able to make it all the way through a Tootsie Roll Pop without biting it in half.

I don’t know what it is about lollipops that makes people want to bite them...I wish I had the answer.

The other day, resisting the temptation to once again take a big bite out of my grape (I guess the blue wrappers mean the sucker is grape...or maybe blueberry? I don’t know.) sucker, I managed to get all the way through.

I wish I had counted how many licks it took, although after about fifty I most likely would have given up.

Recently a new type of Tootsie Roll Pop has been created. These dumdum size suckers are the perfect answer to the dilemma of counting the licks to get to the center--or simply making it to the center.

This brings me to another important point. Why in the world did it take them (whoever “them” is I don’t truly know) so long to realize that they should make plastic sticks for suckers rather than paper?

Paper sticks unroll, rip, or disintegrate. And who wants to taste paper when enjoying a nice Tootsie Roll Pop?

No candy is more original than a Tootsie Roll Pop. With an assortment of colors and flavors, Tootsie Roll Pops are one of the greatest inventions in the history of the world (excepting running water...and air conditioning...and electricty...okay, so maybe not one of the greatest inventions, but what can you do?).

When you start to get too stressed about school, relationships, or articles in this paper, take a minute to enjoy a Tootsie Roll Pop. And this time, try to get to the center.

Article prepared for web by Shawn Robbins