Names of researchers: Brittany Morgan, Tony Haberkorn Research Question: How many licks does it take to get to the

center of a tootsie pop? Hypothesis: If one unwraps a tootsie roll pop and licks 300 times, then they will be at the center of the tootsie roll pop. Background information: Before starting this experiment, the researcher should know of some potential risks. The one most common risk is the possible risk of cutting your mouth. The upper most part (roof) of ones mouth can be sliced by putting the tootsie pop directly in your mouth, licking it, and then pulling out of your mouth. The tootsie pop sometimes has little cracks within the lollipop where the candy may have not fully connected. These cracks are extremely sharp and can possibly leave ones mouth bleeding. These cracks of the lollipop may not only cut the upper part of the mouth, but the tongue as well. When one licks the lollipop, the tongue may slide up against the cut part of the lollipop, and leave a cut on the tongue. An Austrian born native, Leo Hirshfield, had built an enterprise without his knowing in the year 1896. (Titan Communications par. #1) He had started a candy store in New York City and devised a simple chocolate chewy treat named after his five year old daughter, Tootsie. These sweet treats are no bigger than half of your pinky finger; they were sold at a penny a piece and instantly became a hit. Since these sweet chocolate rolls were so popular, Leo Hirshfield decided to create a lollipop in 1931; they consisted of a hard candy shell with a sweet surprise on the inside of the shell. The sweet surprise was the original Tootsie and these lollipops only consisted of sixty calories! Since the birth of the Tootsie Pop, these lollipops are now the number one selling lollipops in the world. (Titan Communications par. #2) these sweet candies came in 5 different flavors that consisted of: Chocolate, Cherry, Orange, Raspberry, and Grape. As these 5 flavors were the original, they expanded the flavor choice and soon came out with more exciting flavors. These lollipops have been around for over 80 years with the Tootsie Roll Industry producing over 62 million Tootsie candies a day. Annual sales are said to be around a half a billion dollars as this Tootsie Company is recognized as the worlds largest candy producers. In the fall of 2009, Tootsie Roll Pops became certified kosher, coining the phrase now jew (you; with an added heavy hebrew accent) too can eat Tootsie Roll Pops as a rabbi pops out from the lower portion of the television screen and points his finger at the audience of modern day Tootsie Roll Pops commercial viewers. In 1970, Tootsie Roll Industries aired one of the most famous TV commercials of all time, featuring a boy trying to ascertain how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop. George Waksman decided to conduct an experiment on his own in 2009 to find out. Mr. Waksman had graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in Research Assistance and Software Engineer.; he is currently a Software Engineer at Google. Not only was he an assistant system administration for Marine Biological Laboratories, but also a Math Software Engineer at Fluidity Software Inc.

Materials: [what materials would your team need to conduct your experiment?] 1 Tootsie Roll Pop (your flavor of choice) per person more than 2 People (or however many people you deem fit) Procedures: 1. Stand at the position of attention, or in an upright position. 2. Pick up your tootsie roll pop in either hand (left or right.) 3. Make sure the white stick is engulfed by four fingers (*whoever is doing the experiment* a thumb is not a finger.) 4. Hold tootsie roll pop so that the wrapped lollipop is pointing upwards, towards the sky. 5. Unwrap the lollipop with the hand that is not holding the sucker. *This means taking the paper that is protecting the lollipop off.* 6. The lollipop is shaped like a saucer and the broader parts will be referred to as sides. 7. Lick one side of the tootsie pop* 8. Rotate the tootsie pop to the other side 9. Repeat step seven and eight until the hard candy is completely dissolved. 10. Record Results** *A lick is when your tongue is run across the Tootsie Rolls Pop; sucking is strictly prohibited in this experiment. The tongue need not, necessarily, be retracted into the mouth between individual licks. ** Recording your results: follow the table provided; you will write down the trial number, the name of whoever is doing the experiment (contributor) the date in which you did the trial, the color of the lollipop used in the trial, and the number of licks it took to get to the center of the lollipop.

Contributor

Trial #

Trial Date

Color

# of Licks

Timeline: It should take roughly around two hours to research the entire project.

Results are as follows: 1. Contributor George Waksman George Waksman Jared Coffman Megan Cohen George Waksman Rachel Dillon Megan Cohen George Waksman Jared Coffman Rachel Dillon 2. 3. References: Company History. Titan Communications. Web. 2013-11-27 The Original Tootsie Pop. Titan Communications. Web. 2013-11-27 Waksman, George. Tootsie Roll Pops: How many licks? George Waksman. 2004-2009. Web. 2013-11-27 Trial # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Trial Date 2004-05-21 2004-05-22 2004-05-23 2004-05-24 2004-05-24 2004-05-24 2004-05-29 2004-07-10 2004-07-12 2004-07-16 Color Blue Red Dark Red Orange Purple Brown Blue Red Blue Green # of Licks 474 522 233 590 765 799 601 141 392 414