How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?
That is the question most of us 90's babies grew up with. I'm sure you or someone you know have tried to find the answer to that question (around 3rd grade?), and I'm sure at least some of you remember the commercials where the owl or whatever asks the question but ends up eating the entire tootsie pop before getting past 3 licks, but despite what number you have come up with or heard of, I have grave news for you. Just like doing recounts of ballots, there will never be a consistant answer. Ever. You see, there are so many factors contributing to the number of licks it takes.
Size is one factor. A tootsie pop just a hundredth of a milimeter bigger or smaller can add or subtract as much as (I'm assuming) 5 licks.
A second factor would be the acidity of the licker's saliva. Surely a more acid sliva will dissolve the outer layers of the tootsie faster than saliva of a more base content.
Tounge consistancy. A rough tounge will sand away at the pop faster than a soft tounge, no rocket science there..
Pressure is yet another factor. He/she who forces thy tounge upon the tootsie with the strength of a thousand mules shall reach the center faster than he/she who licks softly, as if to comfort a papercut.
Time. I am unsure as to whether fast licks have an advantage over slow ones, but surely there has to be some difference.
Density The temperature of the factory in which the tootsie pops are made is not impervious to chage, and as a result, the molecules within the tootsie pop may expand or contract just enough to effect a change of (and I'm assuming again) half to one full lick.
So, readers, my point is no two people/tootsie pops are exactly the same in every aspect, therefore there is no and there cannot be a solid answer to the age old question of how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop.