July 20th, National Lollipop Day, is an annual observation of this popular and flavorful treat.

Ever delightful and sweet, lollipops have been satisfying the sweet tooth for generations and possibly for centuries. They may have been a way to preserve nuts and berries in honey during prehistoric times. Much later when sugar was plentiful, lollipops appeared 16th century Europe.

In the United States, confectionaries and medicine shops as early as the 1860s sold lollipops in various forms, but it wasn’t until 1908 that George Smith gave lollipops an official 20th-century story. He gets credit for inventing the modern style lollipop and in 1931 trademarked the name which he claims came from his favorite racing horse, Lolly Pops.

They range from the small size, which can be purchased by the bag full and are also given away at banks, barber shops and parades, to the very large ones that are made out of candy canes twisted into circles.

LOLLIPOPS IN POP CULTURE

1934 – In the movie Bright Eyes, Shirley Temple sang the song “On the Good Ship Lollipop”.

1939 – The Wizard of Oz brought us a world of characters, including the Lollipop Guild. Armed with a giant spiral sucker, The Lollipop Guild welcomed Dorothy to the Land of Oz.

1969 – How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop. The Tootsie Pop (the trademark name for Tootsie Roll’s lollipop) commercial debuted on U.S. television. The 60-second commercial included a boy, cow, fox, turtle, owl and the narrator.

1973-1978 -The lollipop-loving detective, Kojak, from the TV series of the same name, softened the tough guy while at the same time, toughened up the lollipop.