Short answer: Mr. Owl says three, but only because he bites into it instead of licking it. In real life, studies put the average anywhere from 144 to 411 licks, depending on who (or what) is doing the licking.
Where the question comes from
The question is from Tootsie Pop's long-running TV commercial. A kid asks a wise old owl, Mr. Owl, how many licks it takes to reach the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop. Instead of licking it to find out, Mr. Owl takes one bite, reaches the center immediately, and declares "three", without ever actually counting licks. The joke is that he dodges the real question. The ad has run in various forms since the 1970s and remains one of the most recognized campaigns in candy advertising.
What real studies have found
Several groups have tried to answer the question for real, with no single agreed-upon number:
- Purdue University: A licking machine modeled after a human tongue averaged 364 licks. Twenty human volunteers averaged 252 licks.
- University of Michigan: A chemical engineering doctoral student's custom licking machine averaged 411 licks.
- Swarthmore School (junior high students): Human volunteers averaged 144 licks.
- Bellarmine University: Ran a controlled study of 130 participants, tracking results by gender, time taken, and even Tootsie Pop flavor.
Because lick count depends on tongue pressure, saliva, technique, and flavor, there's no single correct number. Tootsie itself says the world "may never know" for sure!
Bottom line
If someone's asking for Mr. Owl's answer, it's three. If they're asking for the real-world average, tell them it typically falls somewhere between roughly 150 and 400+ licks, depending on the study.