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Lollipops are the standard sweet treat for children. Also called suckers, they come in many flavors, and can even have a surprise in the middle. Generations of children have enjoyed the lollipop as a treat. They have sung about it, talked about it, and improved it.
Supposedly the word lollipop came from a man in Connecticut named George Smith. Mr. Smith was a candy maker in the early 1900s. He decided to put a hard candy on a stick and name after a popular race horse, Lolly Pop.
As the treat caught on, Americans began calling them suckers, a name still popular today. The name lollipop might have fallen into disuse except for a movie called Bright Eyes in 1934. In a now-famous scene, six-year-old Shirley Temple sang the song "On the Good Ship Lollipop." Lollipop was here to stay.
Lollipops are very simple creatures. They usually contain four basic ingredients: sugar, water, gelatin, and flavoring. Oh, and the stick, of course.
Lollipops have no nutritional value. They belong solely in the fats and sweets category.
The most common variation is in the flavor and shape. Many lollipops have molded shapes and unique flavors. Two other variations are common enough to be mentioned here, too. first, the bubble-gum-filled lollipop, called the Blo-Pop. It features a center of bubble gum inside the hard candy. The other is similar, except that the center is a Tootsie Rool, called a Tootsie Roll Pop (for obvious reasons).
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