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Stacy Conradt
Sweet Talk, Day Two: Tootsie Rolls
by Stacy Conradt - October 25, 2007 - 12:16 PM

sweet.jpg

Every weekday until Halloween, I’ll be offering up trivia treats about sweets you’re likely to encounter on October 31st. Today we’re talking about Tootsie Rolls.

tootsieroll.jpg1. Tootsie Rolls were introduced in 1896. They get their name from creator Leo Hirshfield’s daughter, whose nickname was Tootsie.

2. The Tootsie Pop was introduced in 1931.

3. There are 62 million Tootsie Rolls produced every single day.

4. Tootsie Rolls were the first wrapped penny candy.

5. Tootsie Rolls were included in soldier rations during World War II because they could withstand any weather condition.

6. Ellen Gordon was named president of the company in 1978. She was the second woman ever to be named president of a company traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

7. Tootsie Roll Industries also owns Andes Mints, Junior Mints, Blow Pops, Caramel Apple Pops, Charleston Chew, Dots, Double Bubble and Sugar Babies.

8. The Tootsie Roll costume pic is courtesy of BuyCostumes.com.

Tomorrow: Candy Apples. Yesterday: Snickers.

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Comments (4)

  1. I’m actually eating some right now.

    Also, whatever it is I think I see today for some reason turns into a tootsie roll. Weird.

    posted by Dusty on 10-25-2007 at 1:16 pm

  2. If you take one part orange serbert and one part chocolate ice cream, and make a milk shake, it tastes like a tootsie roll

    posted by Mandie on 10-26-2007 at 1:08 am

  3. I graduated from The College of Wooster. At Woo, each senior receives a tootsie roll upon completing his or her senior independent study thesis. I kept the wrapper!

    posted by Lindsay on 10-26-2007 at 8:03 am

  4. Some Interesting History:
    In 1935 the company was in serious difficulty. Its principal supplier of paper boxes, Joseph Rubin & Sons of Brooklyn, concerned about the possible loss of an important customer, became interested in the possibility of acquiring control. The company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange, but Bernard D. Rubin acquired a list of shareholders and approached them in person in order to purchase their shares. The Rubins eventually achieved control and agreed that Bernard would run the company as president. Bernard D. Rubin was able to steadily increase sales and restore profits, changing the formula of the Tootsie Roll and increasing its size, moving from Manhattan to a much larger plant in Hoboken, N.J., and guiding the company successfully through the difficult war years when vital raw materials were in short supply. When he died in 1948 he had increased the sales volume twelvefold. After his death his brother William B. Rubin became president and remained president until 1962. In 1966 the company adopted its current name of Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc.

    posted by TootsieRollFan on 12-24-2008 at 1:50 pm

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