July 20th is National Lollipop Day

If you're looking for something to do today then get ready for a little sweetness because it's National Lollipop Day!

Is your tongue ready for today?

Alright, let's get right into celebrating National Lollipop Day!

Why is this a holiday?

Well, it's another one of those dang "edible holidays" so I'm sure you can imagine why people want to celebrate lollipops today. Most of us grew up licking and sucking on these sugary treats and the love for them never seemed to die off. When you'd go to certain places like the doctor's office, you'd come out with a lollipop. Or if you did something good or behaved then you'd get a lollipop. So the act of consuming a lollipop is tied with a rewarding feeling that most of us might still feel a hint of. But since lollipops are so popular with people of all ages, they were bound to get their own holiday at some point.

But, as with a lot of other edible creations, people aren't sure when they were invented. Some people think that they came about in America during the American Civil War, but noble folk in the Middle Ages use to eat boiled sugar on a stick. So lollipops have been around for quite some time. But the modern version that we're use to is often attributed to George Smith in 1908. He said that putting his boiled sweets on a stick made it easier to consume and named them after a racing horse called Lolly Pop. Which is a name that had been around since 1784 to refer to soft candy, not hard candy.

But what are lollipops, right? Well, if you've been living under a rock, you might not know that they're just flavored sugar and corn syrup that's heated up, has a stick popped in it and then it's cooled back down until it's hard again. The fact that they are on a stick does make it easier to consume, especially if you don't want to eat it all at once; you can pop it back in the wrapper. But I really don't need to explain any of that to you, now do I?

Which flavor would you like?

So, how can you celebrate today?

Well, if you're cheap you can always head over to places like the doctor's office or the bank and just "check in" to see how things are. And as you go to leave, grab yourself a lollipop, you shady punk! But seriously, if you're heading there anyway, you've got your celebration covered. And if you've got kids, then why don't you make them all feel awesome today and break out some lollipops just because you're glad that they're your kids.

But if you really love lollipops then I think you should to your local candy store or the candy aisle in your grocery store and stock up on some sweets. Grab your favorite kind or explore a little and get some lollipops that you never popped in your mouth before. And you could even have a little fun today and figure out one of the world's greatest mysteries. How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop? Gather up some friends and lick in unison and find out how many licks it does take on average to reach that tootsie roll center.

Or, if you really feel like exploring, you can look for some weirdly flavored lollipops to sample today. You'll be surprised when you see some of the flavors and things people put inside of lollipops. I've seen Tabasco sauce lollipops... yeah, do you think you can handle that? So look around and see who can find the weirdest ones and then take turns finding out how good or bad they really are.

Enjoy your day and your sugar high!