Science FINALLY Figures Out How Many Licks it Takes

Once upon a time a small, oddly drawn young man approached a wise, old owl to inquire just how many licks it would take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop.  Seeing his chance to enjoy a whole sucker, the nasty, greedy, hateful owl licked once, licked twice, licked thrice, and then chomped down on the sucker, ingesting the whole sugary mass in one fell swoop.  He then gave the remains of the sucker, the bare stick, back to the boy saying, "Three."  The commercial ended just as the child was about to cry.

So, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?  Science took a break from curing cancer and solving our water crisis to finally put to rest the years of speculation.