Origins

• In 1908, American candy maker George Smith manufactured the first hard candy on a stick, which he named after a race horse called Lolly Pop, according to Lollies Galore. The name was the exclusive property of Smith until he stopped making the candies during the Depression.

Ingredients

• Encyclopedia.com reports that the most common ingredients in lollipops are corn syrup, flavorings, water, sugar and malic or citric acid.

Nutrition

• Though they are high in sugar, lollipops are typically fat free and are about 25 calories each, depending on their size.

Machinery

• The first machine used for automated lollipop production was made in Racine, Wisconsin in 1908. Those first machines made only 40 lollipops and hour, while machines used in the modern production of lollipops can make 5,900, according to the National Confectioners Association.

Celebration

• National Lollipop Day is July 20.

Largest Lollipop

• At 4,031 pounds, 18.9 inches in thickness and 15 feet in height, a cherry lollipop as tall as a giraffe was made on June 25, 2002.