The history of the lollipop,

It appears the origin of this hard candy treat is controversial. At least, credit for mass production of lollipops is contested by Wisconsin and California, while the origin of the "candy on a stick" concept is even less clear. The Pocket Oxford Dictionary of Current English (© Oxford University Press 1996), a lollipop is a "hard sweet on a stick. [Origin uncertain]". Perhaps the lollipop is rather like the wheel - we know someone was first to invent it, but we'll never know who it really was.

Automating Lollipop Making. Racine, Wisconsin, claims credit for the first sucker speedup. According to their web site, "When an East Coast candy maker wanted to find a way to put hard candy on a stick in 1908, the Racine Confectioners Machinery Co. answered the call. The local company invented a machine to automate the process of making suckers, fast becoming a favorite treat. The machine could make 40 lollipops a minute, and the Candy Company figured it could produce in a week all the suckers it could sell in a year."

There is not enough data to resolve WHO automated the lollipop-making process; much less who was the first to put a stick into hard candy to convert a lozenge into a lolly pop. Nevertheless, here are some facts from the National Confectioners Association:

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