According to the National Confectionery Association, prehistoric beekeepers were likely the first to make something similar to a lollipop when they licked collected honey on a stick. Today millions of lollipops are produced daily in all kinds of shapes, sizes and flavors.
Origins
In the 17th century, the British reportedly boiled sugar to create hard candy which they ate on ornate sticks. These were the first "modern" lollipops.
Name
Etymologists believe the word lollipop was first used by British street vendors in 1784.
Process
A lollipop is made by dissolving sugar and corn syrup in heated water. Flavorings are added and the mixture is kneaded together. Each batch is either shaped by hand or machine and placed on a stick to cool and harden.
Mass Production
The Racine Confectionery Machine Company made the first machine to mass produce lollipops in 1908. It could make 2400 an hour.
Lollipops Today
A company? can make 3,000,000 lollipops a day.
Fun Fact
The largest lollipop ever made was over 60 inches in diameter, almost 19 inches thick and weighed more than two tons.

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