You know the owl. Everyone knows the owl. He sits on a branch, wearing a graduation cap for some reason, looking incredibly smug about his tenure in candy academia. He takes three licks of a Tootsie Pop, loses his patience, and just bites the damn thing. Then comes the narrator, that deep, gravelly voice of authority, delivering the line that launched a thousand internet shitposts: "The world may never know."
It’s a relic. Honestly, the original commercial debuted in 1970, which makes the the world may never know meme older than most people currently scrolling through TikTok. But somehow, it hasn't died. It transitioned from a piece of vintage Americana into a universal shorthand for life's most annoying, unsolvable, or straight-up stupid mysteries.
We’ve all been there. You’re looking for a straight answer, and instead, you get a shrug. That’s the core of the meme. It’s the ultimate "I give up" response. It’s the linguistic equivalent of throwing your hands in the air and walking away from a burning building.
The 1970 Hook That Stuck
Let's get the facts straight because the history of this thing is actually pretty wild. The commercial was created by the Doner Agency. It featured a little boy—usually referred to as "the boy"—asking various animals how many licks it takes to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop. He asks a cow. He asks a fox. They all tell him to ask the Wise Old Owl.
The Owl is a fraud. Let's be real. He claims he’ll find out, starts counting—"A-one, a-two-hoo, a-three"—and then crunch. He hands the stick back. He didn't even try.
This 60-second spot was supposed to be a simple ad. Instead, it became a psychological anchor for an entire generation. Why? Because it tapped into a universal human frustration: the expert who doesn't actually have the answer. The phrase the world may never know became a punchline because it was so dramatic. It’s a line you’d expect in a documentary about the JFK assassination or the disappearance of the Maya civilization, not a 5-cent lollipop.
From Television to Reddit: The Evolution
Memes aren't just pictures with white text anymore. They are vibes. The the world may never know meme evolved through several distinct phases.
First, it was just a "Gen X" reference. People would say it at the dinner table when someone asked where the TV remote went. Then, the internet got a hold of it. In the early 2000s, it started appearing on message boards like 4chan and Something Awful. Usually, it was a reaction image. You’d see the Owl’s face paired with a question that had no answer, like "Why did my girlfriend break up with me?" or "Where do all the left socks go?"
It’s about the absurdity of the "threes." The Owl only makes it to three. That’s the magic number of incompetence.
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Later, it moved into the "advice animal" era. You remember those? The colorful backgrounds with a central character? The Owl fit right in. But unlike the "Socially Awkward Penguin," the Owl represented a specific type of intellectual laziness. It became a way to mock people who pretend to be smart but have zero patience for actual data.
Why Does This Meme Still Rank on Google?
People are still searching for it. They really are. Part of it is nostalgia, sure. But a bigger part is that Tootsie Roll Industries—the actual company—kept the mystery alive. They actually receive thousands of letters from kids (and adults with way too much free time) claiming they’ve found the answer.
They even have a "How Many Licks?" page on their website. It’s brilliant marketing. They cite real scientific studies. For instance, a group of engineering students at Purdue University used a "licking machine" (yes, that’s a thing) and found it took an average of 364 licks. Meanwhile, a study from the University of Michigan used a different method and landed on 411.
So, when someone uses the the world may never know meme today, they aren't just referencing an old ad. They are participating in a 50-year-old prank.
The "Secret" Tootsie Pop Wrapper Legend
You can't talk about this meme without talking about the "Indian Star" myth. If you grew up in the 80s or 90s, you probably heard that if you found a Tootsie Pop wrapper with a picture of a Native American boy shooting a star with a bow and arrow, you could trade it in for a free sucker.
It was a lie. A total playground myth.
Tootsie Roll Industries has had to debunk this for decades. They’ve stated repeatedly that the star appears on roughly 30% of all wrappers and they’ve never offered a "free pop" program. But the myth fed the meme. It added to the "mystery." The fact that the company refused to play along just made the phrase "the world may never know" feel even more like a corporate conspiracy.
Variations That Actually Went Viral
Not every version of the meme features the Owl. Sometimes it’s just the text.
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- The "Calculated" Fail: You see a video of someone trying to do a complex math problem, failing miserably, and the screen fades to black with the narrator’s voice.
- The Gaming Glitch: When a character in a game like Skyrim or Cyberpunk 2077 suddenly flies into the stratosphere for no reason? Cue the Owl.
- The Political Non-Answer: Whenever a politician dodges a question with a "we're looking into that," the comment section is immediately flooded with Tootsie Pop references.
It’s flexible. That’s the hallmark of a "God-tier" meme. If you can use a joke to describe both a candy bar and a geopolitical crisis, you’ve hit the jackpot.
Is the Meme Dying?
Honestly, probably not.
Internet culture moves fast, but certain symbols are "sticky." The Owl is one of them. He’s simple. He’s recognizable. He represents the "Wise Fool" archetype that has existed since Shakespeare.
What’s interesting is how the the world may never know meme has been adopted by Gen Alpha. They might not have seen the original 1970 airdate, but they see the remixes on YouTube Shorts. They recognize the sound bite. For them, it’s not nostalgia; it’s just a "sound" that means I don't know and I don't care.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Owl
People think the Owl is the villain. He’s not. He’s just a realist. He knows that the "process" of licking a lollipop is a waste of time when the "reward" (the chocolatey center) is right there.
In a way, the the world may never know meme is the anthem of the instant-gratification age. Why wait? Why count? Why do the research when you can just bite down and get what you want?
Actionable Takeaways for Using the Meme
If you’re a creator or just someone who wants to use this meme without looking like a "fellow kids" meme-dad, there are some rules.
Don't over-explain it. The whole point of the joke is the suddenness of the "bite." If your video or post lingers too long, you lose the comedic timing.
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Context matters. Use it for things that are genuinely unanswerable but ultimately trivial. Using it for a serious tragedy? Bad taste. Using it because you can't figure out why your cat stares at a blank wall for three hours? Perfect.
Lean into the voice. If you’re making video content, the audio is 90% of the joke. That specific, mid-century narrator voice is what triggers the brain’s "meme-response."
To actually settle the debate (sort of), you should know that there is no "official" number. The company says it depends on the "licking technique," the amount of saliva, and the "force applied." Basically, they’ve turned a production limitation into a permanent brand identity.
Final Insights on Cultural Longevity
The the world may never know meme persists because it captures the feeling of a dead end. We live in the Information Age. We are told that every answer is a Google search away. When we find something that can't be answered—or something that won't be answered—it creates a weird kind of tension.
The Owl releases that tension. He tells us it's okay to just bite the pop and move on.
If you want to dive deeper into how this specific ad changed marketing, look up the history of "mascot-based advertising" in the 70s. Or, if you're feeling adventurous, grab a bag of Tootsie Pops and a stopwatch. Just don't be surprised if you lose your cool at lick number three.
- Check the wrapper: Next time you buy a Tootsie Pop, look for the star. It won't get you a free one, but it's a piece of history.
- Study the "Licking Machines": Look up the Purdue and STEM studies if you want to see how engineers actually tackle "useless" problems.
- Watch the original: Search for "1970 Tootsie Pop commercial" on YouTube to see the timing of the original "bite"—it's faster than you remember.
The mystery isn't the candy. The mystery is why we still care. And honestly? The world may never know.