How Many Licks Does It Take to Get to the Tootsie Roll Center of a Tootsie Pop?

Well, according to Mr. Owl, the answer is three.

At an office meeting of the Sweets Company of America in 1931, employees were asked to share any ideas for new candies. Employee Luke Weisgram had been thinking about this beforehand. Just the other day, Clara, his daughter, had shared a lick of her lollipop, and at the same time, Weisgram had a Tootsie Roll in his mouth. He thought about how good it tasted and up popped an idea!

The rest, as they say, is history.

In the case of post frame buildings, there isn’t a Tootsie Roll center, but there is some math involved.

From Hansen Pole Buildings’ Designer Doug:

“The math equation aside, which is cubic feet, correct? How many bags of ready mix does it usually take per 18″ and 24″ holes?  I have a client who can’t do math and they just want to know how many bags.”

In most cases the lower 18 inches of the hole will be filled with pre-mix concrete.  This is known as a concrete collar.

To determine concrete volume required:

Multiply ½ hole diameter (in feet) squared, x 3.14 x concrete collar depth (in feet) times hole number, divided by 27.

Like math in high school? This is what formula looks like:

(½ X hole diameter)² X 3.14 x concrete collar depth X # of holes

27

So, let’s talk bags.

For an 18” diameter hole: (1/2 X 1.5’)^2  X 3.14 X 1.5’ = 2.65 cubic feet. A 60 pound bag of Sakcrete® makes 0.45 cubic feet of concrete, so just under 6 bags (or 4-1/2 bags of 80 pound).

For 24” diameter: (1/2 X 2’)^2  X 3.14 X 1.5’ = 4.71 cubic feet or 10-1/2 60 pound or nearly 8 bags of 80#.

More reading on this subject can be found at: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2012/11/concrete/

And for the curious, my answer to the Tootsie Pop question is ZERO. I am allergic to chocolate!