Who Successfully Redeemed This Wrapper For 1 Free Tootsie Pop?
Posted by waywardviking208@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 110 comments
Posted by waywardviking208@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 110 comments
Individual-Schemes@reddit
Better question: Have we ever found a wrapper than didn't have the star?
I'm asking because I genuinely don't remember if it was actually that rare or something we collectively decided was special.
porb2020@reddit
I’ve found many without the star. However now that I’m older the wrapper probably had like 4 or 5 designs on them that just repeat. So the odds of finding the same design is really high. I’m tempted to find out how many different images are actually on the roll of wax paper to figure out the odds.
waywardviking208@reddit (OP)
I can confirm it was rare but the blue ones seemed to have more
Pretzelpixie@reddit
I sent mine in an envelope in the mail, and they wrote back saying it’s not a thing. I wish I had kept it!!
porb2020@reddit
Wait?!? You spent 22¢ on a stamp and envelop to get a 15¢ tootsie roll pop? That sounds like kid logic to me😝
TheGunny_12112000@reddit
🥹 how we all heard this before the internet…….. the school yard rumor mills were unbeatable
ConspiracyParadox@reddit
That's also where we learned who had cooties.
SoCalChrisW@reddit
And about Marilyn Manson 👀
ConspiracyParadox@reddit
👀
bikemandan@reddit
I hear theres a shot for that
waywardviking208@reddit (OP)
It’s because we’re Xennials TheGummy❤️ & it’s why I love this sub! Last night I was watching There’s Something About Mary when Ben Stiller zips up his pants to unfortunate results, my 23 year old roommate walks in and I asked him “How’d You Get a the Beans Above The Frank?” He was dumbfounded and when I told him the movie still confused so I said “Cameron Diaz” He was like “who’s that?”
Baked_Potato_732@reddit
Stop rooming with children! Oh wait, you said 23. Fuck I’m old.
Individual-Schemes@reddit
Remember having to go to the record stores to check the front door area for flyers of upcoming raves or concerts?
GreenHairyMartian@reddit
Damn, that's a sick lineup. I'd go to that party.
HowsMyBuddy@reddit
I wonder how many states, and what years. I wrote an Onion-style article about someone trying to redeem these in 2003. Shoeboxes full, because I think I heard about it around 1988.
ThruTexasYouandMe@reddit
Oh I did for sure. From a small mom and pop shop though. Not like 7/11
Runaway-James@reddit
I left this exact red wrapper in my pocket once. It went through the wash and turned my tighty whities pink. Mom wouldn't replace them, so I had pink underwear for the rest of third grade 😂
jelloshot@reddit
My brother and I were successful a few times at the local gas station. I am sure it is because my parents got gas there weekly.
jambr380@reddit
Holy shit, this was actually achievable? I proudly collected my Indian star wrappers. Never actually thought you could actually get a free pop
BlueBomber13@reddit
I wasn’t aware at all. We just thought it was good luck or something.
Houdinii1984@reddit
I think it was never officially true. Like stores can't take the wrapper and redeem like a coupon from the company. But it sounds like a lot of stores just did so anyway for a few reasons, like loss leaders or just keeping kids happy to make parents happy.
I lived in a town of about 1200 and the local pharmacy would do this for the kids, and later on when we were in high school, that's the place everyone stopped and got a quick snack before school. In a town like that, kids turn into adults, and adults turn into major customers.
Important_Chef_4717@reddit
Haywood’s ice cream shop in San Bernardino, Ca.
He gave us TWO tootsie pops for our winning wrapper.
BulimicMosquitos@reddit
From what I can understand: This became an urban legend, so various local convenient stores decided to honor this in the hopes that the kids would potentially spend more in their store in exchange for a 15 cent sucker.
Usual-Bag-3605@reddit
Exactly this. The lady who owned the store who exchanged them for us was friends with my mom. She said it was worth it because not only were the kids super excited, they usually spent the money they would've spent on the sucker on something else, plus the parents typically bought things when bringing their kids in to redeem the prize.
Azuras_Star8@reddit
This is the idea behind the rotisserie chicken -- they get you in the store. Even though theyre losing money on the chicken, they make it back when you buy stuff there.
Connection-Terrible@reddit
It is called a loss leader!!
Azuras_Star8@reddit
Thank you! I meant to add that in there but was too busy making it easy to understand and I forgot.
Future-Raisin3781@reddit
It's called a "loss leader."
jackfaire@reddit
This will never not be hilarious to me because if I'm in the mood for a Rotisserie chicken it's the only thing I'm getting. If I'm going grocery shopping I'm not getting a rotisserie chicken.
Maybe my brain's broken?
geniedjinn@reddit
They know some people will only buy the loss leader but it's a numbers game.
jackfaire@reddit
Faire. Benefits me so I'm good with it.
Lil_Brown_Bat@reddit
No sides?
jackfaire@reddit
Not if I'm eating a whole rotisserie chicken myself no.
robb_in_the_hood@reddit
Respect.
Mr-Blackheart@reddit
Go in for a chicken, roll out with a Dyson vacuum.
Traditional_Isopod80@reddit
That was a smart idea.
blove135@reddit
Yep, for us I think it was mostly the 18 year old kid working the register didn't know and didn't care if it was a real thing. He let us have another one. Not coming out of his paycheck lol.
classless_classic@reddit
According to Snopes it was an urban legend
moonbunnychan@reddit
They seemed to have taken it down now, but for awhile Tootsie had it in their website that it was just an urban legend.
vanderpump_lurker@reddit
I sent like 30 wrappers to tootsie roll and they sent me a bouquet of tootsie pops. 10/10 did work. But this was back when customer service actually meant something
safe-viewing@reddit
Nah I can tell you my local convenience store definitely gave you a free one with this
brockisawesome@reddit
crap that was an option?
al_m1101@reddit
The Tootsie Pop game we played was that if you find the Indian star on your wrapper, you get to slap the other player one time. 😆
redditneedsnewMods@reddit
I did a few times.
Grumpyoldman79@reddit
Reading these comments I see this rumor is known all over the nation. I have always wondered how this rumor, or others that were widely spread such as Richard Gere with the gerbil, or various Marilyn Manson rumors spread throughout the US without any internet.
Ramses_13@reddit
It depended on which store you went to back in the day. Smaller stores yes and bigger stores no. Good memories as a kid.
reeder75@reddit
We always used that as a free pass to punch someone in the arm
punky100@reddit
I think ONCE a store actually accepted it. The rest just said "we don't do that"
No fun.
lakatos_intolerant@reddit
To this day I have never had lemon or lime Tootsie Roll Pops. None of the convenience stores growing up sold them and I always wanted to try them based on the classic commercial.
DomDiablo@reddit
I did but apparently it wasn't a real thing from the company?
bikemandan@reddit
✔️
mattjf22@reddit
I did at 7-11
United_Concept1654@reddit
The 7/11 by my house did
EducationalVast2780@reddit
I needed 10 star wrappers to get a free lollipop from the Country Club market. This was around 86 in a small Northern California town called Eureka.
silversunshinestares@reddit
Wait, y'all were redeeming yours at the local store? I mailed mine in and got the lifetime supply. I still get a Tootsie Pop in the mail once a month, it's kind of cute.
Idontliketalking2u@reddit
Definitely did a kragen auto parts many times
ImABuffKrabby@reddit
Redeemed a few over childhood, always got orange
toneloc89@reddit
Tried this as a kid probably back in 95 or so, was so excited I got one so I handed it to the clerk and he looked at it and said "oh herer ya go" and threw it in the trash. I was so defeated I never tried it again
Lady-Dove-Kinkaid@reddit
we had a couple places growing up that did this... and let me tell you how much TRASH we collected when they printed codes inside the bottom of Soda cans *and* the codes in bottle tops? Man we felt like we were *rich*
violetpumpkins@reddit
Bottle caps and the upc codes from cigarettes to buy marlboro branded merch. Just piles of trash.
thatsaplasticplum@reddit
Currently drinking out of a Marlboro miles coffee cup 😂
TLN7@reddit
Me! Many times.
Weird_Artichoke9470@reddit
Tiny (population 1200) town where the mascot was the Indians: the auto parts store would give me a free tootsie pop. I don't know if they redeemed it for everybody or not, though.
JunkHead1979@reddit
I don't think I've ever heard of this. I never liked Tootsie Pops, but you'd think I would've heard of it. Maybe it just wasn't a thing here.
Those things are disgusting by the way.
Brcomic@reddit
Oh man this just reminded me of the time I bought an RC Cola when I was a teen. Got a winning cap for a free one. Then had an epic run of free caps. Didn’t pay for a soda for a week.
StickyWhipplesnit@reddit
In my area the Indian with the star was lucky and meant you got a wish.
jacobpants@reddit
I saved ten of them and told my mom about it. She doubted it would work but took me to the store anyway. The cashier called a manager who gave me a whistle pop for them, probably out of pity.
El_Legarto@reddit
Got one at a general store after a canoe trip across a lake in summer camp. Redeemed! It was like finding treasure.
cpzy2@reddit
This all seems very Michigan-ey
Scherzkeks@reddit
Michigan’s in the rear view now
El_Legarto@reddit
Actually it was in the Sierras in CA.
Sodamyte@reddit
Never knew it was a thing.. but now I want some tootsie pops
Bloodygoodwossname@reddit
I saved these in a shoebox for ages, but I don’t who told me to or what for, just that they’d be worth a lot of money someday? No wonder we were so susceptible to the Beanie Baby craze.
heldaway@reddit
The 7-11 by us would honor it but not all of them.
MsBlondeViking@reddit
It took ten. But I did this multiple times as a kid.
laughingpuppy20@reddit
I did! A lot! :)
bandit1206@reddit
Never heard that one. Did have a teacher who gave the out before tests. If you got that one, it was considered a sign you’d get an A. Didn’t always hold, but was a fun tradition.
spitfiredaggers@reddit
I didnt think this was still a thing. Hmm pretty rad!
GoodGood_Glass@reddit
Summer camp. Camp store would always honor it.
prguitarman@reddit
Did it many times. Was some unspoken agreement thing going on. Every kid knew about it. Stores played along with it
Deep-Library-8041@reddit
Dunno, but I once dutifully counted how many licks to get to the center and wrote in to the company, who sent me a certificate in response.
deltadawn6@reddit
Meeeee
sleeperninja@reddit
Ohh!

heavyLevy5@reddit
I sent it to the actual company and got a letter back from them explaining it was an urban myth
cheesepile@reddit
The Sprouse Reitz in Pleasanton, CA redeemed this once in the mid-late 80s. Management had to OK it for the cashier, and I don't think either of them had any idea about this "promotion."
OregonResident@reddit
Never tried this. But I did make a wish before unwrapping each one and told myself if I got the auspicious arrow and star that my wish would come true.
Alternative_Weight95@reddit
Did it come true?
birdieponderinglife@reddit
So if it wasn’t for a free tootsie pop then why was it on the wrapper? It looks so out of place with the rest of the designs on the wrapper.
Wornthread@reddit
never managed to redeem one of those lol always thought it was a myth
Daemon213@reddit
When I was a kid, the corner store down the street would do it for us. When I worked at Circle K, I'd do it for the kids who tried.
Earth2Kim@reddit
Me! At my family summer camp, Lair of the Bear, in the 90s!
littlemuffinsparkles@reddit
When I was a kid we used to do it all the time at the diamond shamrock gas station in the front of the neighborhood
Amy_Macadamia@reddit
The mom & pop candy store near my house redeemed them 🏹 ⭐️
TwoShort100@reddit
Hudson's Grill
a_solid_6@reddit
Yes, at the convenience store near my school!
akm1111@reddit
The 7-eleven around the corner from my cousins house in Arlington TX did it until about 1992.
unga_bunga_kid1927@reddit
Im a gen xer ... we always made a wish on that.
fruitjerky@reddit
I had a spot.
Grinzy@reddit
The corner liquor store by my parent's house honored these until they got robbed and sold it to some new guys who put up a bunch of "bullet proof" plastic and barriers making the corner shop into the ghetto liquor store...
Went back recently to buy some smokes for my dad (typical) and it was new owners and the plastic is all down. They were super chill. Didn't try the tootsie pop star claim again tho.
Zeke_Smith@reddit
Never knew you could actually do that
Large-Inspection-487@reddit
Yes! The liquor store in my two stoplight town definitely did it.
Usual-Bag-3605@reddit
I did, all the time at the convenience store down the street from my house.
Puckering_Buttholes@reddit
Many, many times
Thereminz@reddit
whenever i tried they wouldn't honor it lol
Stratocaster213@reddit
There was always the friend that would unwrap in store to check for it. Damn heathens.
Spaceboy779@reddit
Yup, definitely did it back in the 80's, lol
Affectionate_Ask_769@reddit
There was one store in town who would do it. Went once but it was such a trek it wasn’t even worth it since I didn’t even really eat sweets lol
selkus_sohailus@reddit
I always lost them before I got a chance
anythingspossible45@reddit
I did, little gas station down from my parents. Didn’t have to, but did when we got them
IHAVENOIDEA0980@reddit
I found one when I was a kid and the man at the store wouldn't do it. Kind of a dick move if you ask me. I would have paid for the candy myself if it was me at the register, it was like 15 cents!