'chomping(?) at the bit' for tootsie rolls...

After soccer this morning, we were on our way home and the kids were eating tootsie roll lollipops. Lisa and I were talking and I said aloud..."I wonder where those things came from. And how did they get the name tootsie roll?"
"I have no idea." She replied.
"Well, I'm now on a mission." I said. "I'm going to research it and delve into the wide world of chocolate covered candies and get to the bottom of this. I may have to research for hours or days, even, to find the information I need to feel completely satisified with the results."
"Really?"
"Yeah. This is something that people should know. I think I'll even blog about it. I know it's going to be something interesting - and people will want to know more."
"OK. You do that...I'm sure everyone will be anticipating the results of your research and they are chomping at the bit to find out more about tootsie rolls." She said, rolling her eyes.
"Ahhhh," I replied. "They will be chomping at the bit with a tootsie roll!" I exclaimed. "Better yet, I am going to include research on the phrase 'chomping at the bit' as well. This will be a meaty post!"

As soon as I got home, I booted up the laptop, and proceeded to google with the search "tootsie roll". Wouldn't you know it? The first result that came up was the tootsie roll main link. I decided to follow it (this wouldn't take as long as I initially thought). I then proceeded to the history. Here is a quick synopsis of the history of the tootsie roll:

1896 - Austrian immigrant Leo Hirshfield brings to the U.S. his recipe for a chocolatey, chewy candy, which he begins producing in a small store in New York City.

Hirshfield names the candy after his five-year-old daughter, whose nickname is "Tootsie."

When a product reaches an age advanced enough to be known as a "national institution," it usually bears little resemblance to its original form - however, this is not the case with Tootsie Roll. The round piece of chewy, chocolatey candy that delights Americans today still looks and tastes amazingly like the first Tootsie Roll, made over 109 years ago. Even more astonishing, the candy roll still sells for one penny, the original price, even though the company now offers candy packages priced up to $7.17.

1931 - The Tootsie Pop, consisting of hard candy on the outside and chocolatey, chewy Tootsie Roll on the inside, is invented.

1942 - The candy is included in World War II rations and becomes highly valued by the armed forces for its ability to withstand severe weather conditions and give troops "quick energy."

blah blah blah - yes those are the important points of note to me - swiped straight from their website. To learn more for yourself...click here.

'Chomping at the bit'
OK - here's something interesting about this phrase...it's actually wrong! The original phrase was 'Champing at the bit'. How about that? The things you learn when you look them up. Now this whole time - I'm thinking this phrase (chomping at the bit) has something to do with horses eating sugar or something while you try to put reins etc on them. Well, here's what 'Champing at the bit' actually means.

CHAMPING: Repetitious, strong opening and closing action of the mouth whichproduces sounds when the teeth hit together. Champing in swine may be athreat signal, but also is performed by boars during courtship and mating.

v. tr. - To bite or chew upon noisily. v. intr. - To work the jaws and teeth vigorously. Idiom: - champ at the bit To show impatience at being held back or delayed.

For a long time, chomp and champ enjoyed slightly different intransitive senses: to chomp was to chew or bite on something; to champ was tomake biting or gnashing movements. Champ was the usual word to describe the noisy biting or chewing associated with farm animals; when an unruly or impatient horse bit or gnashed a bridle's bit, he or she was said to being "champing at the bit." That literal champing became figurative when it was applied to humans impatient at restraint or inactivity.

Anyway - my hours and days of research turned out to be shorter than the time it took for me to type all this stuff up. Crazy, huh?

Now you can impress your friends and family with a couple of useless facts to be seen as brilliant and full of knowledge. HAHAHAHAHAHAH

-l8r-