What word do Indians and kids have in common?

Yep... The word "Sucker." Well that... and cigars.

My daughter asked me if you get a free sucker when you find an Indian with a star on your tootsie roll pop? I said no. She asked if when I was a kid whether it was true... Nope. Wasn't true back then either. I am amazed that this legend has continued to exist. The only answer I have for this is that Kids are suckers for suckers. Out of curiosity, I googled Indian on a tootsie roll pop. Here is the story I got:

The Legend of the Indian Wrapper

For many years the company responded to kids who wrote in to claim their free Tootsie Pop with an apologetic (and surely disappointing) note, but since 1982 they've also enclosed a short work of fiction called "The Legend of the Indian Wrapper," apparently intended to serve as a sort of consolation prize.

In fine ad-executive prose, it tells of a man "long, long ago, when all lollipops were made alike," who wanted to make a new kind of sucker with something special inside. But he couldn't figure out how. Well, one day the man awoke "to find a grand Indian chief smiling at him. The chief told the man that he would help him make a lollipop with a chewy candy center, if the man promised the chief that he would never, ever, stop making them for people. The man promised. ... The 'Indian Wrapper' is supposedly a sign that the grand chief has personally checked that particular lollipop for the chewy candy center."

They should have just said... "Nice try kid... Close, but no cigar."

Which transitions me to my next question... Which is: If I can't get a tootsie roll pop, can I get a cigar... ?Because everyone knows that Indians smile and hold containers of cigars for you to take. Right? Where did that come from?

Courtesy of wikipedia... History of the cigar store Indian:

Because of the general illiteracy of the populace, early store owners used descriptive emblems or figures to advertise their shops' wares. American Indians and tobacco had always been associated because American Indians introduced tobacco to Europeans. It was what barber poles were to barber shops.

So in the end, i am sure Tootsie Roll's response would be sorry... "no sucker and no cigar..."

My response is simply: "That sucks."