Ring Pop’s thumb-sucking origin story doesn’t match its own patents.
In 1975 Topps began selling hard candy under the Ring Pop name and filed design patents for a candy gem on a play ring, naming Arthur T. Shorin, son of a Topps co-founder, and Stan Hart. Candy histories credit Topps engineer Frank Richards instead, said to have made one in 1977 to stop his daughter sucking her thumb.
Ring Pop on Brandseum