Thomas Edison the recordings could be played only a few times, the phonograph made Edison a celebrity. Joseph Henry, president of the National Academy of Sciences and one of the most renowned electrical scientists in the US, described Edison as "the most ingenious inventor in this country... or in any other". In April 1878, Edison traveled to Washington to demonstrate the phonograph before the National Academy of Sciences, Congressmen, Senators and US President Hayes. The "Washington Post" described Edison as a "genius" and his presentation as "a scene... that will live in history". Although Edison obtained a patent for the phonograph in
How Many Licks? and a bling accessary". Lil' Kim and Sisqó also exchange pick-up lines during the song. The chorus refers to the advertising slogan for Tootsie Pops ("How many licks does it takes to get to the Tootsie Roll centre of a Tootsie Pop?"), and ties sexuality to consumerism according to media studies professor Scott Wilson. For the track's remix, Lil' Kim associates her rapping abilities with oral sex: "Ya neva seen this stroke of genius / [I] put tha cleanest, meanest lips on ya penis!" She is also noted to popularize the word "gangstress" which she had previously used in "Spend