How Many Skittles?

"FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com" (alphaass)
02/04/2019 at 22:58 • Filed to: Omnomnom

It’s my daughter’s turn for the 3rd grade estimate jar this week. We counted out a full 54 oz. jar of Skittles. (We may have eaten a few.) What’s Oppo’s guess at the total?

Update: WRXforSceince got closer than I expected anyone to - guess of 1,307 on 1,314.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

DISCUSSION (30)

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
02/04/2019 at 23:06

Me: 382

Wife says: 832

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
02/04/2019 at 23:07

Both low

ttyymmnn > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
02/04/2019 at 23:07

1,170

benjrblant > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
02/04/2019 at 23:09

Can you weigh it? Not suggesting that you cheat, but this might give more data about the contents without counting them all.

That said, eyeball.... 280.

Kim Jong - Healthy > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
02/04/2019 at 23:09

im going high, I say 1200ish

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
02/04/2019 at 23:09

1,530 minus the few you all ate.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
02/04/2019 at 23:10

One skittle=1 gram=one click

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
02/04/2019 at 23:10

I never one a single one of these contests in 4th grade

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
02/04/2019 at 23:11

vicali > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
02/04/2019 at 23:12

8 cavities and the ‘beetus worth..

WRXforScience > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
02/04/2019 at 23:12

1307, assuming you didn’t eat too many.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > WRXforScience
02/04/2019 at 23:13

1.53 kilograms...

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
02/04/2019 at 23:14

The answer to everything except this.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > ttyymmnn
02/04/2019 at 23:14

A little low.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Kim Jong - Healthy
02/04/2019 at 23:15

Pretty close.

glemon > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
02/04/2019 at 23:16

Is this like the price is right? Closest to the total without going over?

1432 final answer.

We have quarter candy machines at work, I do a daily hit of about 16-20 Skittles, good stuff.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > benjrblant
02/04/2019 at 23:16

I had thought of that but she thought it would be fun to count by hand so we did. And it was a lot more than that.

blacktruck18 > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
02/04/2019 at 23:16

1521

Nibby > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
02/04/2019 at 23:17

1349

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
02/04/2019 at 23:17

I was pretty bad too. The only time I won was by accident when I didn’t try and just made up a random number.

Clown Shoe Pilot > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
02/04/2019 at 23:18

I thought I’d go to a craft fair, and there would be a jar of jellybeans there - “Guess how many jellybeans are in this jar, and win a prize”. Aw, come on, man, let just me have some. I’ll tell you what, guess how many jellybeans I want! If you guessed a handful, you are right.

-mitch hedberg

Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
02/04/2019 at 23:18

1498.5

the .5 is because there’s always that one in the bottom.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > glemon
02/04/2019 at 23:21

Sure. And you’re over :) I’m a big skittles fan. I think they fill these big bins with lower quality ones though - they seemed kinda crunchy compared to the king size packs.

benjrblant > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
02/04/2019 at 23:22

Oh wow. That guess was embarrassingly off. Yikes.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > benjrblant
02/04/2019 at 23:24

Because you didn’t have a scale.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > WRXforScience
02/04/2019 at 23:31

I’m calling it here. 1314.

facw > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
02/05/2019 at 00:12

Well I’m late, but my foolproof method tallies 1372, which I’m going to say is reasonably close to the final answer.

WRXforScience > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
02/05/2019 at 00:16

Woot, I do a “radioactive M&M” lab with my students every year where we use them to model half-lives and radiometric dating (skittles aren’t as well marked and we need to be able to tell one side versus the other). I’ve gotten to the point where I can eyeball measur ing out 110 M&M’s with a margin of error of 5 or less.

Skittles are a little heavier and a little bigger than M&M’s (they’re also a little less oblate/more round). Knowing the mass of the skittles made the estimate much easier. Richard Feynman is one of my personal heroes and I spend more time than is strictly necessary teaching order of magnitude estimation.

Kids generally over estimate tall containers and underestimate short but wide ones. Flower vases work great to fool them.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > facw
02/05/2019 at 00:18

TBH that’s within 10 if we account for the ones we ate instead of putting in the jar.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > WRXforScience
02/05/2019 at 00:24

We speak think very much alike. (I’m an engineer at LANL. Feynman is obviously held in very high regard here. )