Is every bag of Skittles unique? An Oxford mathematician calculated the rainbow, and these 15 reactions were sweet
We can all sleep at night now that the Admissions and Outreach Coordinator for Maths at Oxford, James Munro, has answered the question on everybody’s lips – ‘Is each bag of Skittles different to all the rest?’, as they claim.
He explained his calculations on the Oxford Mathematics TikTok account.
That seems reasonable. Or does it? Not everyone agreed with his conclusion, and we can’t weigh in because he forgot to show his workings. Rookie mistake.
1.
The chance of getting all reds in a bag of 30 is 1 in 538 quintillion. (That is a genuine calculation), So there are certainly more than 3 million possibilities.
Matthew Hannaway
2.
Love mathematicians, their ingenious ways of solving problems no one needs the answer to.
Adrian
3.
Such a nerd that couldn’t be more wrong.
itissteers
4.
Love the enthusiasm! Even more than the fact that some ppl in the comment section try to explain maths to an actual Oxford mathematician (me, I can barely count. I can eat skittles, that’s it)
Jolanda
5.
I love how giddy he is about this.
Niokag
6.
People like this exist yet world leaders are turning to AI for economic policy…
Bronsonoquin
7.
I normally just go to the pub mate.
Harv
8.
If there is between 30 and 50 candies in a bag, then you got 3.2 million only if you don’t consider the random colours ratio. If you do, you get like… a lot more.
ton.skladowy
9.
Someone alert the village elders!
.
10.
So I’m hearing they need to make their bags bigger …
Simon Caine
11.
I’m actually eating skittles right now. Need to buy another bag so I can count the colours!
the_rol
12.
I feel the mix is pretty similar every time. Too many red, not enough green or purple.
Peter Bradburn
13.
Love the magic of math. There is nothing more enjoyable than seeing someone have fun doing something that intrigues them.
beyoursmiles
14.
The thing that attracts you to someone will eventually be the thing that drives you apart. In a video.
Mundaylaura
15.
James doing James things.
faultymathematician6174
Willum had a devilish plan.
So now you can sue them for false advertising.
Dentist Emi, who probably doesn’t want anyone to eat Skittles in the first place, had a counterpoint.]
Devils advocate …They didn’t specify it’s the colour of the skittles… the skittles are technically physically different skittles, you can’t eat the same bag of skittles twice unless you time travel.
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Source @oxfordmathematics Image Screengrab