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I’m taking a photography class in hopes that I can improve my technique. We have an exhibition in a couple of weeks, and I’m behind on the number of “exhibitable” (ahem) prints. This weekend I rented a fisheye (16mm f2.8) and a macro (105mm f2.8) lens and set out to take a bunch of photos around the greater Seattle area that I will develop later this week.
After obsessively photographing various foodstuffs with the macro lens — there were so many interesting textures — I bought a bag of Skittles for color. My kids instantly recognized the package and, not coincidentally, had a keen interest in volunteering to help me in a fact-finding mission.
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I thought it would be fun to take pictures of color combinations of Skittles. I poured the contents into a bowl while my lovely assistant and I took turns photographing them.
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| Can I eat one now? |
| Color | Flavor | # in bag | Occurrence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purple | Grape | 65 | 16.3% |
| Orange | Orange | 81 | 20.3% |
| Red | “Strawberry” | 75 | 18.8% |
| Green | Lime | 87 | 21.8% |
| Yellow | Lemon | 92 | 23.0% |
With her help, we separated the five colors into piles. This would facilitate color-coordinated photos. While doing this, I thought it would be appropriate to count the amount of each color to answer a question that’s been nagging me for some time: if I select a random Skittle from the bag, what’s the probability that I’d get a lemon one (which I like) versus a strawberry (which I don’t like)?
Understanding that this is only from one 16-ounce bag purchased at Fred Meyer, the results were still interesting: the citrusy flavors were slightly more likely to occur than the nasty ones. Furthermore, there were exactly 400 Skittles in a 16 ounce bag, or 25 Skittles per ounce.
Each Skittle is about 4.5 calories. Working off the calories from a 16-ounce bag will is equivalent to doing the Chilly Hilly. For those who prefer the “glass is half full” view, eating 107 Skittles will supply you with your daily allowance of Vitamin C!*
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When we were done, we arranged them in a pretty pinwheel pattern. More photos were taken, and some of the Skittles were consumed during this exhaustive research.
*Obvious Disclaimer: Skittles should not be used as a dietary supplement.