Chocolate Math Problem

Math problem: If there are 18 kinds of See’s candies I wish to try, and I am willing to buy up to 2 pounds of custom mix in order to try them all, and if I can try up to 10 kinds per custom-mix pound, and if the least I can try per kind is 5% of a pound box, and if I have totally varying predictions on how much I’ll like each of the 18 kinds—how should I arrange the two boxes?

28 thoughts on “Chocolate Math Problem

  1. Caitlin

    Load up on the chocolate covered scotchamllows and send any leftovers to me because they’re my favorite. (And FYI, after you mentioned them last time, I spent a good 20 minutes crafting my fantasy custom mix box. It was said to click cancel on that. ..Why did I click cancel again?)

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  2. St

    Wow, this reminds me of an episode of Curious George. Can’t help you here but I will now be going to create my own box because it sounds SO FUN!

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  3. Melissa Haworth

    There are WAY more than 10 pieces in a pound so I’m unclear on why you can only have 10 kinds per pound box. Is it some sort of weird rule? do you need me to go to my local Sees with a list of your 18 types? Or should you just order all California Brittles and call it a day?

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  4. Bailey

    You should click with wild abandon, because too long on that See’s site is enough to make me drool out a pound of water weight and gain six pounds of potential chocolate-filled chub in my butt.

    I <3 Polar Bear Paws. NOM.

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  5. Anonymous

    Just buy two pounds of scotchmallows. God, I love See’s. It’s one of the may reasons I will never leave California.

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  6. jac

    Are you eating the first box on a train travelling west at 40 miles per hour, while your second box of chocolates is on a train travelling east at 70 miles per hour?

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  7. Snoopyfan

    I think the answer is 42. I am not sure though! Maybe I will just go to See’s later today and buy a piece a of chocolate just to get this unpleasantness out of my head. :)

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  8. Enniferjay

    The solution is to visit See’s 18 times and sample each one you’re interested in. You know, for science.
    And then you make a list and display it prominently for anyone who might want to surprise you –on a holiday, for instance.

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  9. Swistle

    Nicole- These values are HIDDEN FROM OUR SIGHT. We don’t know. We look at the pictures and we think, “This PATTY is probably bigger/heavier than this DIVINITY.” But we don’t KNOW. And so we lose our minds. Is 5% ONE piece? TWO pieces? How many pieces do we get ALL TOGETHER?

    A photo in the catalog shows 28 pieces in a 1-pound box, and another photo shows 30. BUT! Another photo shows 26 pieces; another shows 27; another shows 25.

    AND! A box of soft-centers and a box of truffles showed only 24 pieces each! So I think those must weigh a little more than the caramels and nuts.

    It seems like 25 pieces per box is the best figure to work with—but then what does that mean for 5%? One piece? What about 10%: two pieces or three? TWO OR THREE??

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  10. elckd

    OK, 9 kinds per 1 lb. Box, about 25 pieces. Get 2 of each kind to make 18, and then 3 of the 7 most promising. In case of indecision, go with 2 of the heavier looking ones and 3 of lighter looking ones, to make the 5% weight.

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  11. Magic27

    This kind of maths problem brings me out in hives and I’m totally incapable of helping you with it. I’ve never heard of See’s chocolates, but if you want any help with the testing process, however, I feel totally CAPABLE of handling that… I AM A VERY GOOD CHOCOLATE TESTER (I should think)

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  12. Nicole

    OMG. I am seriously going to lose my mind. I need to get my pencil and paper and solve from first principles. There are too many variables to solve. Do we solve for truffles, or patties? OMG.

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  13. Kelsey

    Hmmmm – maybe the upside of living with a peanut allergic person is that I have no choice but to avoid difficult chocolate related math…

    We get chocolate from Vermont Nut Free and the choices are a little more, er, limited.

    Not that your math problem didn’t get me drooling, because it did.

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  14. Hotch Potchery

    See’s is probably fancy, but I found a website chocomize.com where you can design your own candy bar with dark chocolate and gummy bears and pop rocks and sprinkes and Mr. P picked PLAIN MILK CHOCOLATE and then I had a stroke and died.

    Peace be with me.

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  15. Mom again

    I’m way behind on reading but had just put the second to last piece of See’s into my mouth before I sat down to read. It was a Beverly and quite yum. But I think it is one of the flavors my daughter picked so she will be all mad. On the other hand she drives me crazy with the thinking that chocolate is only ok and the availability of a half pound box just sitting on the counter not driving her crazy. It might spoil before she got around to eating it. This is not normal behavior for a grown woman. Especially one who just broke up with her boyfriend. Again. Well that happens so regularly it might not add to her chocolate needs. If she had them.

    She’s lucky the last piece is white chocolate dipped. Bleh!

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  16. Swistle

    Mom again- AGREE. No sense WASTING chocolates on someone who’s all “Meh, I can take it or leave it.” It’s our RESPONSIBILITY to maximize the potential enjoyment of that chocolate.

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