# So where did the extra 10 calories come from? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 18, 2003, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-the-extra-10-calories-come-from/196046 "2003-08-18T21:01:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![monica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@monica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monica)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-the-extra-10-calories-come-from/196046/1 "2003-08-18T21:01:08Z")
We bought a box of Eggo waffles yesterday. Today, I was looking at the nutrition facts. [quote] Serving Size:2 Calories per serving: 190 Calories per waffle: 90 [quote] Where did the extra 10 calories come from? Two waffles should equal 180 calories, and a serving size is two waffles; therefore, a serving should equal 180 calories. But it doesn’t. Why? If I eat 2 waffles separately, as opposed to together as a serving, am I supposed to get 10 fewer calories? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-the-extra-10-calories-come-from/196046/2 "2003-08-18T21:03:29Z")
The “extra” 10 calories went to the bellhop. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-the-extra-10-calories-come-from/196046/3 "2003-08-18T21:07:26Z")
I would guess that is a typo. I’m inclined to be less charitable to whoever came up with the figures on the package of 4 sausages I recently bought, which claimed that there were 6 servings in the package. ---
**Author:** ![Jadis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@Jadis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jadis)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-the-extra-10-calories-come-from/196046/4 "2003-08-18T21:08:24Z")
The US standards for nutrition info allow for rounding, and most manufacturers will round to the nearest 10. What you probably have is something like the following: 1 waffle: 93 calories (rounds down to 90) 2 waffles: 186 calories (rounds up to 190) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Griffin)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-the-extra-10-calories-come-from/196046/5 "2003-08-18T21:51:47Z")
Ah, cunning. I suppose the waffles will vary slightly so it is sensible to round the figures ---
**Author:** ![vasyachkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c5a1d2/32.png) [@vasyachkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vasyachkin)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-the-extra-10-calories-come-from/196046/6 "2003-08-19T07:00:04Z")
i will tell you something more interesting. a packet of splenda says zero calories. and 200 packets are then also zero. yet a pack of lets say 100 g net weight is basically 100g of filler ( maltodextrin ) which is carb at 4calorie/gram thus a pack has like 400 calories 🙂 not zero 🙂 they just don’t care about accuracy thats all, they round calories down. ---
**Author:** ![Boo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@Boo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boo)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-the-extra-10-calories-come-from/196046/7 "2003-08-19T13:33:52Z")
what are the breakdown of grams of carbs, protein, and fat? 1 gram of carb = 4 calories 1 gram of protein = 4 calories 1 gram of fat = 9 calories Add those up based on the number of grams and see if it is a typo or not. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-the-extra-10-calories-come-from/196046/8 "2003-08-19T13:44:33Z")
Yeah, my popcorn is like that, too. The popped serving has more calories than the unpopped. That’s really weird. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-the-extra-10-calories-come-from/196046/9 "2003-08-19T13:46:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Yeah, my popcorn is like that, too. The popped serving has more calories than the unpopped. That’s really weird. Well, it’s obvious. When you pop it, you’re transferring energy to the kernels… ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-the-extra-10-calories-come-from/196046/10 "2003-08-19T13:49:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vasyachkin \* > i will tell you something more interesting. a packet of splenda says zero calories. and 200 packets are then also zero. yet a pack of lets say 100 g net weight is basically 100g of filler ( maltodextrin ) which is carb at 4calorie/gram thus a pack has like 400 calories 🙂 not zero 🙂 > > they just don’t care about accuracy thats all, they round calories down. It’s just rounding. Everybody does it. You did it, too. Dextrin carbohydrates come at 4.11 Calories per gram. And the FDA requires that caloric content be rounded to the _nearest_ 5 Calories (for total value less than 50 Calories). If you think they’re breaking FDA regulations, you should back it up with something. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-the-extra-10-calories-come-from/196046/11 "2003-08-19T14:34:25Z")
Hey! Le’ go of my Eggo! ---
**Author:** ![tarfu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tarfu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tarfu)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-the-extra-10-calories-come-from/196046/12 "2003-08-19T14:51:42Z")
The extra 10 calories are from the crumbs in the bottom of the toaster. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-the-extra-10-calories-come-from/196046/13 "2003-08-19T15:33:56Z")
Ever heard “2+2=5 for large values of 2”? It’s not a joke. Rounding results in strange results like that. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-the-extra-10-calories-come-from/196046/14 "2003-08-19T15:52:55Z")
Yeah, I remember as a kid reading cereal boxes and wondering why milk had more calories when added to some kinds of cereal than to others. Rounding! ---
**Author:** ![vasyachkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c5a1d2/32.png) [@vasyachkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vasyachkin)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-the-extra-10-calories-come-from/196046/15 "2003-08-19T22:19:39Z")
Achernar, i didn’t imply they were breaking any regulations. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2003, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-the-extra-10-calories-come-from/196046/16 "2003-08-19T22:25:40Z")
On a tangential topic, in Physics and Chemistry, 4 \* 3 = 10, while 4.0 \* 3.0 = 12. 😃