# What is the M&M candy color ratio these days?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-m-m-candy-color-ratio-these-days/469118>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 22, 2008, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-m-m-candy-color-ratio-these-days/469118 "2008-10-22T20:22:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![bcullman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bcullman/32/8207_2.png) [@bcullman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bcullman)\
**Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-m-m-candy-color-ratio-these-days/469118/1 "2008-10-22T20:22:27Z")

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According to this old Dartmouth Syllabus from 1994

[http://www.dartmouth.edu/~chance/course/Syllabi/UCSD/section3\_20.html](http://www.dartmouth.edu/~chance/course/Syllabi/UCSD/section3_20.html)

M&M Mars consumer affairs states that the color ratio for the candy is

30% brown  
20% yellow  
20% red  
10% orange  
10% green  
10% tan

Clearly things of changed. Tan is no longer available, and Blue has been added. And now today, I just opened a bag that was easily 50% green.

Are there any more recent stats on M&M color ratio?

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**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\
**Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-m-m-candy-color-ratio-these-days/469118/2 "2008-10-22T20:24:52Z")

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I don’t know the official stats, but I seem to get almost all browns, blues and reds these days. Those are my least favorite M&M colors. My favorites are green and yellow, but these seem to be rare.

If you got a package with 1/2 greens, consider yourself lucky. I only dream of such things.

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**Author:** ![SeanArenas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeanArenas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeanArenas)\
**Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-m-m-candy-color-ratio-these-days/469118/3 "2008-10-22T20:26:39Z")

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For a TV episode I was putting together, we needed some chewables in a prescription bottle, so an actor could shake some out into his hand and chew on them (like Dr. House does with Vicodin).  
I decided to use yellow peanut M&Ms, so I went to the vending machine, put in $0.75, and got a bag of peanut M&Ms. I ate all the non-yellow and put the 4 yellow ones in the prescription bottle.  
I put another $0.75 in and got another bag. I ate all the non-yellow, and put the 2 yellow ones in the bottle.  
Another $0.75, and I was unable to eat anymore, so I started giving them out to cast members. This one had 3 yellows.  
The next bag had 5 yellows, and that was enough to fill the prescription bottle.

So, the small bags of M&Ms vary wildly, but I was only counting yellows. 2, 3, 4, and 5.