Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Amazon is a wonderful place - it has made our lives so much easier. We buy on average a product a day and our average annual spend for the past ten years is roughly $7,000. And we have fun too. So every year we review our purchases and we give one product the Product of the Year Award and also, one Rip-Off of the Year Award. So this year’s Rip-Off Award goes to Mountain Valley Seed for its Hummingbird & Butterfly Seed Collection. Now we haven’t tested the seed quality yet. Oh, we will. But what’s fascinating is the representation that there are 80,000 seeds in this one packet. Now when it arrived we thought “Gee, I guess that they were short and the other ten packets may be a while yet. Well, that’s OK. But wait! Not printed on the packet, but rather, on a tiny bar code label stuck on top of another label reads “Package of 80,000 Seeds”. Seriously? Well, let’s get scientific and use statistical sampling techniques to approximate the range of seeds inside. So taking several samples using a laboratory grade scale we determined that there are between 100 and 300 seeds per gram in a package that weighs exactly 53 grams (subtracting the weight of the Empty package). Now I realize that that range has a high standard deviation - the challenge lies in the frequency distribution of the seeds by species. The packet represents that there are 23 species of seeds inside - I haven’t validated that yet - that is possible. But there are roughly 100 seeds the size of orange seeds, perhaps 200 seeds the size of apple seeds, and then many tiny seeds that appear to be mostly poppy seeds (you know how tiny those are). I’m estimating that about 90% of the seeds are poppy — the frequency distribution of seeds is anything but level. So that’s why the standard deviation is so high. But here’s the thing - the maximum sample amount, and even accounting for mostly poppy seeds, and allowing for a 30% margin of error, is 16,000 seeds (again that assumes 90% poppy). So - we look forward to yet receiving the other (at the very least) five packets. And a heartfelt congratulations to Mountain Valley on providing unparalleled consumer value!