BBC News

M&M sweets pack together more densely than perfect spheres when randomly jumbled in a container, scientists say.

Same-sized spheres were previously thought to have the highest “packing fraction” – the relative density of objects when shoved in a container.

US scientists compared the packing densities of M&Ms with those of ball bearings in different containers.

Computer simulations confirmed the findings, which the team report in the current issue of the journal Science. The discovery may help development of new materials.