Found on t'internets...

[denny]

Whenever I get a package of plain M&Ms, I make it my duty to continue the strength and robustness of the candy as a species. To this end, I hold M&M duels. Taking two candies between my thumb and forefinger, I apply pressure, squeezing them together until one of them cracks and splinters. That is the "loser," and I eat the inferior one immediately. The winner gets to go another round. I have found that, in general, the brown and red M&Ms are tougher, and the newer blue ones are genetically inferior... Occasionally I will get a mutation, a candy that is misshapen...

When I reach the end of the pack, I am left with one M&M, the strongest of the herd. Since it would make no sense to eat this one as well, I pack it neatly in an envelope and send it to:

M&M Mars, A Division of Mars, Inc.
Hackettstown, NJ
17840-1503 U.S.A.

along with a 3x5 card reading, "Please use this M&M for breeding purposes."

This week they wrote back to thank me, and sent me a coupon for a free 1/2 pound bag of plain M&Ms. I consider this "grant money". I have set aside the weekend for a grand tournament. From a field of hundreds, we will discover the True Champion. There can be only one.

Comments

[anarquistador.livejournal.com]

Of course, you could always separate the winners until the second round: once an M&M has survived a bout it goes into a separate bowl, and the next bout is fought by two new M&Ms; winner goes into the bowl, loser is food for worms (the worm in this case being purely metaphorical since I'm not sharing my precious chocolate with invertebrates). Once you reach the end of the bag you have a bowl of M&Ms that have all survived one bout and can go onto the second round, fairly facing off against other M&Ms who have likewise had to fight a single previous bout. Rinse. Repeat. Wipe hands on pants.

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

Elegant solution. You should write to Mars and ask for a 'grant'. :-p