We're not sure if we were ready for this bombshell of a cold January Thursday. Yes, it's been a fairly long time since we've delved into a bag of Skittles but when we did we definitely picked out the purple and red ones to eat first, because they're the best, right? They definitely don't taste the same as every - other - Skittle, right??
Wrong!
All Skittles taste the same and you have been living a lie until now.
The ingredients for each individual Skittle is exactly the same, the only difference is they are each given a different colour and scent.
So they should really change that tagline from "Taste the rainbow" to "Smell the rainbow".
According to University neuropsychologist Don Katz (what a great name), the reason we all fall for it is to do with our senses, with the scent and colour tricking our brains into believing we are tasting something different.
Katz cites an experiment carried out by Charles Spence where students were given fruit-flavoured drinks and told to identify the flavour. However, when the colour of the drink was changed around, the flavours were confused, so if a lemon flavoured drink was orange, the flavours were often mixed up with participants.
Katz told NPR: "Their ability to tell which was which got really subpar all of the sudden.
"The orange beverage tasted orange [to them]. The yellow beverage tasted like lemonade. There wasn't a thing they could do about it."
He added: "The Skittles people, being much smarter than most of us, recognised that it is cheaper to make things smell and look different than it is to make them actually taste different.
"So, Skittles have different fragrances and different colours — but they all taste exactly the same."
Don't know about you but we need a sit-down.
And a bag of Skittles.
