Buffon Instructions

  1. Grab several toothpicks and a grid.  Place the grid on a flat surface. You will keep track of the number of “successful drops” and the number of “lines hit“.
  2. Hold a single toothpick by an end (vertically!) about a foot, or 30cm, above the grid. Get it roughly in the middle, but don’t be at all precise about lining it up right over the centre line.
  3.  Drop the toothpick.
  4. If it lands on the paper anywhere between the two outermost lines, then add 1 to your total number of “successful drops“.  If any part of the toothpick is beyond the edge of the paper or the two outermost lines, it DOES NOT COUNT.
  5. If your successful drop crosses a line, then add 1 to your total number of “lines hit“.
  6. Remove the toothpick you dropped from the grid.  Repeat steps 2 – 6.
  7.  Once you’ve had enough fun dropping toothpicks, enter your two totals into the form at v.gd/buffon