37 
It turns out that decorating your Christmas tree isn’t necessarily all about taste. Mathematicians at the University of Sheffield have developed a formula for the perfect way to deck the halls. More specifically, what ratio of ornaments to lights to tinsel will make your tree most aesthetically pleasing.
Since the geniuses behind the formula hail from the UK and embrace that new-fangled metric system, you’ll need to know the height of your tree in centimetres. But you’re just a tape measure away from having the data you need to use their handy online calculator. Did you know your average six foot tree only needs 37 ornaments to look its best? And here Hallmark has been telling us to cover every last patch of green with tiny versions of Darth Vader and Spock. [The University of Sheffield via PhysOrg]
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Thanks, this really helped
We’re buying and decorating our tree today – I’m going to try this and see how it turns out.
Tinsel?! Bleugh… That part really is about taste!
Thank you Debenhams for funding this intensive research that took two students two hours to knock out.
Ben Goldacre has a nice article about this sort of thing here.