The Air New Zealand Sweetstake, a nationwide event featuring a giant jar filled with lollies, concluded with the revelation that the jar contained 729,370 lollies. The competition invited participants from across New Zealand to guess the number of lollies in the jar as it traveled through 11 regions.
A participant from Mount Maunganui emerged as the winner with an impressively close guess of 729,374 lollies, just four off from the actual count. This accurate estimation earned them a grand prize of 50,000 Airpoints Dollars. The winner's strategy involved measuring a lolly and the jar itself and accounting for air and space within it.
Scott Carr, Air New Zealand General Manager Domestic, expressed satisfaction at the public engagement during the event. "Kiwi came out in force to see the jar firsthand," he noted. Participants employed various methods to make their guesses, ranging from traditional counting techniques to using advanced technology like AI and 3D scanners.