Instructional 7-segment confectionery

It has been drawn to our attention that inculcating the basics of arithmetic symbology into some recently manufactured humans can be a source of no little difficulty, and the usual cost-effective methods* seem to be inexplicably unacceptable to the manufacturers.

However, this leads directly to a potential market opportunity.

BorgCo’s Confectionery Engineering Business Unit have developed a special pack of fruit-flavoured coloured edible components intended to assist in teaching number shapes to those unfamiliar with them, employing the commonplace "7 segment display" format. To add to the utility, the colours are chosen to correspond with the commonly accepted coding system for electrical resistors** <link>

Thus, there are six black segments, moulded with appropriate unique slots, pegs and dovetails such that they can be pushed together to form a black “0” – but will not mate with segments of a different colour. The “1” consists of just two bars that clip end to end, and are brown in colour and chocolate flavoured. “2” is made from five red segments, and so on through the colour sequence up to “9”.

There are issues with "6" & "9" since they are reversible, however a possible answer is to make the 9 physically larger than the 6.

The concept is that, while assembling the different colours into predetermined shapes, the users will naturally become familiar with the recognition of those shapes before their arithmetic meaning becomes significant.

Best of all, the material is then extremely likely to be eaten, resulting in plenty of repeat sales to vicariously-ambitious pushy parents …

*Painful electric shocks, brutal beatings, and deprivation (of toys, liberty, contact with other humans, food, water, air etc.)

**Even though it is well known that Resistance is Futile ...