The original Skittles are - and I don't think I'm alone in this - impossible to improve upon.  Every so often the Skittles people decide to make fancy versions, and that's fine.  I guess they get bored.  Who knows.  But the important thing is, those other Skittles don't take away from the glory that is the original Skittles.

Just taking a whiff from a bag of original Skittles catapults me back to Junior High.  Skittles were originally developed in Britain, and were introduced to the United States on a grand scale in 1982.  So, without dating myself, yes, I was there.  28 years of memory bound up in one little candy.  It beggars belief, does it not?

The original Skittles are purple, yellow, green, orange, and red.  They are rounder than most other candies of this shape, and more likely to roll around your desk.  They can be sorted into color if you want to make the bag last longer, or if you are stuck in a really boring afternoon US History class.  Their flavor is unimpeachable.  I don't even care if it counts as "good" or not (although surely if I have been eating them for so long, then they must be good) but I insist that the flavors never be changed.

This, despite the fact that at my age, eating more than half a bag of Skittles is a sure road to a tummy ache.  Sad but true.

Wild Berry Skittles are okay, especially if you're looking to take a break from normal Skittles.  (But why would you?)  Upon opening the bag, the smell released was that of cotton candy.  Weird, but there you have it.

Their flavors are like that of regular Skittles, crossed with the Starburst candy they most closely resemble.  I find each flavor to be fine in and of itself, but the overall impact is weak.  They're like a Skittle's weaker cousin.

The funny thing about Wild Berry Skittles is that… they aren't berry flavored.  I mean, not to be pedantic, but a cherry is not a berry.  It's round and small and sweet, true, but technically it is a drupe, like a peach or nectarine.  And a "Melon Berry," as much as I like the flavor, is not a real thing.

Sour Skittles appear to be regular Skittles with a powdery sour coating.  What is this substance, which looks like sugar, but tastes like lemon juice?  I suspect it is simply straight up powdered citric acid.  Although oddly, Sour Skittles contain less vitamin C than regular Skittles.  If one has the temerity to suck off the powdery coating, one finds a normal, perfectly inoffensive Skittle beneath.  

I do not care for sour candies.  After eating about ten Sour Skittles, I felt like I was going to get canker sores.  My mouth felt raw, as though the sour coating had the ability to eat through the flesh of the inside of my cheek.

Then again, this is what happens whenever I eat any sour candy.  Small wonder I dislike them so.