Ah, the Lottery. Some people believe that the birthdates of their relatives will yield the winning numbers; others the house numbers they've lived at; some even use the death dates of their childhood pets. Scientific souls spend hours seeking patterns in the randomly drawn numbers to determine which balls the machine is most likely to spit out. Then there are the nihilists who believe that it's all about pot luck and therefore pluck for the lucky dip, leaving it up to fate as to whether they wake up the next day a millionaire. What all of these approaches have in common, however, is that they have a 1 in 14 million chance of winning the jackpot. Yes, 1 in 14 million. Yet this depressing statistic doesnt seem to deter people from shovelling handfuls of pennies across a newsagents counter in exchange for a flimsy piece of pink paper with six digits printed on it, a testament to the undefeatable quality of hope that makes human beings so god damn awesome. I mean, someone has to be the 1 in 14 million, right? Rather you than your dull neighbours or irritating work colleagues. Still, theres a deeper story behind the demoralising odds. These 10 things some good, some bad, some just downright strange - are statistically more likely to happen to you in your lifetime than a Lottery jackpot win. So, before you throw that shiny pound at the bored checkout attendant, be sure to ditch your umbrella and make sure all of the evidence is destroyed. Confused? Itll all make sense soon...
