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Fat chance: the impossible occurrences more likely than winning Powerball Fat chance: the impossible occurrences more likely than winning Powerball
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If those numbers sound pretty good to you, maybe these won’t: you’ve got a 1 in 292,201,338 chance of hitting the US Powerball jackpot (assuming you buy a ticket - your chances are considerably lower if you don’t). If those numbers sound pretty good to you, maybe these won’t: you’ve got a 1 in 292,201,338 chance of hitting the US Powerball jackpot (assuming you buy a ticket – your chances are considerably lower if you don’t).
Still confused? That’s OK. I have some examples that will help you grasp just how unlikely it is that you will wake up an unspeakably wealthy person on Thursday morning.Still confused? That’s OK. I have some examples that will help you grasp just how unlikely it is that you will wake up an unspeakably wealthy person on Thursday morning.
You’re more likely to be married to your cousinYou’re more likely to be married to your cousin
Bear with me. According to the US Census, 51% of all Americans over the age of 18 are married. Studies show that 0.2% of those marriages are between individuals who are either second cousins or closer. Assuming you’re an American reader, the chances that right now you’re in wedlock with a relative are roughly six times higher than the chances that you’ll win the Powerball jackpot.Bear with me. According to the US Census, 51% of all Americans over the age of 18 are married. Studies show that 0.2% of those marriages are between individuals who are either second cousins or closer. Assuming you’re an American reader, the chances that right now you’re in wedlock with a relative are roughly six times higher than the chances that you’ll win the Powerball jackpot.
You’re about as likely to get 25 heads in a row in a coin tossYou’re about as likely to get 25 heads in a row in a coin toss
That might not sound all that crazy, but imagine actually throwing a coin up in the air and getting heads every single time for 25 throws. You would think it was rigged for sure.That might not sound all that crazy, but imagine actually throwing a coin up in the air and getting heads every single time for 25 throws. You would think it was rigged for sure.
You’re 24,350 times more likely to be struck by lightningYou’re 24,350 times more likely to be struck by lightning
Yep, the old clichéd struck by lightning statistic. Last year in the US, 33 people were killed and 297 were injured by lightning according to the National Weather Service. They estimate that in a given year, you’ve got about a one in a million chance of being struck – over the course of your lifetime though (which they put in the ballpark of 80 years) you’ve got a one in 12,000 chance of being hit by lightning. Waaaay more likely than a Powerball jackpot. Yep, the old cliched struck by lightning statistic. Last year in the US, 33 people were killed and 297 were injured by lightning according to the National Weather Service. They estimate that in a given year, you’ve got about a one in a million chance of being struck – over the course of your lifetime though (which they put in the ballpark of 80 years) you’ve got a one in 12,000 chance of being hit by lightning. Waaaay more likely than a Powerball jackpot.
You’re more likely to have two penises (if you’re a man)You’re more likely to have two penises (if you’re a man)
If you live in the US, there’s a 49.2% chance that you have a penis. But about one in 5 million live male births have diphallia, a condition where the individual has two penises. American men are therefore about 58 times more likely to have multiple penises than hit the financial jackpot. American women are probably more likely to win the money (I’ve yet to come across a case in the literature of a female with diphallia).If you live in the US, there’s a 49.2% chance that you have a penis. But about one in 5 million live male births have diphallia, a condition where the individual has two penises. American men are therefore about 58 times more likely to have multiple penises than hit the financial jackpot. American women are probably more likely to win the money (I’ve yet to come across a case in the literature of a female with diphallia).