Lottery Fever
Apparently everyone in the country is rushing out to buy a lottery ticket. Somehow they all think that because the jackpot is now at $340 million now is the time to try their odds. Well I hate to tell ya people, but your odds are really, really shitty! You're a third more likely to be killed by lightning, and I wouldn't bet on that happening to me or anyone I know. (knock on wood.) I really wonder what is wrong with the general public sometimes. I wonder if folks see
the news stories and think, "everybody else is doing it, I guess I should too!" or if the news stories are naturally springing up from the mass chaos. I can understand buying a ticket or two just for the heck of it if you're already in line at the gas station, after all the money is going to education -- but $120 in tickets! Some of the people News 14 interviewed have lost their minds. Sorry person who spent that much, but you didn't even slightly tip the odds in your favor. You just flushed $120 down the toilet!Anyhow, all this craziness has made me think a lot about odds. I read a chart in one of my psych books a few years ago that made me never want to get into a car again. Odds are scary things. Here's just a sampling from the National Safety Council's 2002 records:
- Your odds of dying as a car occupant (not including vans or pick-up trucks) in any year are 1 in 17,625. Your lifetime odds are 1 in 228!
- Your odds of dying from an assault, including a gun shot, stabbing, etc. in any year are 1 in 16,325. Your lifetime odds are 1 in 211. (of course those odds aren't quite as evenly distributed as car accidents, certain lifestyles tend to lead to more violent deaths -- but really, better odds of being murdered that just about anything else!)
- Your odds of dying from an injury in any given year are 1 in 1,755. Your lifetime odds are 1 in 23.
- Check out more at: http://www.nsc.org/lrs/statinfo/odds.htm
I also found some website that said your odds of getting away with murder are 2 to 1, so that's good news if any of you plan on killing somebody. I'm not sure how accurate that site is, it's death rates are close to the NSC's and it does say one in three women will develop some form of cancer in her lifetime, which I also know is true, but if it is right -- then there's some good news. I have a 1 in 220 shot at writing a New York Times bestseller, a 1 in 250 chance of having a child who's a genius and only a 1 in 7,000 chance of being considered possessed by Satan. Woo hoo!
posted by This one time . . . @ 11:44 PM
4 Comments:
So according to that website I have a 88,000 to 1 chance of dating a supermodel. In fact, those odds are so low they had to put it in there at least twice. I wonder how they calculate these odds, though. I mean for example, is that just the total population divided by the number of supermodels? Does that take into account the number of guy supermodels vs. girl supermodels, and the number of single vs. married ones, and whether or not they'd actually find me attractive or I them? Sometimes, odds are what you make of them. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go find a lottery ticket.
Yeah, you have a better chance of becoming a pro-athlete than dating a supermodel. I also wonder if they take into account how many of them are already married.
And I agree that odds are what you make of them, because if we all worried about the odds, then no one would ever take any risks, and then life wouldn't be any fun!
ok hello- i would totally buy a lottery ticket b/c i have this AWESOME luck thing, and i'm pretty sure my sweet ass could win. so shut up
# of persons a particular thing happened to divided by # of persons it could potentially happen to, usually the current population, or a particular demographic.
People that play lottery religiously are retards. And it's usually poor folks. And folks that think the world owes them. And folks that are too lazy to get off their asses and do something useful with their lives.
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