10 things less likely than winning the lottery

The odds of winning the Irish Lotto are 1 in 10,737,573 as opposed to the UK Lotto odds of 1 in 45,057,474.  For comparison, the EuroMillions jackpot odds are 1 in 139,838,160 whilst the US Mega Millions odds are truly stacked against you at 1 in 302,575,350.

There are certain events which are often given as examples of things more likely to occur than winning the lottery but if we take the Irish Lotto into consideration, you have a better chance of winning the Irish Lotto than the following events happening to you!

1) Being born – 1 in 10^2,685,000

Congratulations, you’ve already won the lottery of life!

Although it could be argued that ‘first prize’ could be considered to be born in a prosperous nation or into a rich family, the chances of your very existence are so minute that it is truly a miracle to have even beaten the odds to be born the first place. We’re not just talking about the fact that you beat around other million sperm to reach the egg. We’re going back, way back.

If you factor in the extremely unlikely event of your parents meeting and successfully getting pregnant and then consider the success of all your ancestors from the beginning of time, it’s mind-blowing. Harvard and Cambridge educated Dr Ali Binazir came up with the unbelievable odds of 1 in 10^2,685,000

The number represented is 10 with 2,685,000 zeros after it. That’s a pretty big number. When you think about it, playing the lottery doesn’t seem like such a bad idea!

2) Shuffling a deck of cards into a perfect, sequential order  - 1 in 10^68

If any poker player or magician out there could pull this one off it would be impressive, to say the least.

As explained by Professor Robert Matthews of Aston University, the odds of shuffling a perfectly ordered deck of cards – spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs are 1 in 10 to the power of 68, as above, that’s 10 with 68 zeros on the end. There have been reports of this happening before though, although this is more likely to happen with a fresh pack which hasn’t been properly shuffled yet as fresh packs come in order, or it could just be magic!

3) Meeting your doppelganger – 1 in a trillion

The word ‘Doppelgänger’ is German for ‘double-walker’, i.e. someone who looks the same as you. It seems that almost every celebrity has a ‘lookalike’ which really backs up the popular believe that everyone has a doppelgänger somewhere in the world. Unfortunately, unless you’re famous, the chances are that you’ll never meet your ‘double-walker’.

According to research by forensic anthropologist Dr Teghan Lucas of the University of New South Wales, ‘there is a 1 in a trillion chance that two or more people will match one another on eight measurements of the face’. Having said that, it may not be so uncommon to meet someone who may look a bit like you but to find someone who matches your exact features is a long shot.

4) Cracking open a triple-yoked egg -  1 in 25 million

How do you like your eggs in the morning?
How about a three-for-one deal? Imagine the novelty of making an omelette from a single egg!
Finding a double-yolk egg is not super rare, you have a 1 in 1,000 chance of finding one. When you do, it’s also not uncommon to find another in the same box as they tend to come from the same flock. Younger hens are more likely to produce multi-yolk eggs.

When it comes to finding a triple-yolker though, it’s worth savouring the moment as according to the British Egg Information Service (yes, this is a real organisation - with some tasty egg recipes by the way) you only have a 1 in 25 million chance of coming across one.

There have been some remarkable cases of people getting three triple-yolk eggs in a row or a double-yolk following by a triple. There was even a case in the US where a woman found a quadruple-yolk egg! The odds of that happening are estimated at 1 in 11 billion! Although there is not even enough data to back that up.

5) Killed by a vending machine – 1 in 112 million

This is quite a random fact but is often brought up by people defending sharks as you are more likely to be killed by a vending machine than by a shark, so take care when your next feeling a bit peckish.

According to data from the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, there is an average of 2.18 vending machine deaths per year in the US alone, which is not much but is still higher than the average of one shark attack fatality per two years in the US. The chances of dying from a shark attack is 0 in 264 million according to the Florida Museum of Natural History.

6) Dying from a roller coaster  - 1 in 750 million

We’ve all been to a theme park or fun fair and imagined what would happen if something went wrong. You’ve likely seen viral videos of shocking accidents where people have been left dangling from rides, but what are the chances of actually dying from a roller coaster related accident?

According to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, its 1 in 750 million. Then again, they’d want you to think the chance is low, wouldn’t they?                                                                                

7) Becoming a saint – 1 in 20 million

Are Southampton fans really that rare? Oh, wait.

Gregory Arthur Baer is president & CEO of Bank Policy Institute, so he must know a thing or two about the Vatican. In his book Life: The Odds (and How to Improve Them), Baer gives the odds of being canonised (that’s becoming a saint, not being killed by a cannon ball), at 1 in 20 million – although your odds are greatly increased if you manage to become the pope!

There are more than 10,000 saints recognised by the Roman Catholic Church. Roughly 30% of all popes are saints.

8) Giving birth to identical quadruplets – 1 in 15 million

We’ve all come across twins before, it’s also likely you’ve met identical twins. Triplets are less common and identical triplets even less so but identical quadruplets? It sounds incredible but it does occur from time to time. According to data from raisingmultiples.org the odds of having identical quadruplets in 1 in 15 million.

A woman from Minnesota gave birth to identical quadruplets in March 2020 (not the greatest time in world history), although they were not identical in weight as the lightest weighed in at only 1 lb 15 ounces whilst the heaviest at 2 lbs 10 ounces. A year on, the four baby brothers were all happy and healthy.

9) Attacked by a shark – 1 in 11.5 million

As we mentioned earlier, the odds of actually dying from a shark attack are super slim.

Statistically, hardly any shark attacks are fatal.

Being attacked by a shark is a much more probable event than dying from the attack but the odds are still very low. Of course, you are more likely to be attacked by a shark if you a surfer but even then, the odds are still only 1 in 11.5 million according to the Florida State Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File.

Turns out it really is ‘safe to go back into the water’.

10) Dying from a plane crash – 1 in 11 million

Let’s be honest, we’ll all felt our hearts in our throats after some turbulence.

Aviophobia or aerophobia, the fear of flying, is believed to affect one in ten of Britain’s population according to Anxiety UK. 

Yet, people are happy to hop into their cars every day or use public transport, with a much higher chance of having an accident or risking death. The Department for Transport’s 2020 annual report shows an estimated 1,460 reported road deaths occurred in the UK in 2020, which included 4 months of national lockdown, with 115,584 casualties of all severities (down by 25% from 2019).

It may be the sense of not being in control, feeling trapped in the plane or just the experience of being in the sky feeling so unnatural that affects us. Nevertheless, the odds of dying in a plane crash have been estimated at 1 in 11 million by David Ropeik, Instructor in Risk Communication at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Is playing the Lottery worth it?

Many articles that give examples of things more likely than winning the lottery tend to highlight why winning the lottery is so unlikely and some even suggest that you’re better off saving up. It’s true that the odds of winning most major international lotteries are very low but unlikely things do happen and people do win the lottery.

The odds of being killed in a traffic accident in the UK are 1 in 20,000 as opposed to 1 in 11 million for a plane crash yet we still get into our cars every day. 

What’s more, you don’t even need to risk death by driving to the shop as you can bet on the lottery online with Lottoland.  

If you ever find a four-leaf clover and are feeling lucky, why not try your luck on the Irish Lotto and remember, you beat the incredible odds of 1 in 10^2,685,000 to be here to read this article.

P.S Just a little reminder – you must be 18 or over to bet at Lottoland. Lottoland is not affiliated with the National Lottery or its operator Premier Lotteries. However, your chances and jackpot prizes remain the same, and you get to bet from the UK. 

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