Some lucky Californian is surely on cloud nine after winning a record Powerball jackpot of $2.04 billion recently. This fortunate person beat the incredible odds of 1 in 292 million! Don't lose hope, though, because there will be other opportunities to cash in in the future. But how good are the odds of winning the Powerball really?Unfortunately, there are hundreds of unlikely happenings that are more likely to happen to you than the odds of winning the Powerball. Those odds may sound unreal, but come on, it does make sense, does it not? Get ready to be surprised at how low a person’s chances are of winning the Powerball. So before you fantasize about using the lottery winnings to buy yourself a mansion or something even grander, like getting yourself a private island, take a look at the ten things that are far more likely to occur to you than becoming the winner of the next Powerball drawing. These 10 unlikely things are more likely to happen than the odds of winning the Powerball
1. Getting killed by wasps, bees, or hornets
Sadly, the chances of a person dying from a wasp, bee, or hornet’s sting are more likely than them winning the Powerball. To be more specific, there are 1 in 6.1 million chances for this to happen to a person. 2. Winning the Olympics
This seems so far-fetched, yet it is more likely to happen than someone being hailed as the grand winner of Powerball. The likelihood of a person winning a gold medal at the Olympics is 1 in 662,000. 3. Becoming president of the United States
Now, this truly takes the cake. Imagine being president of one of the three largest sovereign countries in the world—it is more likely than winning the lottery. There are about 1 in 10 million chances of someone becoming president versus bringing home Powerball’s grand prize. 4. Dying in a plane crash
There are about 70-90 crashes annually, whereas the odds of winning the jackpot in Powerball are very low. To put this in perspective, the odds of a person winning the lottery are 1 in 292.2 million.5. Drowning in a bathtub
A bathtub may look harmless, but there have actually been thousands of deaths due to drowning in them. Every year, approximately 355 people lose their lives in bathtubs, according to Seattlepi. That estimate has a bigger probability of happening than someone winning the lottery. The chances of someone dying in a bathtub are 1 in 840,000.6. Dying due to a vending machine
Another object that seems harmless is a vending machine. Who would ever think that a machine like this is capable of ending someone’s life? The manner in which people are killed by vending machines is fairly predictable. People die after being crushed by vending machines that fall on top of them. The chances of dying due to a vending machine are 1 in 112 million. 7. Being able to pay off student loans in full
Student loans have always been a growing problem in the United States. But did you know that the likelihood of winning the Powerball jackpot is lower than the likelihood of a student repaying all of their debts? To understand this better, there are 1 in 7.5 million chances that a student repays their debt rather than winning the lottery. 8. Choking on your food
According to NSC.org, around 3,000 people died from choking alone in 2020, and the usual cause is food. This occurs so frequently that it is ranked as the fourth most common cause of accidental injury death in the US. Sadly, the chances of someone choking on their food are 1 in 2,535; that has a very large gap when compared to the odds of winning the Powerball. 9. Meeting your doppleganger
Seeing someone exactly identical to you is more likely to happen than owning billions of dollars in cash from Powerball. As a matter of fact, there is a 1 in 135 chance of seeing your doppleganger compared to winning the lottery. 10. Dying from an amusement park ride
Amusement parks are all fun and games, but when someone gets caught up in an accident, or even worse, dies from it, that is where it truly gets spooky. According to the Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, the chances of someone dying from amusement park rides are 1 in 24 million. With all those discouraging statistics, is there even a chance of winning the Powerball jackpot or any other lottery prize? Just ask the lucky Californian!
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