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12 Bonkers Facts About Probability And Statistics

Turns out, you have a higher chance of dying on your birthday.

12 Bonkers Facts About Probability And Statistics

May 06, 2023

Ah, probability and statistics! The two fields of mathematics that have puzzled and intrigued us for centuries. From the ancient Greeks trying to explain the odds of winning at dice games to the modern day statisticians trying to predict the outcomes of elections, probability and statistics have both been the source of endless fascination... along with their close cousins, lies and damned lies (which we won't be covering in this or probably any other list, as it would be not unlike trying to sample the ocean with a thimble).

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But did you know that there are some bonkers facts about probability and statistics that you may not have heard of? That's right - from the risk of dying on your birthday to the chance of finding a doppelganger, this list of 12 bonkers facts about probability and statistics might blow your mind. So, if you're ready, let's dive into the weird and wonderful world of probability and statistics.

13

Heads you lose.

CRACKED FLIPPING A PENNY When you flip a penny, it's more likely to land on tails than heads. That's because the penny's center of mass is slightly more on the heads side, making tails come up about 80% of the time. — Smithsonian Mag

12

Birthdays: Riskier than ever.

CRACKED RISK OF DYING ON ONE'S BIRTHDAY People are 14-18% more likely to die on their birthday than any other day of the year. That's according to a major Swedish study, and one of the authors says We can only speculate on the reasons for the extra deaths on birthdays. — NBC / Eat Right

11

Furniture: 1, Terrorists: 0.

CRACKED FURNITURE VS TERRORISM A 2015 study showed that the chances of getting hurt or killed by a terrorist in the US are really small. In fact, you're more likely to get crushed to death by falling TVs or furniture than by a terrorist. — Washington Post / Depositphotos

10

Men's genes determine sons or daughters?

CRACKED GENETIC INFLUENCE ON GENDER OF OFFSPRING According to a Newcastle University study of hundreds of years of family trees, men who had more brothers were more likely to have sons, and those with more sisters were more likely to have daughters. This pattern wasn't seen in women. — BBC / Today's Parent

9

Lefties: 1, Righties: 0.

CRACKED LEFT-HANDEDNESS IN SPORTS Lefties have a statistical advantage in sports that involve direct one-on-one interaction, like baseball, tennis, and boxing. This is because they are a bit of a surprise, since most opponents aren't used to facing someone who is left-handed. — ABC / DW

8

Lightning strikes: One in a million chance, 90% survival rate.

CRACKED GETTING STRUCK BY LIGHTNING It's really unlikely that you'll get hit by lightning in any given year - almost a one-in-a-million chance. Most people who do get struck by lightning make it out alive, with around 90% of them surviving. — CDC / Distance ME

7

Your friends: living the dream.

CRACKED THE FRIENDSHIP PARADOX The friendship paradox says that your friends tend to have more friends than you do. Network scientists have also found that your friends are usually wealthier and happier than you are. — Technology Review / Woman and Home

6

Orange you glad you're out of Jail?

CRACKED SUPER NT ROAD BISHOPSGATE MAYF BOUR 1. KINGS ROAD COLLECT €600k 2. KE £2M AS YOU PASS EMM GO MONOPOLY In the US version of Monopoly, the orange group of properties - St James Place, Tennessee Avenue, and New York Avenue - are statistically the likeliest spots for players to land when they get out of Jail. So: buy those. — BBC / NPR

5

Miraculous odds defied.

CRACKED CHANCE OF BEING BORN It's incredibly unlikely that you were born - the odds that all 150,000 generations of your lineage would remain unbroken are about one in 400 trillion. So ... go and make the most of it. — HuffPost / Healthline

4

Weird but true: Birthday Paradox.

CRACKED H CICCO un BER BIRTHDAY PARADOX There's a roughly 50% chance that if you get a group of 23 people together, two of them will have the same birthday. — Scientific American / Play Meo

3

No doppelganger? No worries.

CRACKED DOPPELGANGERS The chances of having an exact twin are pretty slim - only one in 135. But if you look at the bigger picture - attributes like the overall shape of your face-it's more likely that you have a doppelganger out there. — BBC

2

Impossible task.

CRACKED SHUFFLING A DECK OF CARDS It's almost impossible to shuffle a deck of cards into the exact same order twice - it's like trying to arrange the same number of atoms as there are in our entire galaxy. So it's almost certain that every single shuffled deck of cards, ever, is unique. — Science Focus / Phys

1

Jazz: Impossible to guess.

CRACKED HANGMAN It turns out that the most difficult word to guess in Hangman is jazz. It's made up of 75% uncommon letters (J and Z) and you only get three chances to get it right. — Reader's Digest / Calm Radio

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