Book of Numbers Gives You the Odds

What are the chances you’ll read this story?

Probably better than the prospect that you’ll lose weight and keep it off. But maybe not as good as the chance you’ll say a prayer before the day is over.

Likelihood of the first is just 1 in 10. The probability you’ll pray today is much better: 57 in 100.

The figures are from “What the Odds Are,” a book whose editors have spun the wheel, shaken the dice, shuffled the cards and worked the library to come up with “A to Z Odds on Everything You Hoped or Feared Could Happen.”

Take fears.

The book, quoting the National Safety Council, says you have a 1 in 23 chance of dying in an accident. If you do, chances are 1 in 2 that it will be a car wreck.

Hope to win your state’s lottery? The odds are 4 million to 1 against you, far, far worse than the 1 in 9,100 chance of being hit by lightning.

Hope to see your name in print?

According to the book, nearly three-quarters of all Americans are mentioned in the media at least once in their lifetimes. One in 4 is on television at least once.

How about doing without?

The book says 1 in 3 people in the United States do without strong drink; without movies or a daily newspaper, 2 in 5; without drugs, 4 in 5; without church, 3 in 5.

Without sex?

Outside wedlock, the book says the figures range from 1 in 10 for people who have never been married to 1 in 33 for those divorced twice.

Without television? Only 1 in 50.

According to the book, here are some good bets:

* You will regain weight loss after a diet: 90 chances in 100.

* You will parent a child: 80 in 100.

* You will qualify for a mortgage: 80 in 100.

* A criminal will return to jail after release: 80 in 100.

* A youth will graduate high school: 75 in 100.

* You will be married: 75 in 100.

* A smoker will try to quit: 71 in 100.

* A wife will outlive her husband: 70 in 100.

* You will avoid imprisonment if convicted: 60 in 100.

* A college freshman will graduate: 50 in 100.

* A child will live past 75: 50 in 100.

Then there are the long shots, some worth waiting for, some not:

* You will undergo an IRS audit this year: 1 in 100.

* A person will be incarcerated: 1 in 200.

* Your child will be a genius: 1 in 250.

* A high school player will play in a future Super Bowl: 1 in 4,000.

* The Earth will be devastated by a meteorite in your lifetime: 1 in 9,000.

* A person will be struck by lightning: 1 in 9,100.

* A professional golfer will get a hole-in-one: 1 in 15,000.

* A fan will be hit by a baseball at a major league game: 1 in 300,000.

* You will be dealt a royal flush in the opening poker hand: 1 in 649,739.

* A state lottery player will hit the jackpot: 1 in 4 million.

* A passenger will be killed in an air crash: 1 in 4.6 million.