Lotteries are played by a whopping 70% of British adults, and that popularity is replicated in countries all over the world.
In the US, for example, roughly 143 million people play each year. This life-changing competition has been represented in TV many times over the years.
For the sake of entertainment, though, things aren’t always as rosy for the TV characters as they are for real-life winners. There could be a lot to learn from our favourite fictional fools.
Reg Hollis – The Bill
Reg Hollis, the inept but loveable law enforcer from ITV’s hit police drama, once made a costly mistake with the lottery. He and some of his Sun Hill police colleagues were in a lottery syndicate and they played the same numbers each week. Reg was tasked with buying the tickets one week but he forgot.
Needless to say this was the week that the syndicate’s numbers came up, and the likes of John Carver and co were celebrating in the pub after watching the draw. Reg had to own up to it and face a hosing down in one of the cells as punishment. His friends forgave him, eventually.
So what’s the moral of this story? Always remember to play the lottery. It’s now easier than ever using the internet or smartphone apps. The next time you buy you could end up with the winning scratch card or ticket, and be faced with unparalleled amounts of wealth.
Homer Simpson – The Simpsons
Homer Simpson is not best known for his good fortune, so it stands to reason that his lottery win didn’t exactly go to plan. Homer won $1 million on a ticket purchased from the Kwik-E-Mart, but in doing so had broken a promise to Marge to sing with her at a friend’s wedding.
He therefore decided to spend the money as quickly as possible rather than own up to the error of his ways, so went on a spending spree with Bart. He decided to own up to Marge in the end, but also told her that he’d spent it all.
The moral here? A lottery win would probably make even the angriest wife forget what the problem was. If you win it’s probably best to tell your better half so she can stop you from frittering it away.
Hurley – Lost
Do you remember that weird sequence of numbers that the characters in Lost had to type into a computer every 108 minutes? They bizarrely had to press 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42 to stop the world from ending.
Lovable Hurley decided to test out these numbers in the lottery and see if they had magical power in that sense as well. The numbers came through on the “Mega Lotto Jackpot” but afterwards the character was stalked by bad luck.
There probably isn’t a moral to this story, as nothing in Lost made sense anyway.
So remember, when playing the lottery don’t forget to buy your ticket, do tell your loved ones about your winnings, and don’t play some spooky numbers that you found on a desert island after surviving a plane crash.