I Didn’t Know That . . .

Q: Are there numbers I can pick to increase my chances of winning the lottery, as some books claim?

A: No, but there are numbers you can pick that could increase the amount you win if you should win, according to USC mathematician Solomon W. Golomb. Some numbers are picked by players more often than others. Many people, for example, use birthdays, so the numbers 1 through 12 (months) and 1 through 31 (days) are picked more frequently than higher numbers. Books recommend that you stay away from these lower numbers. Doing so will not affect the odds that you win; that stays constant. But should you win, there is a slightly increased chance that no one else will have selected your numbers and you will be less likely to have to share the prize.