I'm Dr Adam Rutherford. And I'm Dr Hannah Fry. And you are going to send us your everyday

mysteries. And we are going to investigate them using the power of science. Science. I like it.

Yes, I do like it and today you're going to like it because Hannah is extraordinary.

I'm really excited. I'm really going to. Hannah is really excited because today we're doing some

maths. We only get to do maths. Maybe we have other series and this is one which is all about maths.

She's been let off the leash today. It's proper. Stats, maths. I honestly, a little face is beaming.

So let's have a listen.

Hello, this case is one and a million and it was sent into curious cases at BBC.co.uk by Vince Scots

from Edinburgh who asks,

My boss insists that if you choose the same numbers in the lottery each time, your probability of

winning will increase. He says he learned this in a textbook and a lecture at university.

Is this true? I get it. It's nothing like getting one over on the boss

and nothing like 15 minutes of delicious probability theory.

Okay, well, lotteries today may be a load of balls but in the past they involved everything

from beans to machines and formed basis of entire societies.

In ancient Greece, lotteries were the backbone of society they were used to elect politicians,

civil servants and even executioners. This random method of choosing candidates was designed

to prevent fraud and corruption. Later in Rome, avid gambler Emperor Nero ran lotteries during

his sumptuous feasts, offering lavish prizes from ships to land. Although losing was also costly,

as booby prizes could include a spot of torture.

Today, national lotteries are played in more than 80 countries worldwide and in the US alone,

lottery sales topped $80.5 billion in 2016. But when it comes to choosing your lottery numbers,

...