20 things more likely to happen than winning the Mega Millions lottery

Mike Catalano, chairman of the mathematics department at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, S.D., discusses the odds of winning in lottery games with his students to show how unlikely it is. He calculates winning a huge lottery to be roughly 1 in 176 million - and gets worse the more tickets are purchased. "You're about 50 times as likely to get struck by lightening as to win the lottery, based on the 90 people a year getting struck by lightening," Catalano said. "Of course, if you buy 50 tickets, you've equalized your chances of winning the jackpot with getting struck by lightning." Interesting. I couldn't help wonder what else might be more likely than winning the lottery. The answers were amusing and even a little alarming. Related: What you could do with $310 million? Here's a guide'