The Secret Behind Powerball Strategies

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For those who buy into the lottery, purchasing multiple tickets—one every week, say, or five-or ten-at-a-time—might appear to substantially increase their odds. But what are the odds of winning a lottery? And do any “strategies” really work? To answer that, Book of Odds delves into the numbers behind the biggest American lottery: the Powerball. The … Read more

How Risky Is an Escalator Ride?

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All things considered, escalators are remarkably safe. The odds a person will die from an escalator accident in the United States during the course of a year are 1 in 90,470,000. That’s a fatality rate of 3 to 4 per year in a country of just over 300,000,000 people. It’s shocking when a death does occur, … Read more

Cocaine on Currency

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Someone has been saying yes to drugs, and the proof is likely in your wallet. According to a study released in August by scientists from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, up to 90% of paper money in the US carries traces of cocaine. The researchers analyzed 234 bills, in denominations from $1 to $100, from … Read more

Coffee, Coffee Everywhere, but Not a Drop in Boston

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The recent water crisis in the greater Boston area, brought about by a massive rupture in a central water main, imposed many hardships on the two million people forced to boil water—or circle supermarkets hoping to spot a truck bringing in the bottled kind. With the taps shut off all across the city and throughout nearby suburbs … Read more

Exercising Yourself into the ER & Living the Tale

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Can exercise land you in the hospital, or even worse, the morgue? In 2008, Max Gilpin, a 15-year-old offensive lineman for his high school football team, was running sprints up and down the field at a practice held in blistering Kentucky August heat. Coach David Jason Stinson was so relentless that one player collapsed and another … Read more

10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Boston Marathon

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Oldest annually run marathon on Earth—first held in 1897 with 15 entrants. William McKinley was president. Second Boston Marathon was won by a man named Ronald MacDonald. Current course record: 2 hours, 4 minutes, and 17 seconds, set in 2006 by four-time champion Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, of Kenya. Comedian Will Ferrell ran the Boston Marathon … Read more

Sharks or Vending Machines: Which is Deadlier?

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It’s another 90-plus degree scorcher and the beach sounds awfully nice. Sapphire waves beckon—people young and old are playing, swimming, surfing, and having the most refreshing time imaginable. But Shark Week was on TV last night, and the thought of 15-foot-long hungry swimming tubes with teeth is enough to keep any sane person’s feet firmly planted in … Read more

Winning the Boston Marathon, With or Without Shoes

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For the first time in 27 years, an American male just might snatch the laurel leaf at Monday’s Boston Marathon. An unlikely combination of factors have come together to increase those odds. A massive cloud of dangerous ash, issuing from a volcano in Iceland, has closed much of European airspace, forcing an estimated 500 to … Read more