Pam's Mythbuster: You have a better chance of being struck by lightning than win the lottery

Is it true that the odds of winning the lottery are worse than being struck by lightning?
No, even if we just consider the awarding of large jackpots. In 1996 1,136 people won $1,000,000 or more playing North American lotteries. An additional 4,520 won $100,000 or more. By contrast, 91 people were killed by lightning.

These odds don't count people who win $1,000's in lotteries either.

In addition, there's no second prize in a lightning strike. In a lottery, you win lesser amounts of money by coming close to the winning numbers. On many games odds of 1 in 5 or 1 in 4 are not uncommon. Lotteries award over $50 million in prizes in North America every day. Lightning isn't nearly that productive.

SO GO BUY A LOTTERY TICKET!!!!