What
Are The Chances?
There’s some surprising stats out there! Do you know what the chances are of being born with teeth? Or regretting your next tattoo? Let's delve into some of the most unusual statistics out there and find out.
See how many you can get right!
Health & Beauty
Question 1: What are the chances of being born with 11 fingers or toes?
This condition is actually fairly common today and tends to run in families. [source]
Question 2: What are the odds of your baby being born with teeth?
Whilst most babies cut their first tooth between 4 and 7 months old, some are actually born with one or more teeth. [source]
Question 3: What are the chances of being born with Heterochromia Iridis? (two eyes that are a different colour)
Heterochromia Iridis is quite uncommon and can be present at birth or can be acquired. In most cases, it is hardly noticeable. [source]
According to research, nearly a third of people with tattoos regret getting one. Research has also shown that men are more likely to regret a tattoo than women. [source]
Summary of Answers
Question 1: What are the chances of being born with 11 fingers or toes?
Answer: 1 in 500
Question 2: What are the odds of your baby being born with teeth?
Answer: 1 in every 2,000 births
Question 3: What are the chances of being born with Heterochromia Iridis? (two eyes that are a different colour)
Answer: 6 in 1,000
Question 4: What are the odds that you will regret your next tattoo?
Answer: 1 in 3
Life & Death
Question 1: What are the odds of dying in a
plane crash?
The odds of dying in a plane crash is 1 in 11 million. You are more likely to be struck by lightning, killed by a shark, or die in a car crash than in a plane. [source]
The odds of being murdered are very low compared to other causes of death. According to the Centre for Disease Control & Prevention, the odds of death by homicide in America is less than 1% of all U.S deaths. [source]
In 2016, according to data from the Office for National Statistics, one in three babies born will get to celebrate their 100th birthday! [source]
Question 4: In the UK, what are the odds of having twins, triplets, or more?
According to the NHS website, around 1 in every 65 births in the United Kingdom are twins, triplets, or more. In 2016 alone, there were approximately 12,000 sets of twins born in the UK. [source]
Summary of Answers
Question 1: What are the odds of dying in a plane crash?
Answer: 1 in 11 Million
Question 2: What are the chances of being murdered?
Answer: 1 in 18,989
Question 3: What are the chances of living to 100?
Answer: 1 in 3
Question 4: In the UK, what are the odds of having twins, triplets, or more?
Answer: 1 in every 65 births
Food
According to a BBC report from 2011, two friends who were cooking together cracked four eggs and managed to find not one double yolker, not two, but four! [source]
The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention states that an estimated 1 in 6 Americans get sick every year from food poisoning. Another 128,000 are hospitalised from foodborne diseases each year and 3,000 die from it. [source]
Experts state that the chances of finding a pearl in an oyster is approximately 1 in 10,000. In one US restaurant – over the course of eight years and over 4 million oysters served, only one pearl was found. [source]
In the U.S, there are around 1 in 10 people who have a food allergy. Shellfish, milk, and peanuts were the most common allergies for US citizens. [source]
Summary of Answers
Question 1: What are the odds of finding a double yolker?
Answer: 1 in 1,000
Question 2: What are the chances of getting food poisoning?
Answer: 1 in 6
Question 3: What are the odds of finding a pearl in an oyster?
Answer: 1 in 10,000
Question 4: What are the chances of having a food allergy?
Answer: 1 in 10
Winning
Question 1: What are the odds of becoming a millionaire?
The Business Insider says that the chances of you becoming a millionaire in your lifetime depends a lot on how old you are. Young people haven’t had the chance to save as much and need to invest in education/buying a home, compared to older people who have been working for years leading up to their retirement. [source]
Question 2: What are the chances of winning an Olympic medal?
Want to be the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps? Well, the chances of you winning an Olympic medal are quite slim. [source]
If you want to make it big as a movie star, the chances of you winning an Oscar are 1 in 11,500. The actor with the most Academy Award nominations without a win is Peter O’Toole, who has been nominated eight times. [source]
The odds of you moving all of your cards to the Ace pile is 1 in every 11.5 games played. This is based on 100,000,000 games played by a simulator. [source]
Summary of Answers
Question 1: What are the odds of becoming a millionaire?
Answer A: 1 in 7
Answer B: 1 in 55
Question 2: What are the chances of winning an Olympic medal?
Answer: 1 in 662,000
Question 3: What are the odds of winning an Oscar?
Answer: 1 in 11,500
Question 4: What are the odds of winning a game of Solitaire?
Answer: 1 in 11.5
Jobs
Question 1: What are the chances of you making a living as a YouTube star?
Want to be the next Zoella? Then you have a 1 in 505,347 chance of making a living on YouTube. As of January 2020, PewDiePie (Felix Kjellberg) is the most-subscribed individual user on the channel with 103 million subscribers. [source]
Question 2: What are the chances of you becoming president?
Think you can become the 46th President of the United States? Well, there’s a 1 in 10,000,000 chance of that happening! [source]
Question 3: What are the chances of becoming a movie star?
You have a 1 in 1,190,000 chance of becoming a movie star. You have a better chance of making it on Youtube, or finding a pearl in an oyster! [source]
Question 4: What are the chances of becoming an astronaut?
You’re actually more likely to become an astronaut than win the Lotto jackpot! You are also more likely to become a professional athlete or a movie star than winning the full jackpot on the lottery. [source]
Summary of Answers
Question 1: What are the chances of you making a living as a YouTube star?
Answer: 1 in 505,347
Question 2: What are the chances of you becoming president?
Answer: 1 in 10,000,000
Question 3: What are the chances of becoming a movie star?
Answer: 1 in 1,190,000
Question 4: What are the chances of becoming an astronaut?
Answer: 1 in 12 million
Sports
Question 1: What are the chances of becoming a professional athlete?
Want to become a professional footballer? Want to make it as a successful tennis player? Then the chances of you becoming a professional athlete is 1 in 24,500. [source]
In a poll, around two thirds of runners suffered from an injury. Some of the most common running injuries include shin splints and runner’s knee. [source]
Question 3: What are the chances of becoming an NBA player?
Think you can take basketball to the next level? We can all dream big, but chances are slim if you want to make it as an NBA player. [source]
Question 4: What are the chances of competing in the Olympic Games?
Some athletes compete all their life and don’t make it to an Olympic games. If you fancy the chance of winning bronze, silver, or gold – the chances of you competing in the Olympics are 1 in 562,000. [source]
Summary of Answers
Question 1: What are the chances of becoming a professional athlete?
Answer: 1 in 24,550
Question 2: What are the chances of getting a running injury?
Answer: 2 in 3
Question 3: What are the chances of becoming an NBA player?
Answer A: 1 in 3,333
Answer B: 1 in 5,000
Question 4: What are the chances of competing in the Olympic Games?
Answer: 1 in 562,400
Random
According to research, around 25% of businesses fail within the first year. This is usually down to the learning curve of becoming a business owner. Lack of management experience, lack of planning, and no experience in record-keeping, are just some reasons why your new business might fail in its first year. [source]
According to research, finding a four-leaf clover is just one thing that is more likely to happen than winning the Powerball jackpot. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot is 1 in 292 million where finding a four-leaf clover is 1 in 10,000. [source]
Question 3: What are the odds of going blind after laser eye surgery?
According to the London Vision Clinic, the chances of going blind after laser eye surgery is very low, 1 in 5 million in fact! [source]
In 2013, a study from Tech21 estimated that around 90% of people drop their phones at least once a month. Hopefully you won’t be like the guy in 2014 who dropped his new iPhone 6, live on TV, just seconds after opening the box! [source]
In 2017, crime data from the FBI suggested that if you murder someone in America, there’s a 40% chance you will get away with it. [source]
Summary of Answers
Question 1: What are the chances of your start-up business failing within
the first year?
Answer: 25%
Question 2: What are the chances of finding a four-leaf clover?
Answer: 1 in 10,000
Question 3: What are the odds of going blind after laser eye surgery?
Answer: 1 in 5 million
Question 4: What are the chances of you dropping your mobile phone at least once a month?
Answer: 90%
Question 5: How likely are you to get away with murder in the United States
of America?
Answer: 40%