PixabayThe world’s most popular lottery number is 11 – pushing ‘lucky number seven’ down to second place, according to a study.
Analysts from Lottoland identified the top 10 numbers most commonly selected by its customers across 13 countries including the UK, Ireland, Italy, Australia and more.
And number 13 – unlucky for some – came eighth in the list.
Other popular figures include 17, 27 and 19.
A spokesman for Lottoland said:
Throughout history the number 11 has proved its significance time and again, so it should perhaps come of little surprise that it’s the one which evidently springs to mind the most.
The first two humans to ever land on the moon arrived there in a craft bearing the figure 11, the first world war ended on the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour, and some of the world’s greatest sportsmen have worn the same number on their shirts.
In fact, two of the top 10 most played numbers recently helped a 36-year-old cleaner scoop £78m on Lottoland’s largest ever payout.
The five winning numbers on that occasion were 14, 19, 21, 30, 32, with two Euro numbers (4 and 7) that bagged her record breaking win on the Eurojackpot.
PALottoland also commissioned a poll of 2,000 UK adults and found lucky numbers are the most popular type of good luck charm for Brits.
Having a lucky number was followed by a good-luck charm, a piece of jewellery, a lucky pen and a ‘special’ shirt.
The top 10 most commonly played lottery numbers across the world are:
1. 11
2. 7
3. 17
4. 27
5. 19
6. 23
7. 12
8. 13
9. 9
10. 18
While the top five ‘lucky’ items in the UK are:
1. A lucky number
2. Charm
3. Jewellery
4. Pen
5. Shirt
Earlier this year, a man in America revealed he’d remortgaged his house the week before winning $315 million on the lottery so he could pay for his daughter to go to college.
Tayeb Souami, from Little Ferry in New Jersey, was on his way to a car wash when he decided to stop at a local store to check the winning numbers.
WPVI-TVAt a press conference, he said:
This is big. I am very emotional right now. I like the numbers and I always play with those numbers.
Speaking about how it felt to find out he’d won, he said his heart was beating out of his chest ‘just like a ‘Tom and Jerry cartoon’, adding:
When I went inside, I scanned the first ticket and it wasn’t the winner. The second ticket was good but the machine said it must be seen by the retailer.
The clerk kept saying, ‘Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God’.
He said he felt so nervous about the whole thing, he had trouble driving home from the store.
And while he only played the lottery ‘occasionally’, Souami had remortgaged his home to pay for his children’s college tuition a week before winning the lottery.
Speaking to the press about what he’ll be doing with the money, he said:
I have to take care of my kids. College first. Education is very important.
Right, I’m off to get a ticket.
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via [email protected]
Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.