Number 42

In Mega Millions under the 5/56 + 1/46 · Jun 2005 – Oct 2013 rules — 869 draws, 5 from 1–56 (an earlier era).

76times drawn · chance expected 78 −0.19σ

23draws waiting · a wait this long: 13% for any number

11.2average wait between appearances · chance says 11.2

43longest completed wait · 77% chance of one at least that long

42 is drawn as often as chance explains

Drawn 76 times in 869 draws against 77.6 expected, −0.19σ. Each draw is independent: after 23 draws away it is exactly as likely tonight as a number drawn yesterday.

Number 42, draw by draw

Drawn 76 times in 869 draws · average wait 11.2 draws · longest completed wait 43 · waiting 23 draws now

a completed wait — darker is longer the wait still running — a lower bound, not a finished gap

Where it lands in a sorted draw

Sort a draw and 42 has a favourite seat — chance gives a large number the high positions more often. That is the shape of sorting, not of the machine.

1st smallest0 · chance 0.2
2nd smallest4 · chance 3.3
3rd smallest14 · chance 16.6
4th smallest37 · chance 33.3
5th smallest21 · chance 22.6

Every position’s lane →

The company it keeps

Seen most often with these — chance gives every partner about 5.5 shared draws, and the leaders are simply the ones that came out ahead this time.

36 38 14 46 55 9

It has shared a draw with every one of the other 55 numbers; chance expected about 0.2 still unmet by now. Every pair →

How many people play it

Under the crowd model, 42 is picked about 0.86× as often as an indifferent choice — 34th most popular of 56. That changes nothing about whether it comes up, and everything about how many ways a jackpot on it would be shared.

Numbers above 31 ×0.86

The model and its sources → · What people believe about 42 →

Every draw it appeared in

Date	Wait	Position	The draw
2013-07-30	3	4th	5 27 36 42 44
2013-07-19	5	5th	16 20 24 39 42
2013-07-02	17	2nd	36 42 51 52 53
2013-05-03	2	4th	2 20

What this cannot tell you

Nothing here predicts the next draw. A number’s history is a record of a fair machine’s past, and the machine keeps none of it: 42 is drawn with probability 5/56 tonight whatever it did last week.

2011-05-24	21	4th	9 12 21 42 43
2011-03-11	18	4th	14 19 21 42 45
2011-01-07	23	3rd	4 22 42 46 53
2010-10-19	7	5th	2 9 14 37 42
2010-09-24	30	4th	2 28 38 42 55
2010-06-11	15	5th	6 13 33 34 42
2010-04-20	17	5th	5 8 10 34 42
2010-02-19	42	4th	1 22 39 42 46
2009-09-25	13	3rd	7 27 42 49 52
2009-08-11	2	5th	6 12 15 32 42
2009-08-04	21	4th	1 28 34 42 50
2009-05-22	1	4th	3 29 34 42 49
2009-05-19	11	5th	2 4 9 15 42
2009-04-10	43	4th	18 25 36 42 51
2008-11-11	6	4th	5 27 38 42 55
2008-10-21	2	4th	16 19 39 42 44
2008-10-14	2	4th	14 35 41 42 51
2008-10-07	13	5th	2 25 35 38 42
2008-08-22	7	5th	12 13 15 41 42
2008-07-29	11	5th	11 13 20 30 42
2008-06-20	20	5th	11 17 25 36 42
2008-04-11	5	5th	14 18 27 31 42
2008-03-25	10	2nd	38 42 43 48 53
2008-02-19	6	3rd	1 38 42 55 56
2008-01-29	4	5th	8 23 39 40 42
2008-01-15	1	3rd	21 30 42 44 50
2008-01-11	14	3rd	22 36 42 45 55
2007-11-23	1	4th	18 21 33 42 56
2007-11-20	3	4th	14 20 23 42 43
2007-11-09	19	4th	11 33 41 42 46
2007-09-04	9	4th	3 6 11 42 46
2007-08-03	20	3rd	16 29 42 46 51
2007-05-25	3	4th	10 14 22 42 43
2007-05-15	14	3rd	6 13 42 46 56
2007-03-27	5	5th	18 25 34 35 42
2007-03-09	1	4th	10 13 25 42 43
2007-03-06	15	5th	16 22 29 39 42
2007-01-12	7	5th	12 14 26 40 42
2006-12-19	8	4th	9 32 37 42 48
2006-11-21	3	4th	7 13 20 42 47
2006-11-10	8	2nd	11 42 52 53 55
2006-10-13	5	3rd	24 27 42 47 50
2006-09-26	6	4th	3 6 38 42 45
2006-09-05	18	4th	1 32 36 42 53
2006-07-04	32	4th	9 15 31 42 45
2006-03-14	2	4th	27 28 30 42 50
2006-03-07	31	5th	15 27 36 38 42
2005-11-18	11	4th	8 18 21 42 46
2005-10-11	6	3rd	24 30 42 53 54
2005-09-20	6	4th	35 36 40 42 52
2005-08-30	17	3rd	19 32 42 49 56
2005-07-01	—	4th	14 25 41 42 50