Number 42

In Mega Millions under the 5/70 + 1/25 · Oct 2017 – Apr 2025 rules — 776 draws, 5 from 1–70 (an earlier era).

61times drawn · chance expected 55 +0.78σ

6draws waiting · a wait this long: 69% for any number

12.8average wait between appearances · chance says 14.0

79longest completed wait · 17% chance of one at least that long

42 is drawn as often as chance explains

Drawn 61 times in 776 draws against 55.4 expected, +0.78σ. Each draw is independent: after 6 draws away it is exactly as likely tonight as a number drawn yesterday.

Number 42, draw by draw

Drawn 61 times in 776 draws · average wait 12.8 draws · longest completed wait 79 · waiting 6 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 1.4
2nd smallest5 · chance 9.5
3rd smallest21 · chance 21.9
4th smallest28 · chance 21.1
5th smallest7 · chance 7.1

Every position’s lane →

The company it keeps

Seen most often with these — chance gives every partner about 3.5 shared draws, and the leaders are simply the ones that came out ahead this time.

39 10 22 24 37 3

Never drawn alongside 2 of the other 69 numbers; chance expects about 2 such strangers 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 — 36th most popular of 70. 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
2025-03-14	20	4th	3 17 39 42 70
2025-01-03	11	2nd	20 42 46 59 69
2024-11-26	5	5th	5 22 24 39 42
2024-11-08	2	3rd	25 28

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 5/70 tonight whatever it did last week.

2022-01-18	11	4th	4 19 39 42 52
2021-12-10	4	4th	23 25 40 42 60
2021-11-26	4	4th	7 27 37 42 59
2021-11-12	40	3rd	30 32 42 46 48
2021-06-25	17	3rd	17 20 42 45 65
2021-04-27	6	5th	15 22 30 41 42
2021-04-06	1	5th	1 19 20 32 42
2021-04-02	20	2nd	10 42 48 53 62
2021-01-22	38	3rd	4 26 42 50 60
2020-09-11	6	3rd	3 15 42 48 56
2020-08-21	2	4th	11 15 31 42 63
2020-08-14	3	4th	3 24 29 42 47
2020-08-04	14	4th	2 22 30 42 62
2020-06-16	47	5th	21 23 33 35 42
2020-01-03	27	3rd	37 41 42 53 63
2019-10-01	2	4th	10 17 39 42 59
2019-09-24	1	4th	6 14 24 42 46
2019-09-20	33	3rd	23 24 42 48 53
2019-05-28	20	4th	9 21 34 42 50
2019-03-19	3	2nd	10 42 53 67 68
2019-03-08	8	3rd	4 9 42 62 68
2019-02-08	13	4th	14 24 31 42 48
2018-12-25	6	3rd	2 8 42 43 50
2018-12-04	2	4th	28 31 41 42 50
2018-11-27	2	4th	12 24 37 42 57
2018-11-20	29	4th	10 16 31 42 66
2018-08-10	34	5th	1 3 12 22 42
2018-04-13	3	4th	8 9 32 42 59
2018-04-03	9	4th	4 29 39 42 62
2018-03-02	9	3rd	24 28 42 60 64
2018-01-30	8	3rd	29 41 42 49 57
2018-01-02	3	2nd	1 42 47 64 70
2017-12-22	1	5th	1 20 30 33 42
2017-12-19	4	4th	28 37 39 42 58
2017-12-05	7	4th	14 15 37 42 67
2017-11-10	2	4th	6 23 38 42 58
2017-11-03	—	3rd	10 22 42 61 69