Number 42

In PowerBall under the 5/45 + 1/20 · Oct 2009 – Jun 2018 rules — 896 draws, 5 from 1–45 (an earlier era).

106times drawn · chance expected 100 +0.69σ

15draws waiting · a wait this long: 19% for any number

8.3average wait between appearances · chance says 9.0

43longest completed wait · 53% chance of one at least that long

42 is drawn as often as chance explains

Drawn 106 times in 896 draws against 99.6 expected, +0.69σ. Each draw is independent: after 15 draws away it is exactly as likely tonight as a number drawn yesterday.

Number 42, draw by draw

Drawn 106 times in 896 draws · average wait 8.3 draws · longest completed wait 43 · waiting 15 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 0.0
2nd smallest0 · chance 0.0
3rd smallest2 · chance 1.9
4th smallest33 · chance 25.0
5th smallest71 · chance 79.1

Every position’s lane →

The company it keeps

Seen most often with these — chance gives every partner about 9.6 shared draws, and the leaders are simply the ones that came out ahead this time.

44 12 17 23 40 14

It has shared a draw with every one of the other 44 numbers; chance expected about 0.0 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 — 33rd most popular of 45. 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
2018-05-01	20	5th	8 17 29 40 42
2018-02-20	2	5th	8 27 30 33 42
2018-02-13	4	5th	5 10 12 29 42
2018-01-30	2	4th	8 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 5/45 tonight whatever it did last week.

2016-08-02	1	5th	8 11 14 30 42
2016-07-29	7	5th	4 12 31 41 42
2016-07-05	10	5th	9 17 19 29 42
2016-05-31	20	5th	3 28 38 39 42
2016-03-22	10	4th	11 13 23 42 43
2016-02-16	1	5th	5 9 11 14 42
2016-02-12	1	4th	9 32 40 42 44
2016-02-09	15	4th	14 21 41 42 43
2015-12-15	5	5th	4 11 18 20 42
2015-11-27	6	4th	1 19 28 42 44
2015-11-06	6	5th	19 24 30 40 42
2015-10-16	3	4th	28 34 41 42 45
2015-10-06	6	4th	24 35 38 42 44
2015-09-15	17	4th	5 19 21 42 43
2015-07-17	7	4th	8 23 24 42 44
2015-06-23	26	5th	4 11 19 24 42
2015-03-20	12	5th	11 17 27 34 42
2015-02-06	1	5th	17 23 36 38 42
2015-02-03	5	5th	11 12 25 41 42
2015-01-16	30	5th	5 7 14 29 42
2014-10-03	19	4th	20 34 38 42 43
2014-07-29	15	5th	1 9 23 29 42
2014-06-06	4	5th	4 10 16 29 42
2014-05-23	9	4th	12 22 40 42 43
2014-04-22	2	5th	3 22 28 30 42
2014-04-11	12	5th	17 23 33 41 42
2014-02-28	3	4th	11 14 32 42 45
2014-02-18	5	4th	2 26 36 42 43
2014-01-31	5	5th	10 20 25 26 42
2014-01-14	20	4th	31 34 37 42 43
2013-11-05	8	4th	12 26 32 42 43
2013-10-08	16	3rd	31 39 42 43 45
2013-08-13	7	4th	12 15 32 42 44
2013-07-19	4	5th	6 12 28 33 42
2013-07-05	4	4th	6 25 26 42 44
2013-06-21	28	5th	7 26 35 36 42
2013-03-12	5	5th	1 6 26 35 42
2013-02-22	1	5th	4 16 28 32 42
2013-02-19	20	5th	1 5 6 31 42
2012-12-07	2	4th	4 17 33 42 45
2012-11-30	2	4th	6 25 33 42 44
2012-11-23	7	5th	5 33 34 37 42
2012-10-30	2	5th	5 16 20 41 42
2012-10-23	10	5th	8 23 24 31 42
2012-09-18	9	5th	1 27 37 40 42
2012-08-17	38	5th	13 15 19 40 42
2012-04-03	43	5th	4 11 12 17 42
2011-11-04	4	5th	9 25 31 34 42
2011-10-21	5	5th	2 16 23 39 42
2011-10-04	19	5th	8 10 26 40 42
2011-07-29	7	5th	7 12 23 40 42
2011-07-05	7	5th	2 30 31 34 42
2011-06-10	6	5th	13 24 26 30 42
2011-05-20	13	5th	3 7 10 31 42
2011-04-01	4	5th	1 12 23 36 42
2011-03-18	9	5th	8 28 36 40 42
2011-02-15	9	5th	1 17 23 41 42
2011-01-14	33	5th	8 16 21 36 42
2010-09-21	1	5th	31 33 36 40 42
2010-09-17	3	4th	2 19 28 42 44
2010-09-07	3	4th	3 25 37 42 44
2010-08-27	12	5th	7 8 26 36 42
2010-07-16	6	3rd	13 20 42 44 45
2010-06-25	4	5th	13 23 31 40 42
2010-06-11	4	5th	12 14 18 23 42
2010-05-28	3	5th	2 9 24 26 42
2010-05-18	1	5th	6 17 25 29 42
2010-05-14	1	5th	6 8 15 32 42
2010-05-11	8	4th	4 14 17 42 44
2010-04-13	2	4th	15 18 28 42 45
2010-04-06	1	5th	2 13 19 38 42
2010-03-30	4	5th	9 27 30 35 42
2010-03-16	12	4th	16 32 40 42 45
2010-02-02	1	5th	7 25 33 38 42
2010-01-29	4	4th	2 6 39 42 43
2010-01-15	5	4th	1 5 21 42 44
2009-12-29	1	5th	18 27 32 38 42
2009-12-22	4	5th	2 14 27 39 42
2009-12-08	4	5th	13 16 37 39 42
2009-11-24	1	5th	1 18 19 32 42
2009-11-20	4	4th	12 16 28 42 44
2009-11-06	—	5th	10 17 23 31 42