h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Yeah, I obviously don't have enough cash to be familiar with the stuff. I blame it on the lottery folks ... they keep picking all the wrong numbers.

You have to rely on synchronicity gal! The guy who won the first 20 million pound prize in the English National Lottery crossed off all the numbers that were on drums of chemicals (or something) that he had to deal with at work. It turned out he was a muslim (no gambling allowed!) so he made a 'donation' to the local mosque and left town never to be heard of again.
So what you have to do is follow numbers that keep coming up in your everyday life. Use them in your lottery selections. And good luck. You can start with the number of this message - whatever it is.

Personally I don't do the lottery. I prefer to buy a few Premium Bonds now and again.

I work with military radio and radar ... There are huge amounts of numbers that I meet on a daily basis. So, as the whole lottery thing is mere chance, I let the 'terminal' that prints the tickets pick some at random for me. Hey, I know that I won't win, but my few $$$ help make the pot nicer for who-ever does.

They pick them for you? No wonder you don't win!

Supposedly computer-generated random ones. And according to the occassional news snippet, as often as not, they are the ones that win. It's a very cheap bit of entertainment ... Invest a couple of coin, and then dream of what you might do with the winnings. Short-lived dreaming, but harmless enough.

Mum's got Premium Bonds, they've paid out the odd £50 but ERNIE has yet to pull out the big prizes

In a handful of words, more or less, ... What are these Premium Bonds?

I got a hundred quid from ERNIE once but I'm still waiting for a BIGGIE!

What are they? They are certificates you can buy from the British Govt at your local post office. Each month the serial numbers are entered in a random generated draw (ERNIE is the name of the machine that does it - he lives in Blackpool, a seaside resort that smells of hotdogs and fish&chips and stale beer and is in Lancashire). Prizes range from 50 to 1,000,000 pounds. A bond costs between 50 - 100 pounds depending on how you purchase (standing order or cash over the counter). You can have your stake money refunded in full anytime you like. That's it basically. It's a savings scheme really and over a period of time with average luck you'll get about 4% on your investment.

Here you go Nick http://www.nsandi.com/products/pb/index.jsp

ERNIE stands for Electronic Random Number Indicating Equipment

So it sounds much like our Canada Savings Bonds, except ours doesn't have any 'prizes'. They are an investment of sorts, that grow a bit each year and have maturity dates a number a years after purchase.

Most governments have some kind of 'Bond' saving scheme

In Britain there used to be a regular lottery to raise funds to fight Napoleon. The prizes in those days were gold bullion.

I wonder if NS&I would consider that in the future