# Accidentally destroyed lottery ticket **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 14, 2023, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidentally-destroyed-lottery-ticket/978203 "2023-01-14T04:36:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Happytree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happytree/32/3555_2.png) [@Happytree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happytree)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2023, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidentally-destroyed-lottery-ticket/978203/1 "2023-01-14T04:36:31Z")
It’s a moot point now; the mega millions was just drawn, and we didn’t win. But what if Mrs Tree’s DID pick the winning ticket and I spilled coffee on the ticket, voiding it? Surely, I am at fault for destroying the ticket. I accept responsibility for that. But was Mrs. Tree SUPPOSED to win the mega millions? Was my coffee spilled on the winning the ticket THE spoiler in all of this? Aren’t all of the gazillions of chances of her picking the wrong number wayyy bigger than me spilling coffee on a ticket. I say, that yes, it’s my fault that the lottery ticket was destroyed, but I didn’t hurt Mrs Tree’s “Destiny”. If she we’re truly destined to win, I wouldn’t have spilled coffee on her ticket. After all, a lot of people are going to ruin the lottery tickets tonight. The odds of me ruining a winning lottery ticket are MUCH lower than anyone even picking a winning number, right? Compared to the overwhelming odds of everything that can go wrong when trying to pick a winning lottery ticket, destroying a lottery ticket with a black coffee stain is a drop in a bucket stat. Right? Need answer fast(joke) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2023, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidentally-destroyed-lottery-ticket/978203/2 "2023-01-14T04:42:51Z")
The lottery authority knows exactly when and where the winning ticket was purchased. A review of security camera footage from that time might confirm your claim. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2023, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidentally-destroyed-lottery-ticket/978203/3 "2023-01-14T04:58:54Z")
I notice that, in the OP, there is nothing to indicate the coffee spill was in any way accidental. There may be other factors at play here that have to be taken into account. ---
**Author:** ![Happytree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happytree/32/3555_2.png) [@Happytree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happytree)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2023, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidentally-destroyed-lottery-ticket/978203/4 "2023-01-14T05:37:51Z")
Dang. My first attempt at a Great Debate, and I’ve been smacked down rather quickly. I will do better. In my defense, it was wine, not coffee; hence the poor spelling and grammar. But no, I did not destroy the tickets on purpose. But what if I did destroy the ticket on purpose? Still a drop in the bucket compared to the BRAZILIAN chance of her picking the wrong number. Right? RIGHT? She gonna kill me ---
**Author:** ![Happytree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happytree/32/3555_2.png) [@Happytree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happytree)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2023, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidentally-destroyed-lottery-ticket/978203/5 "2023-01-14T05:55:21Z")
It is my fault if I chose to destroy the ticket. It was dumb of me to argue that point. If I spilled coffee/wine on the ticket, it was totally an accident, I didn’t choose it. It just kinda happened. Just like somebody could just kinda happen to pick the wrong lotto numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2023, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidentally-destroyed-lottery-ticket/978203/6 "2023-01-14T06:04:48Z")
> [@Happytree](#): > > She gonna kill me The first two sentences of the OP and this sentence are all you needed to post. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2023, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidentally-destroyed-lottery-ticket/978203/7 "2023-01-14T12:48:26Z")
Why do you think spilling coffee on a ticket would void it? IMO as long as the ticket’s serial number or bar code are legible the lottery authority will accept it as valid. Now of course there are ways you could destroy it beyond mere staining, so it really is voided. Which leads to IMO 3 possibilities: 1. You have free will and you did it on purpose. 2. You have free will and you did it totally by accident. 3. You don’t have free will and it was Fated (or chosen by your god, depending on your beliefs) to happen. I think your wife will fail to distinguish between these cases and kill you regardless. A different question is if the ticket has been destroyed enough to be void, how did your wife know the numbers on the now-destroyed ticket were the winners? I know that if I lose or wash a ticket I sure have no idea what the randomly chosen numbers on it might have been. So many questions. Such a small debate. Unless you really want to debate the Nature of Free Will. Which has been done here a time or 12 and has occupied amateur and professional philosophers and theologians since Og fought Grog over a squirrel carcass a few hundred thousand years ago. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2023, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidentally-destroyed-lottery-ticket/978203/8 "2023-01-14T13:24:01Z")
OP, are you in Maine? 😱 > **[Someone in Maine Won the $1.35 Billion Mega Millions Jackpot](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/14/us/mega-millions-jackpot-winner.html)** > > The winner has not yet been identified. Big jackpots are becoming more common in the multistate lotteries. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2023, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidentally-destroyed-lottery-ticket/978203/9 "2023-01-14T15:31:46Z")
I think it is no coincidence lottery tickets are printed with water-soluble ink, so that any moisture renders them illegible. It’s a plot, I tells ya! ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2023, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidentally-destroyed-lottery-ticket/978203/10 "2023-01-14T15:41:17Z")
How many chances does Brazil give? ---
**Author:** ![Happytree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happytree/32/3555_2.png) [@Happytree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happytree)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2023, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidentally-destroyed-lottery-ticket/978203/11 "2023-01-14T19:30:27Z")
Yeah, upon a sober review today, I see that this is just a tired fate vs. freewill debate, or not much of a debate at all. More proof that I shouldn’t drink. Next time I think I have a debate I will write it down and review a day later before I post. I respectfully, and shamefully bow out. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2023, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidentally-destroyed-lottery-ticket/978203/12 "2023-01-14T19:40:01Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I think it is no coincidence lottery tickets are printed with water-soluble ink, so that any moisture renders them illegible. Actually there is no ink involved, the printing is thermal on special paper. If you really want to make sure that you have ruined that ticket with the coffee on it, just bring out your clothes iron and use that to dry it, you will end up with a nice black peice of paper. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2023, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidentally-destroyed-lottery-ticket/978203/13 "2023-01-14T19:45:50Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The lottery authority knows exactly when and where the winning ticket was purchased. A review of security camera footage from that time might confirm your claim. In Ontario the lottery corporation actually tracked down a woman who won a jackpot but had lost the ticket. > **[Woman loses ticket, but OLG tracks her down as $50 million Lotto Max winner](https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/woman-loses-ticket-but-olg-tracks-her-down-as-50-million-lotto-max-winner/article_1edcfb7f-0a08-53cb-997d-b9d4bba7379e.html)** > > Through a months-long investigation, the lottery corporation determined Hamilton resident Kathryn Jones was the winner, after searching transaction history and security tapes. ---
**Author:** ![fordgt100](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@fordgt100](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fordgt100)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accidentally-destroyed-lottery-ticket/978203/14 "2023-03-02T17:56:48Z")
This is a question for a lawyer. Thank God I’m not one, but if I were, I could see myself looking at about 100 different interpretations of what may have happened, the reasons for it, why what happened, happened, etc.