# How is it statistically more likely to die in an apocalyptic asteroid strike than win the lottery?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-it-statistically-more-likely-to-die-in-an-apocalyptic-asteroid-strike-than-win-the-lottery/712160>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 8, 2015, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-it-statistically-more-likely-to-die-in-an-apocalyptic-asteroid-strike-than-win-the-lottery/712160 "2015-02-08T23:27:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![Haldurson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/51bf81/32.png) [@Haldurson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haldurson)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-it-statistically-more-likely-to-die-in-an-apocalyptic-asteroid-strike-than-win-the-lottery/712160/61 "2015-02-16T04:37:46Z")

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> [@jtgain](#):
>
> the odds of dying in an asteroid apocalypse become much higher. But my personal chance of being wiped out by an asteroid remains the same.

How possibly can the population of earth have anything to do with increasing YOUR chances of being killed by an asteroid – it certainly will reduce the chances of you dying of old age, cancer, auto accident, etc. But your chances of dying of starvation, communicable disease, infection, exposure, and probably being eaten by a bear become much greater. Your expected lifespan will probably be much less. But it would have no impact on the size of the earth, its gravitational field, the number of meteors (or asteroids) striking the earth, and certainly your proximity to such impacts.

So no, if anything, it would reduce your chances of dying from such an impact because of your shortened lifespan.

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**Author:** ![sweat209](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-it-statistically-more-likely-to-die-in-an-apocalyptic-asteroid-strike-than-win-the-lottery/712160/62 "2015-02-22T20:56:31Z")

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deleted wrong thread.

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