The Wild Origins of the Lottery

The lottery is the only tax in history that people actually line up to pay. It is often called

a tax on the stupid, but the origin story is actually wild. It started in seventeenth-century Italy by total accident

when gamblers started betting on which politicians would get drawn for the city council.

The side bets got so popular that they realized they didn’t even need the politicians,

just the random numbers. Even Harvard funded its first dorms with lottery cash.

Adam Smith proved the math is impossible centuries ago, but we keep playing because buying a

ticket is cheaper than buying hope.