+
Community

People in a tiny Belgium town won the lottery and each person is getting $956,000 tax-free

More than 100 people in the small town will split the $151 million jackpot.

lottery; lottery winners; Belgium

165 people in a tiny Belgium town won the lottery.

The lottery is always a long shot but the odds of winning can be increased by teaming up with your workmates, friends or family members.

A lottery pool is where everyone pitches in a certain amount of money and if any one person wins, the prize is split between everyone in the group. If the gamble pays off, it's a sweet deal because even if yours is not the winning ticket, you still win if someone in the group wins.

Most of the time, no one in the pool wins and everybody begrudgingly shows up for work the next day knowing their lives remain the same. But recently, in one itty bitty town in Belgium with a population of less than 4,000, a pool of 165 people hit the jackpot.


Of course, the chances of winning the lottery are slim. In America, the chance of winning the the Powerball jackpot is 1 in 292 million and the chance of winning the Mega Millions jackpot is even slimmer at 1 in 302 million. In Europe, the odds seem a little better but it's still a very, very, very long shot at about 1 in 139.8 million for the EuroMillions, so the fact that this group of people won is newsworthy.

Local shopkeeper Wim Van Broekhoven regularly organized lottery pools for the town where each person would pitch in 15 euros, which is around $16. This time, the lottery gamble paid off because a good bit of the town played and they collectively won the 142.9 million euro ($151.8 million) EuroMillions prize. That's a lot of unexpected money that I'm sure the residents aren't upset about winning.

Each person who won in the town will receive close to around 900,000 euros (about $956,000) tax-free. The big payoff is coming just in time for the holidays, too. Van Broekhoven told Reuters that many customers who won have been in disbelief. "We have had quite a few new customers since the big win, but no one in the village holds any grudges against the winners," he said.

It seems that most of the winners have already made plans for their money, according to Van Broekhoven. He also revealed, "The winners are from all walks of life, but regardless, everyone can use the money, especially ahead of the holidays and with the current energy crisis."

It's always nice to hear that when someone comes into that much money it's a person who truly needs it. Though, unless you're topping the millionaires list, couldn't just about everyone use an extra $956,000? I have a feeling Sinterklaas is going to be very generous in that little Belgian town this Christmas.

Joy

28-year-old buys cruise ship apartment because it's less than renting and he can see the world

An all-expenses-paid life for about $50,000 a year? Sounds like a deal.

A cruise ship floating on azure waters.

Living the rest of your life on a cruise ship seems like the dream of the ultra-rich. You wake up every morning and have an all-you-can-eat breakfast. Spend the afternoon hanging out by the pool or touring a fantastic city such as Rome or Dubrovnik.

At night, have a drink in the lounge watching a comedian or a jazz band, then hit the sack and do it all over again the next day. Seems too good to be true for the average person, right? Think again.

Twenty-eight-year-old Austin Wells of San Diego told CNBC that he can make it happen because it’s cheaper than living onshore in Southern California and he gets to see the world. “The thing that most excites me is I don’t have to upend my daily routine, in order to go see the world,” Wells told CNBC.

Keep ReadingShow less
Humor

Mom tells 9-year-old daughter to 'smile more' for school show and instantly regretted it

'Afterward, I regrettably said the one thing that no female *ever* wants to hear. "Try to smile more."'

Anniesgotabun Tiktok screenshots

Mom tells her daughter to smile more and instantly regrets it.

There is one request that unites all women and girls no matter their political affiliation or socioeconomic status, and that's telling them to smile when they're just minding their business. Think of it like a fairly universal "don't" when interacting with women, unless you're a photographer hired to take their photo.

A mom on TikTok found herself reaping the consequences of telling her 9-year-old daughter to smile when she was rehearsing a performance for her school. To say her daughter was not amused would be an understatement. The mom, whose TikTok name is Anniesgotabun, shared a video before and after her daughter's performance.

The caption of the video read "mistakes were made" complete with the facepalm emoji and the hastag #parentingfail. In the first part of the video you can clearly see her daughter going through the motions of the musical production looking unenthusiastic. The mom explains her error via text overlay explaining "my daughter had her final rehearsal for the school musical yesterday."

Keep ReadingShow less
Health

Psychologist explains why everyone feels exhausted right now and it makes so much sense

Psychologist Naomi Holdt beautifully explained what's behind the overarching exhaustion people are feeling and it makes perfect sense.

Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash

It seems like most people are feeling wiped out these days. There's a reason for that.

We're about to wrap up year three of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it's been a weird ride, to say the least. These years have been hard, frustrating, confusing and tragic, and yet we keep on keeping on.

Except the keeping on part isn't quite as simple as it sounds. Despite the fact that COVID-19 is still wreaking havoc, we've sort of collectively decided to move on, come what may. This year has been an experiment in normalcy, but one without a testable hypothesis or clear design. And it's taken a toll. So many people are feeling tired, exhausted, worn thin ("like butter scraped over too much bread," as Bilbo Baggins put it) these days.

But why?

Keep ReadingShow less
Heroes

This woman's nose could be the key to spotting Parkinson's early.

"Milne realized she could, in essence, smell Parkinson's disease."

Photo created from Pixabay

Smell could be a key identifier of Parkinson

This article originally appeared on 12.19.17


A woman's incredible nose might help scientists detect Parkinson's earlier than ever.

Joy Milne says she was living in Perth, Scotland, with her husband Les, when she noticed that he smelled different. Milne would later describe to the BBC as a kind of heavy, musky smell. The change was subtle, but it was there none-the-less. Milne says that at the time, she nagged Les a bit about missing showers, but didn't think much more of it.

Six years later, Les was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a neurodegenerative disease that attacks brain cells, causing tremors and other mobility issues. In the United States, about one million Americans live with the disease. There are therapies that can help with the symptoms, but no cure.

Keep ReadingShow less

New Zealand prime minister's hot mic insult helped raise $100,000.

Not every moment is our best and sometimes those not-so-great moments are caught on tape or, in Jacinda Ardern's case, over a hot mic. Ardern is the prime minister of New Zealand and recently, during a parliamentary debate, she was feeling a bit frustrated with a colleague, ACT leader David Seymour. During the exchange, Ardern turned to her deputy and muttered "arrogant prick," referencing Seymour, who was apparently on the prime minister's last nerve.

The problem was, her mic was still on and picked up the hushed insult so others could hear. Probably not her proudest moment but, to be fair, they were discussing really heavy stuff like hate-speech and immigration. She didn't let the comment hang in the air, according to RNZ. Seymour told reporters that the prime minister texted him shortly afterward to apologize.

Later, the two were photographed holding a framed copy of the parliamentary debate where the insult was hurled. Turns out they've used the moment to raise money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation by allowing people to bid on the framed debate via Trade Me.

Keep ReadingShow less
Photo by Milk Chan on Unsplash

A study examined the motivations people have for lying.

The ethics of honesty are always interesting to explore. Most of us agree that being honest is morally good, but is it important to always tell the truth, no matter what? What if the truth will only hurt someone's feelings? Is it always wrong to lie? What if a lie will save someone's life? Is there a moral difference between stretching the truth and completely demolishing it? Does it depend on why people are doing it?

The reasons people lie are many and varied, of course. But new research gives us some insights into the most common motivations for lying, and surprisingly, the findings are actually pretty heartwarming.

A study published in the Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science in October 2022 looked at the link between personality and lying motivation, as well as the most common reasons people lie. In the study, a group of 257 people were questioned about their lying frequency, lying motivations and personality traits (using the HEXACO Personality Inventory, which measures honesty-humility, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experience).

Keep ReadingShow less