Engaging in the lottery is a risky and clueless business for most, to say the least. Everyone employs their own modes to deal with it, including using special numbers, noticing a pattern, switching different number combinations, etc. While most ‘formulas’ are just guesses in the dark, an Australian gentleman, Stefan Mandel, cracked the code for the Powerball using a simple math formula. Through this, he was able to win the lottery a staggering 14 times!
A Financially Struggling Economist
Mandel lived in Romania in the 1950s and worked as an economist. There, he faced a cash crunch, following which he planned to figure out a way to win a fortune. In the process, he came up with the perfect formula that predicted five of the six numbers for winning. He then spent the next four years in an attempt to perfect the arrangement. Then, with the help of three friends, he decided to test it. Only aiming for the second position winnings, they, as luck would have it, emerged at the first place, winning 72,783 leu, or $23,509. This amounted to the economist’s salary for almost 20 years.
Setting Up Shop in Australia
This amount, even after splitting between the four, left behind enough funds to enable Mandel to shift to Israel and then ultimately to Australia. After settling in Australia, Mandel started to reach out to investors and bought the most possible tickets. Using the same strategy of guessing five out of the six winning numbers, Mandel emerged as the winner a total of 12 times. Over time, Australian officials changed the rules to stop Mandel from winning continuously. However, he continued to win and eventually shifted to America. There, he again set out with his game plan. In 1992, he won the jackpot totaling $27 million, after which there was a four-year legal battle with the authorities.
Apple to Change All Charging Ports to USB-C Before the Deadline
Apple is expected to change its devices’ charging ports to USB-C after receiving a deadline from the EU parliament. Apple, up until a year or two ago, had been using lightning ports for all of its devices, but now it is gradually shifting to Type-C ports after the company got orders from European governments for the same. The parliament has given Apple until December 28th, 2024, to bring in these changes to its products, and in the case of laptops, the deadline has been extended to April 28, 2026.
The Changes
Apple products like iPhones and MacBooks were known to be charged using lightning ports. But soon things are going to turn around when it comes to charging these technology items. The EU aims for only USB-C to be used in Europe for all of their portable electronics, including tablets and laptops. The tech giant has already changed the ports on its MacBooks and iPads that are in the lineup to comply with the new rule. But one of its products, the iPhone, has yet to see this change. It seems the EU parliament is adamant about this change and claims that it wants to curb e-waste as well as reduce the burden for customers. To ensure these new rules are followed, the parliament has decided to set a deadline for all portable devices.
Apple’s Thoughts
Greg Joswiak, an Apple official, appeared not too pleased by the change. He says they feel powerless concerning these new rules. According to him, soon all of the lightning wires, which number in the billions, will no longer be necessary, and in such times there is nothing they can do with them.