Now the tale of a bloke from Kentucky who's probably spent more time dreaming of big wins than actually winning anything. So, there's this guy, Charles Stallard, right? Just a regular Joe, popping into a store in Louisville, probably thinking about what beer goes best with despair or something. On a whim, he decides to throw a lottery ticket into his basket, because why not? Life's already having a laugh at his expense.

He scratches off the ticket in his truck, expecting absolutely nothing because let's face it, that's life, innit? But then, he reveals this "50x" symbol. Now, in Charles's mind, he's probably thinking, "Great, 50 times nothing is still nothing," because that's how his luck usually goes. But the universe decided to pull a fast one on him for once. When he scratches off to see $3,000, multiplied by 50, the man starts crying. And not just a single dignified tear, we're talking full-on, "I've just watched the ending of 'The Office' (UK version, obviously)" kind of crying.

He's hit the jackpot. $150,000! Suddenly, Charles is out of debt for the first time in his life. It's like when you find a tenner in an old pair of jeans, but infinitely better. He's so gobsmacked by this turn of events that he doesn't sleep all weekend. Who would? You'd be lying there, staring at the ceiling, wondering when Ashton Kutcher is going to jump out and tell you you're being punk'd.

Come Monday, our mate Charles is $108,000 richer, post-tax. The first thing he does? Pays off his mortgage. Because nothing says "I've made it" like not owing the bank money. And then, get this, he's fixing his broken boat. He's been looking at that thing for a year, thinking it was more likely he'd row to the moon than get it fixed. But now, he's planning to spend the rest of the year fishing.

And there you have it, the universe finally throws a bone to a regular bloke. Makes you think, doesn't it? Maybe it's all worth a laugh.