The noon deadline has arrived and the Arsenal game has just kicked off, so it's time to look at all your predictions from yesterday. You'll want to find out who predicted what correctly. Me, I just want to analyse what your predictions were. You see, I made some predictions before you started making your predictions because I thought your predictions would follow some distinct patterns. And I was right, you didn't let me down. You were so predictable.
1)Arsenal v Manchester United(FA Cup semi final, today, 12 noon) Your predictions: 3-1, 3-2, 2-1, 2-1, 2-1, 1-0, 1-0, 2-2, 2-2, 2-2, 1-1, 1-1, 1-1, 1-1, 1-2, 1-2, 1-2
My prediction of your predictions: I thought 'two-one' (either way round) would be your most popular score, and it was. When predicting football scores, I've noticed that people like to choose 'two-one' because it suggests that their preferred team should win but that the opposition will still manage to put up a plucky fight. Draws are a safe bet too because they don't indicate a preference either way, or antagonise anyone, and lots of you went for a draw. Only one of you predicted a defeat by two goals or more, and only a couple of you included a 'nil'. Closely matched matches, that's what we go for. We are so cautious. You were so predictable.
The correct result:0-1. Not one of you guessed correctly, and only three of you guessed the winning team. Sigh, damn.
2)The Grand National(Aintree, today, 3:45pm) Your predictions: see list of runners posted yesterday
My prediction of your predictions: I thought you'd pick the funny names, but no. You're very horse-savvy, because you picked nigh all the favourites and only the runners that were in with a chance. Not one of you picked a horse at odds greater than 50-1, and a third of the horses on the list were in that glue-factory zone. We are perhaps a nation who take racing seriously. Or maybe it's just this particular race.
The correct result:Amberleigh House, correctly guessed by Anji. Nobody guessed Clan Royal in 2nd place, but Storme had Lord Atterbury in third.
3)The National Lottery(Lotto draw, today, 8pm) Your predictions: [3 13 23 29 31 37], [16 19 26 31 34 48], [9 11 20 26 38 47], [9 17 33 36 39 44], [312 25 33 37 48], [1 2 3 4 5 6], [5 15 25 35 45 49], [8 11 19 28 34 43], [12 13 17 22 26 48], [7 12 17 22 24 46], [6 12 15 29 42 47], [2 8 9 17 31 32], [8 12 16 24 27 45] [3 5 7 19 41 45], [2 5 9 22 25 27], [312 16 19 39 48], [7 18 31 34 45 48], [8 9 18 31 35 47]
My prediction of your predictions: I thought you'd go for low numbers, and you did (half your chosen numbers were under 20). I thought you'd go for odd numbers over even numbers, and you did (60% odd, 40% even). I thought most of you would space your numbers out, and you did (only four of you chose consecutive numbers, whereas this happens roughly half the time in the real draw). I thought you'd avoid numbers ending in zero, and you did (only one person chose 20, and nobody chose the other multiples of 10). We just can't pick numbers randomly. You were so predictable.
The correct result: 3, 9, 12, 28, 29, 38. OK, so you lot nearly did well in picking your balls. 12 was your most-selected number, and both 3 and 9 were joint second in your list. No multiples of ten in the Lotto six, but look, consecutive numbers were drawn! Told you they came up a lot. Five of you managed to guess two numbers correctly, but alas nobody got three or more right. Not quite psychic enough, I'm afraid. But I'd have won a tenner if I'd bought a ticket with my usual numbers, damn.
4) A number between 1 and 10 Your predictions: 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 6, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7
My prediction of your predictions: It was my choice of which number to pick here, so I tried to pick a number you wouldn't guess. I knew loads of you would act like sheep and pick 7, so I avoided that. Baaa to half of you. I thought most of you would pick a number from the top half of the list, and three-quarters of you did. I thought most of you would pick an odd number, and all but four of you did. And I thought you'd play safe and head for the middle of the range, and blimey not one person picked 1, 2, 9 or 10. We are so middle-of-the road. You were so predictable.
The correct result: It was 2. Not one of you got it right. 2 easy.
5) A colour of the rainbow Your predictions: red 1, orange 0, yellow 4, green 3, blue 4, indigo 3, violet 2
My prediction of your predictions: I thought red, yellow, green and blue might be popular choices, because they're the four most well known colours. I thought indigo might be popular because it's a colour people associate with rainbows and not much else. If I'd been allowed to pick the colour myself I'd have picked orange, because nobody ever chooses orange, and you didn't. You were so predictable. But I really did pick this one at random.
The correct result: It was violet. Congratulations to Anji (again!) and Christian.
