Survey Suggests Online Bingo Players are in Luck

Give your bingo game a boost with this formula for good fortune. A year ago today, US Airways Captain Chelsey Sullenberger successfully managed to ditch a stricken Airbus A320 into the Hudson River, off Manhattan, in New York. All 155 passengers survived and when they all eventually returned to their families and loved ones they must have been thinking about how 'lucky' they were.

Bingo players are notoriously superstitious and like to monitor the portents and use whatever charms they can to influence the Gods of good fortune to increase the probability of a favourable outcome.

A recent survey has discovered that more than 90 per cent of us believe the next decade will be luckier than the noughties. Eighty-four per cent of the population believe that power of thought and a positive mental attitude will help increase your individual luck quota.

The top ten lucky charms are: a lucky person, a charm from someone you love, a lucky number, jewellery, a lucky penny, lucky underwear, a four leaf clover, lucky socks, a horseshoe and a rabbit's foot (not for the rabbit though!!).

Specific activities believed to bring luck, include: touching wood, finding a penny, seeing a shooting star, breaking a wishbone, throwing salt over your shoulder, saluting a magpie, wishing on a loose eyelash, seeing a black cat, catching dandelion seeds, and falling foul of bird droppings.

A spokesman for Costa Bingo said: "Many of our players have lucky charms and are superstitious. We hope it brings them the luck they want. It's bizarre to think that one in ten people are thrilled when bird droppings fall on them."