Today we have whoever invented the lottery scratch ticket. Who among us has not had to wade through a knee-high ocean of these things whenever trying to get into one or another convenience store? Or had them blowing into your yard, or clogging drains near your home. Who among us has not seen, when either exiting or entering one of these convenience stores, people hunched over in their cars furiously scratching away with the hope of riches, only to see their disappointed faces when the stars did not align for them? Who among us has not stood in line at one of these stores while someone ahead of us in line buys $50 or $100 of these things, with money that in all likelihood could have been better spent elsewhere?
Yes, it’s indeed unfortunate that the state has jumped into the gambling business with both feet, between the lottery and the casinos and basically imposed a new tax on a population that can ill-afford it. Not to mention creating the sad reliance of cities and towns on lottery income for “local aid.” But it seems to us they didn’t have to buy into a process that produces probably a sizeable portion of the litter along roadways and parking lots throughout the state. We wonder if this inventor gets a royalty or residual for each ticket. If so, his or her wealth must rival Elon Musk’s.
In any event, we believe the world would be a better place without scratch lottery tickets, and their inventor should be ferreted out, hung, then drawn and quartered in full public view. Or perhaps more fitting, burned at the stake by a heap of scratch tickets set ablaze. While the flames will eventually consume him or her, the toxins from whatever glossy unnatural stuff they’re covered with probably will do the job first.
By the way, we’re taking nominations for Inventors Who Should Be Taken Out And Shot; just leave a comment.