The lottery was invented in Genoa, Italy in the 16th century. Numerous political candidates running for office would be narrowed down to several people with a drawing. The population began betting on which politicians they thought would be selected during the narrowing process and the lottery was born. As the lottery spread throughout the country and evolved, an Italian monk is reported to have pre-assigned numbers to different kinds of dream elements (topics of dreams). Many Italians would then use his guide to select their lottery numbers based on the dreams they each had prior to a drawing. Amazing. Today, more Italian lottery players go for the lucky-dip (quick-pick) than the monk's number guide.