NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS: Earth May Be a 1-in-700-Quintillion Kind of Place.

Astrophysicist Erik Zackrisson from Uppsala University in Sweden arrived at this staggering figure — a 7 followed by 20 zeros — with the aid of a computer model that simulated the universe’s evolution following the Big Bang. Zackrisson’s model combined information about known exoplanets with our understanding of the early universe and the laws of physics to recreate the past 13.8 billion years.

I’m skeptical. It’s a big universe, and our biggest telescopes have only seen the smallest fraction of it up close.

UPDATE [FROM GLENN]: So you’re telling me there’s a chance!