How we pick the winner, and how you can check it
We can't pick a favorite, and we can't redo a result we don't like. Here's why, in four steps.
- 1
Before entries open, we publish a lock code.
The lock code is a fingerprint of a secret we choose. It proves which secret we picked before anyone entered, without revealing it.
First drawing lock code
Published here before the first drawing opens.
- 2
Entries close, and every entry has a number.
Entries are numbered in the order they arrive, starting at 1, with mail-in entries included. We publish the total.
- 3
A public number picks the winning entry.
After entries close, we combine our secret with a public number we can't influence: one published by someone else after entries close, and named in the official rules before entries open. Together they point to one entry number.
- 4
We reveal the secret.
Anyone can check that the secret matches the lock code and re-run the math to get the same winning entry. Use the checker below, or the commands in the technical details.
Technical details
The lock code is the SHA-256 hash of the secret, written in hex.
For round 0, then 1, 2 and so on, we compute HMAC-SHA256 with the secret as the key, over this message:
<drawing id>:<public number>:<total entries>:<round>
We read the 32-byte result 4 bytes at a time as a big-endian unsigned number, n. Only values below floor(2³² ÷ total) × total count, so every entry has exactly the same chance. The first n that counts picks entry (n mod total) + 1. If none of the 8 chunks counts, we move to the next round.
printf '%s' "$SECRET" | openssl dgst -sha256 printf '%s' "2026-10:$PUBLIC:$TOTAL:0" | openssl dgst -sha256 -hmac "$SECRET"
The checker above runs the same code in your browser, and nothing you type is sent anywhere.
The drawing is coming soon. Join the waiting list to hear the day it opens.