Free Tools and Tips Everyday utilities and short guides

Home / Tips / Fair random list

Tips

Making a fair random list

A fair list is finished before the first click. Open the Random Picker, write every option, then pick. If you add a favorite after the third click, you are no longer drawing from the set you thought you had.

Put one idea on each line. The picker trims spaces and drops blank lines, so an extra return does not steal a chance from the real options. If two lines say the same restaurant, that restaurant has two chances. That is useful when you want to weight a choice; it is a mistake when you only meant to tidy the typing.

Equal chance means each remaining line has probability 1 ÷ n. The picker draws bytes with crypto.getRandomValues and rejects values that would make the last few lines slightly more common. You do not need to watch that step. You do need a list that matches the decision.

Twenty clicks on three lines will not always return the same dinner. Clusters happen, and they are not proof the tool is stuck. Look at the last-five history in that tab if you want a short record. Closing the tab clears it.

For a packing list or a chore list, keep a copy in a note. The picker can choose the next item. It cannot remember what you already packed unless you delete that line yourself. There is a separate guide for keeping that short list tidy.