How the man behind 'Humans of New York' turned the same impulse that makes us play the lottery into a force for good

The Powerball jackpot has reached a record $1.5 billion - a number too big to fit on many billboards across the country.

Despite the odds of winning now being 1 in 292.2 million, people are still willing to pay $2 a ticket for that very, very small chance.

Why?

Well, for starters, it's fun. Second, we all really, truly think we might win. And third, we believe winning would solve all our problems (spoiler alert: It won't).

So yes - we mostly play the lottery for selfish reasons, but it does prove that many of us are in fact capable of and willing to shell out a few dollars, a few times a year, for essentially nothing in return.

And a few smart people know how to take advantage of this human potential for the greater good. They have managed to convince a large number of people to spend a dollar or two on something more meaningful than the lottery ... something with more guaranteed results ... something that would help solve someone else's problems.

Perhaps one of the most notable examples is Brandon Stanton, a photographer who has been documenting the stories of random people on the streets of New York City (and across the world) for his blog, Humans of New York (HONY), since 2010.

Stranton has successfully encouraged people to contribute to important causes and has pooled resources on a fairly large scale at least five times in recent years: