Lottery procedure was improved the next year with a two-drum system. The 365 birthdates (for those born in 1951) were written down, placed in capsules, and put in a drum in the order dictated by random permutations. Similarly, the numbers from 1 to 365 were written down and placed into capsules. One drum was rotated for an hour and the other for a half-hour (its rotating mechanism failed). Pairs of capsules were then drawn, one from each drum, one with a 1951 birthdate and one with a number 1 to 365.