A simple group is a group "G" that does not have any normal subgroups except for the trivial group and "G" itself. The classification theorem states that the list of finite simple groups consists of 18 countably infinite plus 26 exceptions that do not follow such a systematic pattern. These 26 exceptions are the sporadic groups. They are also known as the sporadic simple groups, or the sporadic finite groups. Because it is not strictly a group of Lie type, the Tits group is sometimes regarded as a sporadic group, in which case there would be 27 sporadic groups.