Robert del Valle, Detroit USA
I once read that during WW2 a rail bridge in Belgium had been prepared with explosive in case it needed to be destroyed at short notice. Whilst not one but TWO trains were crossing on it, it was struck by lightning and blew up killing most or all involved. Work out the odds against that happening.
Paul Wright, Basildon UK
It's a pretty amazing coincidence that the sun and the moon appear to be exactly the same size when viewed from the surface of the earth, thus allowing total solar eclipses to occur.
Justin Rigden, Adelaide Australia
The one about someone phoning a person's National Insurance number instead of their home phone number and being connected to a payphone. The person that answered the phone - surprise, surprise - was the right person. Smacks a little of an urban myth perhaps.
Phil, Cardiff
Some years ago my brother- in law, who lived some 5 kms away, was visiting my house. We heard the loud sound of a Volkswagen car coming into my street, sputtering and then going very quiet. We looked out of the front door to see that it was in fact my brother in law's car being abandoned by would be thieves, breaking down right in front of my house.
Angela Shaw, Port Lincoln Australia
Perhaps the fact that someone's asked this question before; it's in the Speculative Science section, I believe.
John, Wellington, New Zealand
The fact that the apparent size of the sun in our sky is exactly the same as that of the moon. Making eclipses possible.
Matthew Payne, London UK
Check out the opening 20 minutes of the movie Magnolia for some amazing coincidences. I shan't spoil it for you, just rent it and be amazed.
Matthew, Cardiff Wales
A show on BBC2 a few years ago told the story about the AA guy who was walking past a phonebox in the middle of nowhere, when the phone began to ring. On a whim, he answered, and was amazed to find he was talking to his dispatcher. She had meant to ring his mobile, but had rung his staff number instead - which happened to be the phone number of the phone he was walking past. I thought that was pretty weird.
Caimin McGovern, Dublin Ireland
Do you know, I was going to ask exactly the same question.... (and a load of people gave this reply, I suspect)
Angus Dobbie, Oxford UK
I don't think that this question can be answered absolutely - there are many possibilities and it all depends on what definition of the word "coincidence" you accept (if any). That said, here's my contender: The late naturalist and artist Sir Peter Scott was a great believer in the Loch Ness monster as a real flesh and blood animal, so much so that he coined a new scientific Latin name for it, "Nessiteras rhombopteryx", meaning something like "the inhabitant of Ness with the diamond-shaped fins". He was very pleased with the name he had invented until a journalist pointed out that an anagram of it is "Monster hoax by Sir Peter S". This is the most amazing anagram coincidence I've ever heard of.
Martin McDonald, Manchester UK
This is from the Book of Lists, published 1976, under the heading "15 Favourite Oddities of All-Time": "On December 5, 1664, the first in the greatest series of coincidences in history occurred. On this date, aship in the Menai Strait, off North Wales, sank with 81 passengers on board. There was one survivor- a man named Hugh Williams. On the same date in 1785, a ship sank with 60 passengers on board. There was one survivor- a man named Hugh Williams. On the very same date in 1860, a ship sank with 25 passengers on board. there was one survivo r- a man named Hugh Williams."
Jacqueline Davidson, Belfast Northern Ireland
How about the fact that Papa Bush's (George Bush Senior) investment group just happens to own a chunk of BioPort the company that makes anthrax vaccine ?
David, Dothan Alabama USA
Scuba diving in the middle of the south pacific and bumping into your mother who had you adopted when she was younger. Doesn't that sound like a great idea for a Julia Roberts movie?
Adelina, Newbury UK
There was a fascinating TV programme on this subject a few years ago. My favourite was a man who had walked past a payphone which started ringing. He answered it, and on the other end was a secretary at his work who had accidentally dialled his payroll number instead of his mobile number...
Alice, Reading UK
Violet Jessup surviving the sinking of the Titanic and the subsequent sinking of its sister ship, the Brittanic.
Robert del Valle, Detroit USA
I remember hearing a few years ago, although I can't remember the exact details of an event which occurred in America (where else ?). Apparently a man was charged with his son's murder and the attempted murder of his wife. Not that unusual, but it turns out that the son had leapt voluntarily from the top of the building in which his parents lived. The son's descent from the roof to the pavement happened at a time when his parents were in the middle of an argument, and seeking to frighten his wife, the father picked up a shotgun and pointed it at her, thinking it was unloaded. To annoy her even more, he pulled the trigger and discovered to his horror that it was in fact loaded. Fortunately he missed his wife, but unfortunately the pellets went through the window and hit his son as he fell past their window and killed him before he hit the ground.
Keith Wood, Perth Australia
Local chap (Perth, Western Australia) lost his boat after it broke its moorings during a storm. It drifted out to sea and was given up for lost. Something like 8 months afterwards a close friend found the boat, and recognised it immediately - on a deserted beach on the east coast of Madagascar. As I recall, it was in such good condition it was transported back to Australia intact.
Robert, Perth Australia
While I suspect that the payroll/mobile mix-up is an urban legend, a very similar thing once happened to me. My brother Ben and I both worked at the same pub and the landlord was trying to get hold of me by ringing a number marked "Ben-Home" on the staff contact list. This was in fact another Ben's number which he then misdialled by accidentally reversing the last two digits. The number he actually rang was the pub across town where I was having a drink. The barman handed me the phone and my boss refused point-blank to believe that I wasn't at home, since that was the number he thought he'd called!
Jon, Cambridge
To add to Robert del Valle's answer, I think Violet Jessop was also aboard the Olympic when that sank (was sunk?) in World War I. Olympic was, of course, the other sister of the Titanic.
Benjamin Craig, Oxford UK
Some years ago, whilst watching "The Price is Right" I said "I wonder what would happen if Leslie Crowther called out a name (to choose the next contestant from the audience) and two people had the same name?" At that moment, he called out a name and two people, both with the same name, stood up!
Jan, London UK
How about Virgina Bottomley being a perfect anagram of "I'm an evil Tory bigot"?
Simon, Bournemouth UK
Another Titanic coincidence. In the 1880s, a novel was published about the biggest ship ever built, that struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage and sank. The name of the ship in the novel was the Titan.
Jo, Pencader Cymru
When I was snorkelling in the Gulf of Mexico, my dad suggested we go on a 'Snuba' trip (a sort of scuba-like snorkelling involving a long pipe through which you breathe from an air cylinder. The gas tank floats on a dinghy on the surface). Two guys, an Australian and an English guy, were running the Snuba, and it turns out that the English bloke grew up my my village that I live in now. It's a small world, eh?
Dominic, Huddersfield UK
Not very impressed by these coincidences...This happened to me and is absolutely true. In 1992 before I left London to live in the Basque Country I arranged for a friend of a friend to take over my rented flat in Forest Gate. Four years later I went on a holiday to Morocco. I was playing the travel game with my friend - the one where you get points for meeting people you know when travelling. We hadn't met anyone in Morocco and the score was nil nil. On the boat from Tangiers we went to the bar and sure enough standing there was one of the last people I had seen in Britain before I left for Spain four years earlier. The guy I handed my flat over to. I won the game hands down!
John Hird, Al Khobar KSA
Isn't it an amazing coincidence that in America, the land of equal opportunity for all, the curent president is the son of the last but one?!
Micky Flick, Knotterby, UK
I was living in Paris, in the Neuilly area. A friend of mine travelled all the way from Portugal to see me but mislaid my address. He actually knocked at the door of my flat saying: "Arent'you famous! Leaving the underground (as he 'd managed to recall the name of the right station, Porte de Neuilly) I asked a lady passing by if she, by any chance, knew a certain Monsieur Melo...". "Yes, she said, he lives on the 3rd floor right of no. 43 Avenue de Neuilly". She just happened to be the 'concierge' of the building...
Alberto Melo, Faro, Portugal
Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846. John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946. Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860. John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960. The names Lincoln and Kennedy each contain seven letters. Both were particularly concerned with civil rights. Both wives lost their children while living in the White House. Both Presidents were shot on a Friday. Both were shot in the head. Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy. Kennedy's secretary was named Lincoln. Both were assassinated by Southerners. Both were succeeded by Southerners. Both successors were named Johnson. Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808. Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908. John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln, was born in 1839. Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939. Both assassins were known by their three names. Both names comprise fifteen letters. Booth ran from the theatre and was caught in a warehouse. Oswald ran from a warehouse and was caught in a theatre. Booth and Oswald were both assassinated before their trials. A week before Lincoln was shot, he was in Monroe, Maryland. A week before Kennedy was shot, he was with Marilyn Monroe.
S Whibley, Ryton UK
During the 1950s, my grandmother lost her wedding ring whilst digging in her garden on her 40th birthday. 20 years later to the day, her daughter (my auntie) was digging in the same part of the garden and did her back in. Amazing.
Stuart Goodacre, Lincoln, UK
Pursuant to the Titianic coincidences above, Morgan Robertson's book "Futility," published in 1898 (14 years before Titanic left her berth), details the story of the world's largest liner, some 800 feet long, with the rich and powerful aboard, striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage on an April night, and most of the passengers perishing for want of sufficient lifeboats. Better yet, one of Robertson's later books (indeed, his latest one when Titanic went down) chronicled a massive war in the Pacific beginning with a Japanese surprise attack on an American naval base in Hawaii and ending when American planes dropped massively destructive "sun bombs" on Japan.
Michael Cavanagh, Toronto Canada
The AA guy story I can confirm is TRUE as I was working for the company at the time, the odds must have been staggering.
Mark G, Wakefield UK
In the early 1950s my uncle Guus had a hitchhiking holiday together with his best friend in Belgium. In Brussels they meet a British cyclist, they become friendly and have a picture taken of them together. A few months later, my uncle is again hitchhiking in the Netherlands, on the way to Rotterdam to his best friend with in his pocket the pictures of that holiday in Belgium. A truck driver offers to take him, but says he should go in the back of the truck saying that there is another hitchhiker. And that is ... the British biker. My uncle takes out the photo and says: "here is your picture".
Bokke, Gdynia Poland
Once I took a picture of my girlfriend in Pompeii (Italy) with her standing on a column. Nice picture, clear sky and clear background. Years later, when she had a new boy friend, they browsed together through her photo-albums and he spots himself somewhere in the background of this picture. Amazing, and tempting to think they were meant for each other ...
Bokke, Gdynia Poland
My Uncle recently moved to Jacksonville, Florida. As a keen golfer he tries to play as many golf courses as possible. One day he tried to play at a course recommended to him by a friend. As it was a weekday he assumed that the course wouldn't be booked. He therefore turned up at the course and was told that the club championship was happening that day, but that as he had made an effort, if he started at the 10th he could play holes 10-18 followed by holes 1-9 without holding up or affecting the members play. My Uncle therefore started at the 10th and was met by the Club pro. The Club pro, who couldn't enter the club championship as it was for members only, then offered to play the round with my Uncle and show him the course. Well, after talking it turns out that the club pro was my uncle's cousin but the families had lost contact when they were both about 5 or so, when my uncle's cousin's family moved to Sweden. Amazed by the coincidence they agreed to meet for dinner. The club pro suggested my uncle swing by (pun intended) to his for a meal so gave his address. It was two doors away from where my uncle had just brought his apartment.
David Breach, Edinburgh, Scotland
In early 1988 I stopped William Hartston in the street and asked him to be the first person to read through a list of some 30 coincidences I had experienced. Whilst doing so he had what he regarded as the strongest coincidence of his life. 6 months later we discovered that in Stan Gooch´s 1978 book The Paranormal, Hartston is the first person mentioned in the section on Synchronicity and Coincidence.
James Plaskett, Cartagena, Spain
The most amazing coincidence I know of is this: in Bermuda in 1975 a man was hit and killed while riding a moped by a taxi. exactly one year later, to the day, his brother was killed while riding the same moped. By the same taxi. Driven by the same driver. Carrying the same passenger. 100% true story.
George Balorge, Dryden, NY USA
my grandfather before he retired working in a steel factory. The factory was under going some renovations and he spotted some old road maps in a skip. Being intrested in this type of thing he picked them out and took them home. When he got home and eventually looked at them a envolope fell out. It contained our family tree on his wifes side (my grandmother) from quite awhile back, all way up to her mother. My great grandmother.
sam allott, sheffield england
This coincidence is verifiable. It was seen on American television. On April 27 2008,CBS aired a The EDS Byron Nelson Classic golf tournament,which resulted in a playoff between Adam Scott and Ryan Morre. Later that same day CBS aired the finale of Big Brother 9, which consisted of two finalists named Adam Jasinski and Ryan Quicksall. Stay with me here. In both competitions Adam was the winner and Ryan came in second place. Think about it.
Michael "Hops" Hodges, Hyattsville MD USA
My father was in WWII and had an army buddy that he corresponded with for about 30 years. He lived on the other side of the country and they got together only once in all those years. In October of 1978 my father died very unexpectedly at the age of 55. My Mother, wanting to spare all of us of the heartbreaking arrival of the annual Christmas card, wrote to him with the news of his death. When she went out to put it in the mailbox to be picked up, our daily mail had arrived. In retrieving it, she found a letter from the army friend's wife saying that he had died also.
A Martin, Pittsburgh, PA, US
Anurag Basu, a Prominent director in Bollywood was once writing a death scene in a movie. As a method director he imagined 'how will he feel if his father dies. He indeed gave a good script for the scene but on the same night his father died. Leaving him alone saying "I blame myself for my father's death" ref: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-09-22/news-interviews/34003293_1_production-houses-cancer-cells-film
Shuaieb Anwar, Mumbai India
Our existence in this universe is by far the biggest coincidence of all time. The odds are beyond calculation. From the quadrillions of solar systems in the Universe, ours is still the only known one to support life.
Steven, Cuddebackville USA
This is just the most interesting thing that has happened to me: I was once interested in a woman by the name of Stephanie Cole. Her favorite genre of music happened to be Christmas music. Once, when I was conversing with one of her best friends about how to properly "court" Miss Cole, my phone suddenly began to play a completely random song of the nearly 1,500 I have on it (this happens from time to time for some unknown reason). Laughing about how strange it was, I found it curious that the song playing was The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole. It was the only Christmas song I had on my phone.
Joseph Anderson, Chicago, Illinois, US
On my first overseas backpacking trip, I'd traveled from Australia to San Sebastian, Spain, and was introducing myself to the girl sleeping in the bunk above me. Only to find out she grew up over the back fence from me in a tiny town 80km south of Melbourne.
Aussie Lad, Melbourne, Australia
In 1838 Edgar Allen Poe wrote a novel called The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket that tells the story of a ship wreck. Four survivors adrift in a lifeboat run out of food and draw straws to choose which of the four would be killed and cannibalized. The cabin boy, Richard Parker, drew the short straw. In 1884 a ship wreck occurred off of Nantucket. Four survivors end up adrift in a lifeboat. They run out of food and draw straws to determine which of the four would be eaten. The loser was the cabin boy ... named Richard Parker.
Mark Henson, Saint Louis, US
I once passed a closed second hand shop on the way home from shopping and there was a painting in the window of a morning winters scene with a sheep farmer and his sheep. I spent about 10mins trying to figure out if the painting was genuine or not as I really liked it then I went home. When I got home I immediately turned on the TV and the soap opera 'Coronation street' was on and Vera Duckworth was arguing with her husband in their frontroom and I noticed hanging above their fireplace the very picture I had just been examining about 5 mins earlier.
Nick C, Littlehampton UK
http://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-21361,00.html
Amazing and Mind Blowing Coincidences
http://www.cracked.com/article_18421_6-insane-coincidences-you-wont-believe-actually-happened.html
Futility or the wreck of the TITAN by Morgan Robertson
7 Amazing Coincidences That Truly Happened
No comments:
Post a Comment