Life loves to throw curveballs, especially when it comes to coincidences. Just when you think you’ve got a handle on things, a series of events comes along that makes you wonder. The universe definitely has a sense of humor. This list explores ten extraordinary coincidences that will leave you questioning reality itself. Get ready to have your skepticism challenged!
Mark Twain and the Comet
Mark Twain was fascinated by Halley’s Comet. He was born on November 30, 1835, when the comet was visible over Florida, Missouri. Twain believed he was destined to die when the comet returned.
He famously said, “I came in with Halley’s Comet in 1835; it’s coming again next year [in 1910], and I expect to go out with it. It would be a great disappointment if I don’t. The Almighty has said, no doubt: ‘Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together.’”
Twain died of a heart attack on April 21, 1910, one day after the comet’s closest approach to Earth. Talk about timing!
Independence Day Deaths
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, once political rivals, became friends later in life. They both died on July 4, 1826—the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Adams had been relatively healthy until a few months prior. He died at his home in Quincy, Massachusetts, around five in the afternoon, at 90 years old. Newspaper reports say his last words were, “Jefferson still lives.”
However, Jefferson died first, just after noon that same day, at his mansion, Monticello. He had been ill for a long time and fell into a coma on July 3, 1826. He was 83. Their deaths on the same day symbolize the unity and shared values of the early American republic.
Breaking the Lincoln Curse
Was Abraham Lincoln cursed? He witnessed three assassinations during his presidency. The most famous was his own at Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865, by John Wilkes Booth.
But here’s where it gets weird. Lincoln’s son, Robert Todd Lincoln, was saved by Edwin Booth, John Wilkes Booth’s brother! This happened on a train platform in Jersey City in 1864.
Edwin Booth, a famous actor, saw Robert Todd Lincoln fall between the platform and the train and pulled him to safety. Booth had no idea who he was saving. Pretty wild, huh?
Bookend Deaths of WWI
Did you know the first and last British soldiers killed in WWI are buried next to each other?
John Parr and George Ellison were the first and last British soldiers to die in combat during World War I. They’re buried next to each other in the St Symphorien military cemetery in Belgium.
The cemetery holds over 500 Commonwealth and German soldiers. Parr and Ellison’s graves are only 15 feet apart. Private Parr was killed on August 21, 1914, at 16 years old. Private Ellison was killed on November 11, 1918, at 40, just 90 minutes before the armistice. Their proximity is a stark reminder of the war’s human cost.
Flight 666: The Doomed Plane
This plane skirted some seriously bad juju. Flight 666, operated by Finnair, flew into HEL on Friday, October 13, 2017.
It’s a regularly scheduled flight from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Helsinki, Finland. The destination airport was Helsinki Airport, whose code is HEL.
Friday the 13th is unlucky in Western superstition, and 666 is often associated with evil. The coincidence made the flight a hot topic. Luckily, it landed without incident. Finnair has since renamed the flight number.
The Ultimate Survivor
Violet Jessop was an Argentine woman of Irish heritage who worked as a stewardess and nurse in the early 20th century. She survived the sinking of both the RMS Titanic and her sister ship, the HMHS Britannic. She was also onboard the RMS Olympic when it collided with a British warship in 1911.
Jessop was working on the Titanic when it struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912. She escaped in lifeboat 16.
On November 21, 1916, Jessop was serving as a WWI nurse on the Britannic when it struck a mine and began to sink. She grabbed a lifebelt and was picked up by a motorboat, surviving a traumatic head injury. Some survivor, huh?
Twin Strangers Live the Same Life
James Alan Lewis and James Allan Springer were identical twins separated at birth and adopted by different families. They reunited at 39 in 1979. They led almost identical lives despite growing up apart.
The twins were born in 1940 and adopted in Ohio. Both were named James and went by Jim. They grew up 45 miles apart. Jim Lewis knew he had a twin, but Jim Springer’s mother said his twin died at birth.
Both Jims married and divorced women named Linda, and remarried women named Betty. Both worked in law enforcement and had similar habits. They had identical childhood pets named Toy, and both named their firstborn sons James Alan (or Allan). Spooky!
Trump Card Prediction
In a season 11 episode of The Simpsons titled “Bart to the Future,” which aired on March 19, 2000, the show predicted that Donald Trump would become president and bankrupt the nation. The episode features Lisa Simpson as president inheriting a budget crisis from President Trump.
After Trump was elected in 2016, the episode gained notoriety. The Simpsons has a reputation for jokes that later come true, including smartwatches and the Ebola virus outbreak.
The Lightning Magnet
They say lightning never strikes the same place twice—but they’re wrong. Walter Summerford was struck by lightning four times, three times while alive and once after he died.
Summerford, a British officer during WWI, was first struck in Belgium in 1918, paralyzing him from the waist down. After retiring to Vancouver, he regained the ability to walk.
Six years later, he was struck again while fishing, paralyzing his right side. In 1930, he was struck a third time while walking in a park, leaving him paralyzed until he passed away two years later.
His gravestone was struck by lightning too! Some call him the unluckiest man, but his story shows the power of nature and human resilience.
Bringing the Civil War Full Circle
Wilmer McLean was a Virginia farmer near Manassas, Virginia, during the Civil War. On July 21, 1861, the First Battle of Bull Run was fought near McLean’s farm.
McLean’s house was used as a headquarters by Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard. McLean, a Union sympathizer, moved his family to Appomattox Court House, Virginia. The Civil War ended there when Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865.
The surrender happened in McLean’s parlor, leading him to say that the Civil War began in his front yard and ended in his front parlor. Talk about closing the circle!
These coincidences are more than just odd occurrences; they challenge our understanding of the world. From Mark Twain’s predicted death to the unbelievable lives of separated twins, these stories leave us pondering the role of fate, chance, and the universe’s mysterious ways. What do you think these coincidences mean? Share your thoughts below!
Leave your comment below and tell us which coincidence blew your mind the most!
