In real life, we often encounter some amazing coincidences. For example, when we are thinking about someone, we suddenly receive a call from them, or when we are longing to hear a certain song, the radio happens to play that tune. While most of these coincidences have no particular meaning, sometimes, certain coincidences have had a profound impact on major events in the world. When these coincidences have a positive meaning, we call them fate, and if they have a negative meaning, they call them disasters. Next, I will list the top 10 coincidental events in history that have not only affected the world, but also provoked endless human thought.
[1, the bizarre encounter of the Finnish twin brothers]
In 2002, Finland had a pair of 70-year-old twin brothers who were in an incredible car accident during a blizzard. They were killed by trucks, and even more bizarrely, they weren't together at the time, separated by about a mile. What is even more surprising is that the second accident was only two hours away from the first, and the second brother did not even know that his brother had been killed at the time of the accident, which ruled out the possibility of suicide. This unusual coincidence between identical twins is not unheard of, and some twins reunite after years of separation and find each other strikingly similar in their work, habits, preferences, etc. However, it is truly unbelievable that twins died on the same day, on the same street, in the same way.
[2. The striking resemblance between Kennedy and Lincoln]
It's an old but memorable story because it's full of incredible coincidences. There are many striking similarities between the two American presidents, Kennedy and Lincoln. First, they were elected presidents a full 100 years apart. Their successors are Johnson from the South, and the two Johnsons were born 100 years apart. In addition, the Assassins who assassinated them were born a hundred years apart, and all died before they were about to be tried. Lincoln was assassinated in a theater where the Assassins ended up trapped in a warehouse, while Kennedy was assassinated in a warehouse and the Assassins were captured in the theater. More interestingly, the theater where Lincoln was assassinated was called Ford Theatre, and Kennedy was assassinated while riding a horse at a horse farm called Ford Lincoln. More coincidentally, Kennedy had a secretary named Lincoln, and Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy. These coincidences are unbelievable and have sparked countless debates about fate and coincidence. However, mathematicians have tried to explain these phenomena with probability theory, even though these coincidences are indeed incredible. But that's why many people think that mathematicians aren't very popular at parties – they always try to use logic and reason to spoil those beautiful coincidences and fates.
[3, Princip and Archduke Ferdinand's fatal encounter]
Princip, an ordinary Bosnian peasant, probably never imagined that his actions would change the fate of the entire twentieth century. However, on that sunny summer day in 1914, he pulled out his pistol and aimed it at the convoy of Archduke Ferdinand, Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary. The assassination not only led to the deaths of both men, but also triggered a chain reaction that eventually led to the outbreak of World War I. The war brought unprecedented catastrophe and sowed the seeds of future communism and Nazism.
Surprisingly, it is possible that this assassination would not have happened. Princip was just one of many conspirators who planned to assassinate the Grand Duke, a plan he had all but abandoned due to previous failed attempts to assassinate him with a bomb. However, on that very day, Archduke Ferdinand decided to walk into a café and take a break. When he finished his meal and walked out of the café, he happened to see his own car parked not far away. Coincidentally, the Grand Duke's driver made a wrong turn at that moment and accidentally turned off the engine while backing up. This chain of coincidences made the Grand Duke and his wife the targets of Princip's motionless assassination. Princip made a quick decision, pulled out his pistol and pulled the trigger.
Historians often lament that if the Grand Duke's driver had not gotten lost that day, perhaps the entire history of the twentieth century would have been rewritten. However, fate is so full of unpredictability, and a small coincidence can trigger such a huge historical change.
[4, the same fate 157 years apart]
In a small village in Birmingham, England, two homicides 157 years apart are strikingly similar. Barbara Forrest and Mary Ashford, two young women, both met the same fate on the same day of their twentieth birthday. They were raped and strangled on the same day, and their bodies were abandoned not far away. What's even more bizarre is that both men had visited friends before they were killed, and had changed into new clothes to prepare for the banquet.
Even more incredibly, the alleged killers were all surnamed Thornton, and they were all eventually acquitted due to insufficient evidence. Such a coincidence makes one wonder whether this was a fateful arrangement, or just an accidental coincidence of two similar criminal incidents? Whether it was reincarnation or pure coincidence, this event has become the talk of people after dinner, which makes people marvel.
[5, the unexpected intersection of the Booth family]
Edwin and John Wilkes Booth, the names of the brothers have left a deep mark on American history. However, their intersection with President Lincoln's family unfolded in an incredible way.
A few months before John became famous for his assassination of President Lincoln, Lincoln's son, Robert Todd Lincoln, experienced a life-or-death thriller. At the time, he was waiting for a train on a cramped platform in New Jersey when he accidentally fell onto the tracks. At this time, a train was slowly approaching, and the situation was extremely critical. Luckily, Edwin Booth, John's older brother, happened to be there and came to the rescue, bringing Roberta to safety.
This event is considered one of the most remarkable coincidences in history. The fact that the president's son was saved by the brother of the president's assassin is simply unbelievable. What is even more surprising, however, is that the fate of Robert Todd Lincoln seems to be inextricably linked to the presidential assassination. In later years, he happened to be present twice to witness the assassinations of other presidents, which undoubtedly added to the mystery of this coincidence.
These coincidental events are not only amazing, but also provoke people to think deeply about fate and coincidence. They seem to tell us that sometimes, the power of fate is so powerful that even the slightest coincidence can change the course of an entire history.
[6, Mark Chapman: A Legendary Story]
In December 1980, John Lennon, the Beatles' brilliant singer, songwriter and guitarist, was murdered in front of the Dakota apartment complex in New York City. The killer was named Mark Chapman, a mentally ill night security guard who has been imprisoned in the Attica prison in upstate New York ever since. Five years later, NBC plans to make a biographical film about Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, titled "John and Yoko: A Legend of Love." However, what is ironic is that the actor who plays Lennon in the film is also named Mark Chapman, which makes some people in Hollywood exclaim: "This is just a joke!" After the news spread, it caused a lot of turmoil, and the producers had to urgently find a new Lennon actor. However, it is worth mentioning that the actor named Mark Chapman (not the crazy murderer) received praise and recognition for his successful portrayal of Lennon in 2007. Obviously, despite his namesake to the murderer, his physical resemblance to John Lennon makes this coincidence less abrupt.
[7, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams's bizarre finale]
Although Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were fierce rivals in the political arena (Jefferson was Adams' vice president and successfully defeated his boss in the 1800 election), both loved their homeland. As a result, they participated in the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, which was officially signed on July 4, 1776 and became known to the world. What is less well known, however, is that these two great men died on the same day, July 4, 1826, which coincided with the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
[8. Crossword puzzle accidentally leaked the Allied D-Day offensive codename]
In May 1944, Leonard Dawes, a retired teacher, was writing crossword puzzles for the Daily Telegraph in London, day in and day out. One day, as he put the puzzle pieces together, he was surprised to find that the puzzles had inadvertently revealed the names of two landing beaches — Utah and Omaha, as well as other secret code names such as Overlord and Mulberry. Given that Dawes was of German descent, the Allies immediately interrogated him. However, shortly after his release, the Allies believed that the acquisition of these code names was entirely unintentional on the part of Dawes. While it is possible to piece together these code names by chance, it is incredible that Dawes managed to piece together five classified code names in just two weeks. The probability of such a coincidence occurring is extremely low, almost one in a billion, but the mystery is still left to mathematicians to explore.
[9, the striking similarity between the Titanic and the Titan]
In 1898, writer Morgan Robertson wrote a novel called Vain or the Ruins of the Titans, which depicts the tragic story of a British luxury cruise ship called HMS Titan that crashes into an iceberg while sailing in the North Atlantic and eventually sinks. Due to the lack of adequate lifeboats, a large number of casualties were caused. Shockingly, 14 years after the novel was published, an almost identical tragedy occurred in real life. The fictional cruise ship bears a striking resemblance to the name of the real-life Titanic, both of which are luxury cruise ships about 800 feet long and equipped with three propellers. They all hit icebergs in April, and the death toll is close to 2,500. Although some of the details of the two events are different (such as the rapid capsizing of the Titans in the novel, and the lengthy sinking of the Titanic), the striking similarities are still chilling.
[10, Lee Harvey Oswald unexpectedly won the position of library warehouse manager at Texas College]
At any given moment, there are countless people who may have the idea of assassinating the President of the United States. However, very few people actually put it into action and successfully implement it. That's what makes Lee Harvey Oswald stand out: The Marxist-leaning former Marine Police not only tried to kill a world leader, but also bought a rifle for a low price of $15. Even more unbelievable, he actually found a job just fifty yards from the U.S. President's motortroop - a Texas College librarian. He had the motive and the conditions to carry out the assassination. It is conceivable that if he had not been offered this job on October 16, 1963, the heinous assassination in history might not have happened.