Amazing Coincidences
The world is filled with astonishing occurrences of coincidence and synchronicity that defy explanation. Are these incredible true stories of mere chance... or the hand of fate
The apparently strange parallels in the lives of U.S. Presidents Abraham
Lincoln and John Kennedy are a recurring question...
Life:
1. Both presidents had seven letters in their last names.
2. Both were over 6 feet tall.
3. Both were athletic men.
4. Both enjoyed sitting in rocking chairs.
5. Both were known for their quick wit.
6. Both liked to quote the Bible.
7. Both liked to quote Shakespeare.
8. Both could express themselves well. Kennedy won the Pulizer Prize and
many of Lincoln's works are considered classics.
9. Both seemed to have lazy eye muscles which would sometimes cause one to
deviate.
10. Both suffered from genetic diseases. It is suspected that Lincoln had
Marfan's disease and Kennedy suffered from Addison's disease.
11. Both served in the military. Lincoln was a scout captain in the Black
Hawk War and Kennedy served as a naval lieutenant in World War II.
12. Both were boat captains. Lincoln was skipper of the *Talisman*, a
Mississippi River boat, and Kennedy was skipper of PT 109.
13. Neither president was known to carry money and constantly borrowed funds
from friends.
14. Both had no fear of their mortality and disdained bodyguards.
15. Both often stated how easy it would be to shoot a president.
16. Both received many letters threatening their lives. In the year of his
death, Lincoln received over 80 letters. In the year of his death, Kennedy
received over 800 letters.
Death
17. Both presidents were shot in the head.
18. Both were shot on a Friday.
19. In each case, that Friday was one before a holiday. Linclon was shot on
Good Friday and Kennedy was shot on the Friday before Thanksgiving.
20. Both were seated beside their wives when shot.
21. Neither Mrs. Linclon nor Mrs. Kennedy were injured.
22. Both wives held the bullet-torn heads of their husbands.
23. Both presidents were in the company of another couple when shot.
24. In each case, the man was injured but not fatally. Major Rathbone was
slashed by a knife and Governor Connolly was shot.
25. Lincoln was shot at Ford's Theatre. Kennedy was shot in a Ford product,
a Lincoln limousine.
26. Lincoln sat in Box 7 at Ford's Theatre. Kennedy rode in car 7 in the
Dallas motorcade.
27. Both presidents received the best medical attention available.
28. Both received closed chest massage.
29. Both presidents died in a place with the initials P and H. Lincoln died
in the Peterson House and Kennedy died in Parkland Hospital.
30. The wives of both presidents were with them when they died.
31. Autopsies were performed on both presidents.
32. Both autopsies were performed by military personnel.
33. Both Lincoln and Kennedy were buried in mahogany caskets.
34. The bodies of both presients rested on the same catafalque and caisson.
35. Mrs. Kennedy insisted that her husband's funeral mirror Lincoln's as
closely as possible.
The Assassins
36. Both assassins had three names: John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald.
37. There of 15 letters in each assassin's name.
38. Both assassins struck in their mid-twenties. Booth was born in 1838 and
Oswald was born in 1939.
39. Each assassin lacked a stron father figure in his life. Booth's father
died when he was 13 years old and Oswald's died before he was born.
40. Each assassin had two brothers whose careers he coveted. Booth's two
brothers were more successful actors and Oswald envied his brothers'
military lives.
41. Both assassins were privates in the military. Booth was a private in
Virginia Militia and Oswald was a private in the Marine Corps.
42. Both assassins were born in the South
43. Both assassins were known sympathizers to enemies of the United States.
Booth supported the Confederacy and Oswals was a Marxist.
44. Both assiaains were fond of writing down their thoughts; Booth kept a
diary and Oswald kept a journal.
45. Both assassins often used aliases. Booth frequently used "J. Wilkes"
and Oswald used the name "Alek J. Hidell."
46. Both assassins knew of their victims' whereabouts by readin of it in the
newspapers.
47. Both assassins planned their deed well.
48. Booth shot Lincoln at a theatre and was cornered ina warehouse. Oswald
shot Kennedy from a warehouse and was cornered in a theatre.
49. The handyman, bill distributor, and part-time concession operator at
Ford's Theatre was Joseph "Peanuts John" Burroughs. The consession stand
operator at the Texas Theatre was Butch Burroughs.
50. Booth was aided in his escape from Washington by Oswald (Oswell) Swan
and Lewis Paine (also known as Payne). Oswald got his job at the School-
book Depository through the aid of Mrs. Ruth Paine, his landlady.
51. Each assassin was detained by an officer named Baker. Lt. Luther B.
Baker was the leader of the cavalry patrol which trapped Booth at Garrett's
barn. Officer Marion L. Baker, a Dallas motorcycle patrolman, briefly
detained Oswald on the second floor of the School Depository until he
learned that he worked there.
Finnish twin brothers, aged 71, were killed in identical bicycle accidents along the same road two hours apart, police said. "This is simply a historic coincidence. Although the road is a busy one, accidents don't occur every day," police officer Marja-Leena Huhtala told Reuters. "It made my hair stand on end when I heard the two were brothers, and identical twins at that. It came to mind that perhaps someone from upstairs had a say in this," she said.
Identical twins. Identical accidents. Identical deaths. Two hours apart. This astonishing coincidence was reported in newspapers and on newswires around the world in early March, 2002. The odds of it occurring seem remote in the extreme, and it causes one to wonder, as the woman did above - even for a moment - if there's more at play here than mere coincidence. Is it the hand of fate? Is it true, as author Elizabeth Kubler-Ross wrote, that "there are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings given to us to learn from."
History is full of amazing and sometimes bizarre coincidences that give us pause and keep us scratching our heads in wonder. Here is just a small sampling:
Other Coincidental Deaths
This is a similar story of coincidence, not of twins but of two brothers. In 1975, while riding a moped in Bermuda, a man was accidentally struck and killed by a taxi. One year later, this man's bother was killed in the very same way. In fact, he was riding the very same moped. And to stretch the odds even further, he was struck by the very same taxi driven by the same driver - and even carrying the very same passenger! (Phenomena: A Book of Wonders, John Michell and Robert J. M. Rickard)
Mysterious Monk to the Rescue
Joseph Aigner was a fairlly well-known portrait painter in 19th century Austria who, apparently, was quite an unhappy fellow: he several times attempted suicide. His first attempt was at the young age of 18 when he tried to hang himself, but was interrupted by the mysterious appearance of a Capuchin monk. At age 22 he again tried to hang himself, but was again saved from the act by the very same monk. Eight years later, his death was ordained by others who sentenced him to the gallows for his political activities. Once again, his life was saved by the intervention of the same monk. At age 68, Aiger finally succeeded in suicide, a pistol doing the trick. His funeral ceremony was conducted by the same Capuchin monk - a man whose name Aiger never even knew. (Ripley's Giant Book of Believe It or Not!)
Winnings' Rightful Owner
In 1858, Robert Fallon was shot dead, an act of vengeance by those with whom he was playing poker. Fallon, they claimed, had won the $600 pot through cheating. With Fallon's seat empty and none of the other players willing to take the now-unlucky $600, they found a new player to take Fallon's place and staked him with the dead man's $600. By the time the police had arrived to investigate the killing, the new player had turned the $600 into $2,200 in winnings. The police demanded the original $600 to pass on to Fallon's next of kin - only to discover that the new player turned out to be Fallon's son, who had not seen his father in seven years! (Ripley's Giant Book of Believe It or Not!)
Strangers on a Train
In the 1920s, three Englishman were traveling separately by train through Peru. At the time of their introduction, they were the only three men in the railroad car. Their introductions were more surprising than they could have imagined. One man's last name was Bingham, and the second man's last name was Powell. The third man announced that his last name was Bingham-Powell. None were related in any way. (Mysteries of the Unexplained)
It's Raining Babies
In Detroit sometime in the 1930s, a young (if incredibly careless) mother must have been eternally grateful to a man named Joseph Figlock. As Figlock was walking down the street, the mother's baby fell from a high window onto Figlock. The baby's fall was broken and both man and baby were unharmed. A stroke of luck on its own, but a year later, the very same baby fell from the very same window onto poor, unsuspecting Joseph Figlock as he was again passing beneath. And again, they both survived the event. (Mysteries of the Unexplained)
Swapped Hotel Finds
In 1953, television reporter Irv Kupcinet was in London to cover the coronation of Ellizabeth II. In one of the drawers in his room at the Savoy he found found some items that, by their identification, belonged to a man named Harry Hannin. Coincidentally, Harry Hannin - a basketball star with the famed Harlem Globetrotters - was a good friend of Kupcinet's. But the story has yet another twist. Just two days later, and before he could tell Hannin of his lucky discovery, Kupcinet received a letter from Hannin. In the letter, Hannin told Kucinet that while staying at the Hotel Meurice in Paris, he found in a drawer a tie - with Kupcinet's name on it! (Mysteries of the Unexplained)
Paging Mr. Bryson
While on a business trip sometime in the late 1950s, Mr. George D. Bryson stopped and registered at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky. After signing the register and being given his key to room 307, he stopped by the mail desk to see if any letters had arrived for him. Indeed there was a letter, the mail girl told him, and handed him an envelope addressed to Mr. George D. Bryson, room 307. This wouldn't be so odd accept the letter was not for him, but for room 307's just-previous occupant - another man named George D. Bryson. (Incredible Coincidence, Alan Vaughan)
Twin Boys, Twin Lives
The stories of identical twins' nearly identical lives are often astonishing, but perhaps none more so than those of identical twins born in Ohio. The twin boys were separated at birth, being adopted by different families. Unknown to each other, both families named the boys James. And here the coincidences just begin. Both James grew up not even knowing of the other, yet both sought law-enforcement training, both had abilities in mechanical drawing and carpentry, and each had married women named Linda. They both had sons whom one named James Alan and the other named James Allan. The twin brothers also divorced their wives and married other women - both named Betty. And they both owned dogs which they named Toy. Forty years after their childhood separation, the two men were reunited to share their amazingly similar lives. (Reader's Digest, January 1980)
The Vengeful Bullet
Henry Ziegland thought he had dodged fate. In 1883, he broke off a relationship with his girlfriend who, out of distress, committed suicide. The girl's brother was so enraged that he hunted down Ziegland and shot him. The brother, believing he had killed Ziegland, then turned his gun on himself and took his own life. But Ziegland had not been killed. The bullet, in fact, had only grazed his face and then lodged in a tree. Ziegland surely thought himself a lucky man. Some years later, however, Ziegland decided to cut down the large tree, which still had the bullet in it. The task seemed so formidable that he decided to blow it up with a few sticks of dynamite. The explosion propelled the bullet into Ziegland's head, killing him. (Ripley's Believe It or Not!)
Childhood Returned
While American novelist Anne Parrish was browsing bookstores in Paris in the 1920s, she came upon a book that was one of her childhood favorites - Jack Frost and Other Stories. She picked up the old book and showed it to her husband, telling him of the book she fondly remembered as a child. Her husband took the book, opened it, and on the flyleaf found the inscription: "Anne Parrish, 209 N. Weber Street, Colorado Springs." It was Anne's very own book. (While Rome Burns, Alexander Wollcott)
And Finally, Two More Twins
John and Arthur Mowforth were twins who lived about 80 miles apart in Great Britain. On the evening of May 22, 1975, both fell severely ill from chest pains. The families of both men were completely unaware of the other's illness. Both men were rushed to separate hospitals at approximately the same time. And both died of heart attacks shortly after arrival. (Chronogenetics: The Inheretance of Biological Time, Luigi Gedda and Gianni Brenci)
Writer Mark Twain was born in 1835, the year of Halley’s comet. Twain remarked that as he had come into the world with the comet, so he would pass from the world with it. Halley’s comet returned in 1910, and, sure enough, Twain died that year.
During the Second World War the British Museum in London was twice hit by German bomb, the second passing through the hole made by the first. Neither bomb exploded.
Buzz Aldrin’s mother’s maiden name was Moon. Aldrin was the second man on the Moon.
In 1898, retired Merchant Navy Offices Morgan Robertson wrote a novel, The Wreck of the Titan, which uncannily predicted the Titanic disaster 14 years later. Apart from the similarity in the names of the two ships, Robertson’s Titan was also huge, supposedly unsinkable British liner making its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York with 3000 passengers on board. It too struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank with many people losing their lives because of the shortage of lifeboats.
In April 1935, a ship named the Titanian, carrying coal from Newcastle to Canada, almost suffered the same fate as the Titanic when encountering an iceberg on the same area of the North Atlantic. Luckily, crewman William Reeves had a premonition of impending disaster and yelled “Danger ahead!” to the navigator shortly before the iceberg beamed visible in the darkness. Reeves was born on 15 April 1912 – the day the Titanic sank.
Duane Allman of The Allman Brothers rock band was killed in a motorbike accident in Macon, Georgia, in 1971. A year later, fellow Allman Brother’s member Berry Oakley was killed in another motorbike crash just three blocks away.
In 1799 and American privateer, the Nancy, was seized by a British warship in the Caribbean. Prior to capture, the Nancy’s skipper, Thomas Briggs, managed to throw the hip’s American paper overboard and replace them with Dutch forgeries. Charged in Jamaica with running a British blockade during wartime, Briggs looked set to go free for lack of evidence, But in the course of the trial another British warship, HMS Ferret, arrived in port and produced the incriminating papers. The ferret, had caught a large shark off Haiti and inside the shark’s stomach were the papers.
For three successive seasons between 1956 and 1958, Leeds United were drawn at home to Cardiff City in the third round of the FA Cup. Each time, Cardiff won 2-1.
Four of the first six US Presidents – George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and John Quincy Adams - were 57 when they were inaugurated.
In 1975 a Bedfordshire family were stunned when a huge chunk of ice dropped out of the sky and crashed through the roof of their house. At the time they were watching a film on TV about the Titanic.
On 23 May 1939, the recently built American submarine Squalus sank off the eastern seaboard. A sister ship, the Sculpin succeeded in rescuing half of the 56-man crew. The Squalus was subsequently salvaged and renamed the Sailfish. In 1943, the Sculpin was sunk by the Japanese who took 42 men prisoner, placing half of them on board the aircraft carrier Cuyo. Approaching Japan, the Cuyo was torpedoed by the Sailfish and everyone on board was killed. So the crew of the Sailfish had killed half of the survivors of the submarine that had come to their rescue four years previously
George W Bush's brother Neil was scheduled to have dinner with John Hinckley's brother Scott the day after the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan
George W Bush's father had a meeting with Osama Bin Laden's brother at the Ritz-Carlton hotel on the morning of September 11!
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