Amazing Coincidences

Twin Deaths



On 2002, Seventy-year-old twin brothers have died within hours of one another after separate accidents on the same road in northern Finland. The first of the twins died when he was hit by a lorry while riding his bike in Raahe, 600 kilometres north of the capital, Helsinki. He died just 1.5km from the spot where his brother was killed. “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.

Royal Coincidence



In Monza, Italy, King Umberto I, went to a small restaurant for dinner, accompanied by his aide-de-camp, General Emilio Ponzia- Vaglia. When the owner took King Umberto’s order, the King noticed that he and the restaurant owner were virtual doubles, in face and in build. Both men began discussing the striking resemblances between each other and found many more similarities.

1. Both men were born on the same day, of the same year, (March 14th, 1844).
2. Both men had been born in the same town.
3. Both men married a woman with same name, Margherita.
4. The restauranteur opened his restaurant on the same day that King Umberto was crowned King of Italy.
5. On the 29th July 1900, King Umberto was informed that the restauranteur had died that day in a mysterious shooting accident, and as he expressed his regret, he was then assassinated by an anarchist in the crowd.

Falling Baby

In 1930s Detroit, a man named Joseph Figlock was to become an amazing figure in a young (and, apparently, incredibly careless) mother’s life. 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 Figlock and the baby were unharmed. A year later, the selfsame baby fell from the selfsame window, again falling onto Mr. Figlock as he was passing beneath. Once again, both of them survived the event.

Photographic Coincidence



A German mother who photographed her infant son in 1914 left the film to be developed at a store in Strasbourg. In those days some film plates were sold individually. World War I broke out and unable to return to Strasbourg, the woman gave up the picture for lost. Two years later she bought a film plate in Frankfurt, over 100 miles away, to take a picture of her newborn daughter. When developed the film turned out to be a double exposure, with the picture of her daughter superimposed on the earlier picture of her son. Through some incredible twist of fate, her original film, never developed, had been mislabeled as unused, and had eventually been resold to her.

Twins



The twin brothers, Jim Lewis and Jim Springer, were separated at birth, adopted by different families. Unknown to each other, both families named the boys James. Both James grew up not 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. Both had sons, one of whom was 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.

Revenge Killing



In 1883, Henry Ziegland broke off a relationship with his girlfriend who, out of distress, committed suicide. The girl’s enraged brother hunted down Ziegland and shot him. Believing he had killed Ziegland, the brother then took his own life. In fact, however, Ziegland had not been killed. The bullet had only grazed his face, lodging into a tree. It was a narrow escape. Years later, Ziegland decided to cut down the same tree, which still had the bullet in it. The huge tree seemed so formidable that he decided to blow it up with dynamite. The explosion propelled the bullet into Ziegland’s head, killing him.

Taxi



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!

Bad Lightning



In 1899 a man was killed by a bolt of lightning as he stood in his backyard in Taranto, Italy. Thirty years later, his son was killed in the very same spot by another bolt of lightning. On October 8, 1949, Rolla Primarda, the second victim’s son (and grandson of the first victim) was also killed in the same spot by yet another bolt of lightning.

Coincidental Murder



On the 26th November, 1911, three men were hanged at Greenberry Hill in London after being convicted of the murder of Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey. The killers names were Robert Green, Henry Berry and Lawrence Hill (Green, Berry, and Hill).

Mysterious Murder Link



Barbara Forrest (Born 1954) and Mary Ashford (Born 1797) were both the victims of murder 157 years apart yet both instances have remarkable similarities. They were both found murdered on the same day, 27th May, in the same town, both in 1817 and 1974 the 26th of May was Whit Monday, they had both been raped before they were murdered, they were both found within 400 yards of each other, they were both murdered at about the same time of day, there were attempts to hide both bodies, both girls had visited a friend on the evening of Whit Monday, both changed into a new dress that night, and both went to a dance.

The man accused of each murder had the same name – Thornton, and both men were acquitted of murder, both girls have very similar facial features and 10 days before, 17th May 1974, Barbara Forrest said to a friend, “This is going to be my unlucky month. I just know it. Don’t ask me why.”

Rest in Peace



In Texas, USA, in 1899, Canadian actor Charles Francis Coghlan became ill and died whilst he was in Galveston. Because it was too far to return his remains to his home on Prince Edward Island, 3500 miles away, he was instead buried in a lead coffin inside a granite vault.

A year after his death, in September 1900, a hurricane hit Galveston, flooding the graveyard, shattering Charles Coghlan’s granite vault and carrying away his lead coffin out into the Gulf of Mexico.

In October 1908, eight years after the hurricane, fishermen on Prince Edward Island spotted a weathered box floating near the shore. It was the coffin of Charles Coghlan, which had finally returned home. He was buried in the nearby church where he had been christened as a baby.

Lightning Shock



The chances of being struck by lightning are very slim; the chances of being struck by lightning twice (on different days) is seemingly impossible; so what are the odds of being struck by lightning seven times? With our world record holder, Roy Sullivan, the events happened as follows:

1942 – Sullivan was hit for the first time when he was in a lookout tower. The lightning bolt struck him in a leg and he lost a nail on his big toe.
1969 – The second bolt hit him in his truck when he was driving on a mountain road. It knocked him unconscious and burned his eyebrows.
1970 – The third strike burned his left shoulder while in his front yard.
1972 – The next hit happened in a ranger station. The strike set his hair on fire. After that, he began to carry a pitcher of water with him.
1973 – A lightning bolt hit Sullivan on the head, blasted him out of his car, and again set his hair on fire.
1974 – Sullivan was struck by the sixth bolt in a campground, injuring his ankle.
1977 – The seventh and final lightning bolt hit him when he was fishing. Sullivan was hospitalized for burns in his chest and stomach.

His “lightning hats” are on display in New York’s and South Carolina’ s Guinness World Exhibit Hall.

Rail Crossing



In 1991, Cristina Vernoni, aged 19, was killed at an unguarded railway crossing in Reggio Emilia, Northern Italy. Four years later, her 57 year old father was driving to work on his regular route which took him over the same railway crossing when his car was struck by a train. It was dragged for several dozen yards before the train finally stopped. Even more coincidentally, the driver of the train, Domenico Serafino, was the very same driver who had killed Vernoni’s daughter four years earlier. Investigators said that the death was entirely accidental – ruling out suicide.

Menacing Coincidence



In 1951 in the month of March, Dennis the Menace was born… twice. With only three days apart (but an identical debut day), both Hank Ketcham (US) and David Law (UK) created their first comics containing a character with an identical name. The two men were unaware of each others cartoons but when the coincidence was made known to them, they agreed to simply both continue writing their strips without interfering with the other. Even more coincidental was the fact that both Dennis the Menace characters wore striped jerseys (as is evident in the comparison picture above).

Mr Robertson…



On October 15, 1952, Robert Paterson tried to board an Amtrak train from Phoenix to Los Angeles. The conductor told him that Robert Paterson was already onboard. After a quick check, they discovered that both men had tickets. The men were similar height, weight and appearance.

On the way to LA, the train made an emergency stop in Barstow to pick up another passenger: Robert Paterson. The third Mr. Paterson was also similar in appearance to the first two. The train now had three men with the same name and appearance, all headed for LA.

Once they train arrived in Los Angeles, the three Robert Patersons disembarked and went their separate ways. The baggage was unloaded and the train was prepared for the return trip to Phoenix. As the new passengers were boarding, the conductor couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw a familiar name on the passenger list: a fourth Robert Paterson

Louis XVI Bad Luck



When King Louis XVI of France was a child, he was warned by an astrologer to always be on his guard on the 21st day of each month. Louis ws so terrified by this that he never did business
on this day. Unfortunately Louis was not always on his guard. On June 21st 1791, following the French revolution, Louis and his queen were arrested in Varennes, whist trying to escape France. On September 21st 1791, France abolished the institution of Royalty and proclaimed itself a republic. Finally on January 21st 1793, King Louis XVI was executed by guillotine.

Titanic Coincidence



In 1898 Morgan Robertson released ‘Futility, or the Wreck of the Titan’. A floating palace sailed from Southampton, England in April, 1898 on a voyage across the Atlantic. She was the biggest and most luxurious liner ever built. The liner was meant to be unsinkable. She was destined for America. But the ship never reached her destination, her hull was ripped open by an iceberg and she sank causing a heavy loss of life as there wasn’t enough lifeboats for the passengers (24 lifeboats for 3000 passengers). The ship was called Titan.

In 1912, a large luxury liner that was built to be unsinkable sailed from Southampton, England to America. She was on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic. The ship struck an iceberg which ripped apart the hull, and the ship sank. There were only 24 lifeboats for the entire ship (about 2200 people), and many people died. This ship was called the Titanic.

Poker Luck

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!

Lincoln and Kennedy from Ross

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 are comprised of fifteen letters

Booth ran from the theater and was caught in a warehouse.
Oswald ran from a warehouse and was caught in a theater.
Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.

And here's the kicker,
A week before Lincoln was shot, he was in Monroe, Maryland.
A week before Kennedy was shot, he was in Marilyn Monroe

Nice one Ad, love reading these things.

Have you seen the Kennedy one? Should whack that in there!

Nice one Ad, love reading these things.

Have you seen the Kennedy one? Should whack that in there!

Yeah, that one was really scary as well. Added it in

I should post some "Bizzare deaths" some day but I got scared reading them

These are crazy!!

I love reading stuff like this though. The story about the twins called James was proper weird!

Gret read Ad

The story about the twins called James was proper weird!

That's the only one i've read so far, don't know why? But yeah, really weird!

Boss thread Adryan! I'll have a good read of this after Question Time mate.

Just add some more

Poe Coincidence



In the 19th century, the famous horror writer, Egdar Allan Poe, wrote a book called ‘The narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym’. It was about four survivors of a shipwreck who were in an open boat for many days before they decided to kill and eat the cabin boy whose name was Richard Parker. Some years later, in 1884, the yawl, Mignonette, foundered, with only four survivors, who were in an open boat for many days. Eventully the three senior members of the crew, killed and ate the cabin boy. The name of the cabin boy was Richard Parker.

Mystery Monk



In 19th century Austria, a near-famous painter named Joseph Aigner attempted suicide on several occasions. During his first attempt to hang himself at the age of 18, Aigner was interrupted by a mysterious Capuchin monk. And again at age 22, he was prevented from hanging himself by the very same monk. Eight years later, he was sentenced to the gallows for his political activities. But again, his life was saved by the intervention of the same monk. At age 68, Joseph Aigner finally succeeded in suicide, using a pistol to shoot himself. Not surprisingly, his funeral ceremony was conducted by the very same Capuchin monk – a man whose name Aiger never even knew.

Hotel Discovery



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.

Historical Coincidence



The lives of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, two of America’s founders. Jefferson crafted the Declaration of Independence, showing drafts of it to Adams, who (with Benjamin Franklin) helped to edit and hone it.The document was approved by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. Surprisingly, both Jefferson and Adams died on the same day, July 4, 1826 – exactly 50 years from the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Lucky Number



In the 1930s in New York, a commuter train dove off an open drawbridge into Newark Bay killing 30 passengers. The newspaper published photographs of the incident and the number ‘932′ could be seen clearly on the side of one of the coaches. A large number of people selected that number for the Manhattan numbers game and the number came up! Thousands of people won.

Patricide



Jean Marie Dubarry, a Frenchman, was executed on February 13, 1746 for the murder of his father. 100 years, to the day, another Frenchman also named Jean Marie Dubarry was executed… also for the murder of his father.

Plum Pudding



19th century poet, Emile Deschamps, once said that when he was a schoolboy, he shared a table at a restaurant with M. de Fortgibu, who had recently returned from England with a taste for plum puddings, which were unavailable in France at that time. He insisted that Deschamps sample one.

Ten years later Deschamps passed a restaurant and saw that it was serving plum pudding, so Deschamps went in and ordered a slice, to be told that it was reserved for another customer. Deschamps went over to the customer to beg his favour and it turned out to be M. de Fortgibu, both men being astonished at meeting again after so long a time over the same dish.

Many years passed by, and Deschamps was invited to a dinner party which featured plum pudding. At the party Deschamps was telling his hosts about the extraordinary encounter with Fortgibu, the hosts joking about the possibility of the old man turning up when suddenly, there was Fortgibu again, who had also been invited to the party.

Deschamps said, “Three times in my life I have eaten plum pudding, and three times I have seen M. Fortgibu. My hair stood up on my head!”

Lucky Hughs?

On December 5th 1660, a ship sank in the straights of Dover – the only survivor was noted to be Hugh Williams.

On 5th December 1767, another ship sank in the same waters – 127 lost their lives, the only survivor was noted to be Hugh Williams

On 8th August 1820, a picnic boat capsized on the Thames – there was one survivor – Hugh Williams.

On 10th July 1940, a British trawler was destroyed by a German mine – only two men survived, one man and his nephew – they were both called Hugh Williams.

With a Quack Quack Here

Mr McDonald was a farmer who lived in Canada – nothing extra-ordinary in that – until you learn that his postcode contained the letter sequence EIEIO.

‘Til Death Did Them Part

n 1996, Paris police set out to investigate a late night, high speed car crash, both drivers had been killed instantly.

Investigations revealed that the deceased were in fact man and wife.

Police initially suspected some kind of murder or suicide pact but it became apparent that the pair had been separated for several months – neither could have known that the other would have been out driving that night – it was just a terrible coincidence.

She’s Behind You!



Michael Dick had been travelling around the UK with his family to track down his daughter, Lisa – who he had lost contact with ten years earlier.

After a long fruitless search, he approached the Suffolk Free Press, who agreed to help him by putting an appeal in their newspaper.

Fortunately, his long lost daughter saw the appeal and the pair were reunited. The odd thing was, his daughter had been right behind him when the free paper took the photograph – shown in the photograph above. What are the chances of that!

Licensed To Thrill



A fifteen year old pupil at Argoed High School in North Wales was to sit his GCSE examinations in 1990.

His name was James Bond – his examination paper reference was 007.

What Goes Around….

n 1965, at the age of four, Roger Lausier was swimming off a beach in Salem – he got into difficulties and was saved from drowning by a woman called Alice Blaise.

In 1974, on the same beach, Roger was out on a raft when he pulled a drowning man from the water – amazingly, the man he saved was Alice Blaise’s husband.

Lightning Never Strikes Twice?

British cavalry officer Major Summerford was fighting in the fields of Flanders in the last year of WW1, a flash of lightning knocked him off his horse and paralysed him from his waist down.

He moved to Vancouver, Canada, six years later, whilst out fishing, Major Summerfield was struck by lightning again and the right side of his body became paralysed.

After two years of recovery, it was a summers day and he was out in a local park, a summer storm blew up and Major Summerfield was struck by lightning again – permanently paralysing him.

He died two years after this incident.

However, four years after his death, his stone tomb was destroyed – it was struck by lightning!

Happy reading everyone  

Cheers Adryan!

They're a fascinating read.

That lightning one is just F***ing bad luck!!

Love these kind of reads.

I like UK Dennis better. He's a Flamengo supporter. So is Freddy Krueger.

Some absolute shocking ones here. Make for a good read.
The Kennedy-Lincoln one never ceases to surprise me even after 10 reads.