Strange Coincidences Contest (WIN 300 GEEKGOLD!!!!!)
Mark Klassen
Canada
Mission
British Columbia
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To celebrate strange things, I am holding a contest. Please post the strangest, most bizarre, unlikliest coincidences that have ever happened to you. The contest will run until the end of February and prizes will be awarded according to the number of thumbs each entry receives.
Prizes:
1st Place: 50 
2nd Place: 30
3rd Place: 20
4 random thumbers of this list also get 50
I've started the list with a few examples of my own, though I won't be eligible to win. You may enter up to 5 times.
UPDATE:
Raiko Puust
Estonia
Keila
Harju Maakond
Raiko & Agnes Forever! Feel the Love and Feel the Warmth. Happiness is 2 hugs plus 3 kisses every hour...:D (http://mrboardgames.wordpress.com/)
Addicted Estonian gamer with big heart and direct winning attitude. Need any help with something, just ask. Need some GG for something, just ask. Need something to be translated, just ask. Meanwhile, behave! :D (http://mrboardgames.wordpress.com/)
has donated an additional 100 for this contest. So now we will award a second and third place prize as well as another random thumber.
UPDATE 2:
Curt Hnatiuk
United States
St. Louis
Missouri
has, in a bizarre coincidence, also donated an additional 100 for this contest. Now we will have an additional two random thumber prizes. Furthermore, to celebrate coincidences, all names will be thrown back in the hat before each new random thumber draw. Thus the same person could win ALL FOUR random thumber prizes!!!
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Mario Franco
Colombia
Envigado
Antioquia
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Well this is like a scary story...I was camping with some friends and is near noon...cooking, chating, etc...then someone coming down the road, we look and is a little boy...asked us to help to find the road for the willage...we are good guys so we accompany the kid to the road...talking to he, laughing while we arrive to the road..then we said bye and see the kid down the hill to go to the willage...so after the good work we return to the camp...not big deal...but after a 10 or 15 minutes we see someone coming down the road again...and guess what...the same boy..with the same clothes
 ...and again asking help to find the road to the village...my friends and I looked at each other...and in unison we point the direcction...the boy give us the thanks and follow the road...my friends and I looked at each other again and laughed hard...a nervous laugh
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Brian Mc Cabe
United States
Arizona
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This didn't happen to me, but to my first cousin. She was driving in Utah, which is also known as The Middle of Nowhere, when she picked up a young man hitchhiking.
After introducing themselves, they, naturally, began talking, only to discover that they both had a grandmother in the same small town in Southeastern Colorado.
They talked a few more minutes and found that they had the same grandmother in the same small town in Southeastern Colorado. In a country of, at that time, two hundred fifty million, one of my first cousins picked up another of my first cousins in a state neither of them lived in.
On that side of the family, my father did have seven brothers and sisters; but, they still only produced about twenty children between them.
Brian
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Gastel Etswane
Spain
Peterborough
Ontario
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I was working during my university years at an engineering firm, who just before my final exams let me go so they could hire a full-time engineer. I was allowed to come in and use some of the work I did for a portfolio to help me find other work.
I was up in my old office printing off some of my drawings and documentation and filing them into my portfolio. As I finished, I walked downstairs to leave. The stairs are the type that turn 180 degrees halfway down, and after the turn, I was facing the receptionist. Her face was completely awestruck and she stared at the phone in her hands and then back at me. She said a few words into the phone (as I continued down the stairs a little confused) and then she hung up. "How did you do that," she asked. Confused I asked her what she meant. "How were you on the stairs and on the phone with me at the same time?"
It turns out that a customer had called in named Gastel Etswane. She thought that it was me and had been talking to him like she knew him very well, then when I appeared she got really confused.
About a year later, when I settled in Peterborough, I started running for exercise. Turns out another person in Peterborough qualified in the Boston Marathon, and his name is Gastel Etswane and it turns out that he teaches in the same school board that I do. A number of my friends thought I had qualified for the Boston Marathon, which I tried to milk for as long as possible. Being about 30 lbs overweight though, I would say I couldn't milk it for very long.
I have known about 5 different Gastel Etswane's through my personal and professional life and we always seem to run into each other. It is very peculiar.
My first initial is A., and I always say that I am not THE Gastel Etswane, rather I am A. Gastel Etswane!
*NOTE: My name is not really Gastel Etswane, nor are these people, but they did share the same real name as me (my first initial is really A. and I don't go by that name).
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Brian Mc Cabe
United States
Arizona
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Met a girl in the seventies, who was everything a guy could ever want in a woman -- charming, personable, great sense of humor. But since girls who can have their choice of every man in the entire world don't ordinarily choose me, we were great friends.
After I moved out of town, I tried writing from time to time, but never received a response.
I finally lost complete track of her and figured there was no way to find her again. But Al Gore invented the Internet, and I found her sister, who graduted the same year I did, through Classmates.com.
I was registered with her high school instead of mine, so I began getting reunion notices. I wrote the organizer, had a few e-mails back and forth to ensure her I wasn't dangerous, and she finally relented and gave me the sister's mailing address.
I wrote and . . . received no reply! What a coincidence! A girl who didn't choose me forty years ago still hasn't chosen me!
But Al is still all right in my book. He did give me another shot at failure, and you can't ask for more than that.
Brian
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Mark Klassen
Canada
Mission
British Columbia
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Just remembered another one:
One day I wanted to call my friend. So I picked up the phone and turned it on. There he was on the line. He had dialed my number in the same instant that I picked up the phone, and it didn't even have time to ring.
This happened again with the same friend in the same year.
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81.
Board Game: Bullseye
[Average Rating:5.57 Unranked]
Pieter
Netherlands
Maastricht
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When I was in my early twenties I arranged a trip for a couple of friends. On the way over to the first place where we would stay, we took a break at a small roadside cafe. Half an hour was planned for the break, and it was important for the schedule that we would not divert too much from that. So, after 30 minutes, I went over to all the small groups and said that we needed to leave fairly soon. Most of my friends got up and left for the bus, but two of them were continuing to play Darts. I went over and said that they were the last to leave, and they told me they wanted to continue playing for a few minutes. I wanted them to leave now, so one said: "We'll continue until someone hits the bull's eye." I took a dart, and randomly threw it at the board. It hit the bull's eye. "you're no fun anymore," my friends said, and left for the bus. I don't even know how to throw darts!
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Few months ago, I went with some of my friends to hike on Kalnik hill. We hiked for hour or two and then we played Bohnanza in big hut. Few minutes after we started the game, I noticed a familiar girl few tables near us. It was an acquaintance who also hikes a lot and with whom I have last been on trekking on Triglav mountain in 2008. She had Jungle Speed with her and her friends played it a lot on mountains
 So, (some) board boardgames are great choice for fun in huts on mountains. And boardgames are great way to meet new friends while resting after hiking and treking
Kalnik:
Triglav:
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Hosj Karpatkin
United States
Maryland
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I was playing a very energetic game of this, and over all the shouting and laughing, I said, "I need a noun!" someone whop wasn't playing said, "Okay, how about toenails?" I drew a red card after they were passed to me, and it was toenails.
Another time I played this with my sister and her boyfriend, It was her boyfriends turn to judge. The card was "bright" and I played "girlfriends"
Needless to say, when he flipped it over, I won.
not really that incredible, but they were both funny at the time.
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When I was young, I was driving in my car with a friend, just talking with the radio off. There was no clock in the car (it was both old and cheap), so I wondered aloud, "I wonder what time it is?" I then turned on the radio and the announcer said "The time is x o'clock" (where "x" was whatever the time was).
My only reaction was to calmly turn the radio off. Freaked my friend out.
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Play Games - Interact - Have Fun!
United States
California
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Nearly 15 years ago my siblings and I (with our kids) were over my mom's for the 4th of July. There were also a bunch of friends and neighbors over so it was kind of like a small block party.We had the typical BBQ and were enjoying the day in the sun with various activities and games - a waterfight, water balloon toss etc...
My mom had organized a banana relay race between all of us and we formed two sets of two lines of alternating boy/girl teams and began. If you've never done this before, the person at the head of one of your teams two lines places the banana between their knees, waddles over to the person on their team who is waiting about 20 feet away in the other line and they exchange the banana and repeat. You aren't allowed to use your hands unless the banana falls and then you can pick it up and replace it.
My brother and I were the last people in line for each team. With all the passing back and forth, the bananas get completely squished and usually end up breaking through the skin and disintegrating. That's what happened to me as my brother and I both got our turn at about the same time and he was gingerly (and very slowly) pulling away from me into the lead.
For the life of me, the mashed banana I had would not stay between my knees and kept falling. My brother was hunched over and about halfway to the finish line, his banana pointing downward and looking exactly like what you think it looks like.
Everyone was in hysterics as they are watching him ease his way closer and closer, hunching over more and more and making it look more and more like he was having bladder issues and was not going to use his hands.
My mom saw that there was no way my banana could continue and gave me a fresh one to try and finish. Seeing my brother just a few feet from the finish line, I knew there was no hope and decided to throw it as him to distract him.
The banana flies in a graceful arc - end over end and perfectly hits the banana at his knees, knocking it out and replacing it in exactly the same orientation as the one that he had been carrying. I could have tried to make that shot for a 1000 years and never do that again and I did it on the first try (though that wasn't my intent).
Everyone was in tears and the amazing thing was that my brother NEVER EVEN REALIZED it had happened!
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Andrew MacLeod
Canada
London
Ontario
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The phone conversation I posted a few minutes ago reminded me of another weird coincidence that was going on for a few years in the 1980's. My brother, Bruce, had moved to Calgary in 1981. A year or two later, we started receiving phone calls from different people, asking for Bruce. Naturally, we told them he had moved to Calgary, which always elicited a surprised response. After a dozen or so of these calls, other calls started coming in (when I wasn't home), asking for Andrew. My parents took the message, and it was from people I had never heard of! Finally, I got one of these calls, and the person was NOT convinced that I was NOT the Andrew he was looking for! What made it weirder was the Andrew he was looking for was "Andrew MacLeish" (very slight alteration of surname to protect the innocent), as opposed to me, Andrew MacLeod. There were several more calls like this over the next several months, and I took to asking the caller right off the bat, "Are you looking for Andrew MacLeish or Andrew MacLeod?" THEN, one Sunday morning, I passed by a sign for a prominent realty company, and the particular realtor being advertised was: "Bruce Cranston (last name changed to protect the innocent), 555-1181 (all phone numbers changed to protect the innocent)." Our home phone number was 555-1182. I then found out (through a tad bit of research) that Bruce Cranston was on his second marriage, and had a step-son named Andrew MacLeish.
So, in a city of 60,000 people, there were two houses where both an Andrew and Bruce had been living
AND
the Andrews were surnamed MacLeod and MacLeish
AND
the phone numbers at the respective addresses differed ONLY by one number (555-1181 and 555-1182)!
One thing I must add: as I was typing this up, a friend of mine phoned, who thought he had actually phoned somebody else......
Submitted for your approval.
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Play Games - Interact - Have Fun!
United States
California
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I was working for a roofing company about 20 years ago as a salesman and the company decided to run a Golf Tournament that would involve all employees, our suppliers, our manufacturer's reps and various others that were associated with the business.
We had about 60 players altogether and we dived up into foursomes with 1 roofing employee, 1 supply person, 1 manufacturer's rep and 1 other person to a team. we played a best-ball tournament where all four players on a team hit the ball and you pick the best shot from those and then everyone does the same thing from there, continuing until the ball get's sunk.
One twist was that you had to use at least 1 drive from each player on the front 9 and again on the back 9. It was all on the honor system and the best team score would win some prizes donated by the manufactures. We also had several 1 shot contests going at the same time: Closest to the Hole, Longest Drive and Most Accurate Drivem with seperate prizes going to the best in each category.
Now, I had been golfing quite a few times with the guys from the company, but I was NOT that good: I could put decently, but my drives were very hit and miss. Not having my own clubs, I was always having to borrow some from only golfing friend I knew. I always had fun when golfing with the guys, as we never took it seriously - which was fine with me as I tended to top the ball quite a bit for some reason. Several of my co-horts were good golfers (and one could have gone pro I bet), so I was always getting tips, advice and impromptu lessons when we golfed.
We had a semi-shotgun start (where a few foursomes start from different holes at the same time to speed things up) and as luck would have it, my foursome started on Hole #1 - directly in front of the club house. We were the 1st group to go and there were 3 others watching us waiting to play, and numerous others on the way out to other holes. Among them were my boss Gary and one of our other salesmen Bill - both very good golfers. I was nervous and as expected, topped the ball and watched it travel about 25 yards or so - barely past the Ladies Tee! Bill couldn't resist a jab at my expense (in good fun) and was laughing as he drove off to get out to his starting hole.
It was very embarrassing, but being a good sport, I moved on, with all 3 of the other players on our team hitting beautiful Tee shots quite a ways down the fairway.
On the front 9, we managed to use one of my few good drives on a short par 3 and after a quick lunch (and a few beers) we headed out to the back 9.
Now one of the guys I'm golfing with John (manufacturer's rep) has been watching me play the first half of the day. John is 6'3 and is a big, burly guy that has a great sense of humor. He's a great golfer and has a set of Ping clubs that must have cost him a pretty penny. As we walk up to the 10th Tee, we see that this is the hole for the Most Accurate Drive contest. We are up on a slight hill overlooking the fairway. You have to drive over this creek and golf cart path on the opposite side at least 50 yards before the fairway starts. There is a long chalked line dead center for about 200 yards that represents the target you are shooting for. We can also see a flag stuck into the ground about 8 feet from the center line - someone already had made a pretty good shot it appeared, as it was way down the fairway too. To win, you not only have to be closer to the line, but also have a farther shot than the one marked.
I had tee'd up and was about to swing when John says to me "Where did you get those clubs?" I told him my friend Gordon lent them to me and he asks "How tall is he?"
"About 5'7" I say and start to line up my shot.
"WAIT!" says John. "I think I see the problem." He then explains..."You are 6' tall and are using clubs that are meant for someone much shorter than you. Every time you swing you start hunched over, but as you swing you naturally straighten up - which is why you are continually topping the ball."
With that, he walks over to his bag and pulls out his #1 Driver. THis thing is a work of art and I stammer that "I can't use that I'll destroy it!"
John insists and makes me continue. I take a few practice swings, thinking that I'm going to hit a divot the size of a frisbee out of the ground and ruin this beautiful and expensive club.
I finally step forward, nervous as hell and swing away.
I'll never forget that perfect sound the club made when it made contact with the ball - PING! The ball launches out over the creek and gully like a rocket, low and drifting slightly to the left (away from the marked centerline).
As it reaches it's maximum height, it begins to turn back to the right slightly - (there is some term for this kind of shot that escapes me). It's already well past the marker before it hits the ground - though it's still lined up about 10 feet to the left of where the marker was, but the first bounce moves it closer towards the line - 12 feet away. and then on the 2nd bounce it's within the previous best of 8 feet. It rolls and rolls closer and closer to the line as it continues to head further and further away.
When the ball finally stops, we can't beleive it - my shot is so close to the line we can't SEE it anymore! Our entire foursome is shouting and cheering and John yells out "WE ARE USING THAT DRIVE!"
We pile into the golf carts and head down to see the shot and move the marker. When we get down there we are amazed to see the ball is 4 INCHES from the line and is about 50 yards past the marker. Several other groups are clapping as they had watched my shot and it was one of the coolest things to ever happen to me. I write my name down - we didn't need the tape measure to know the distance, but we measured it anyway and we then continue on - though John let's me use his driver for the rest of the day and I have a much better game.
After the tournament is over, we are all at the clubhouse for a big buffet and the awards get handed out. When it comes time to read the names on the card from the marker for Most Accurate Drive, my boss reads them in order from top to bottom - along with the distance for each person. One of the names on the card is from one of the other salesmen Bill - our resident uber-golfer at the company. He was the guy at the 8 foot mark and had passed through this hole prior to me.
When my boss reads his name, he stands up as if he is expecting to win. Gary, laughs and tells him to "Sit down Bill, you were beat." He starts to read the name and then says "Wait, a minute, this can't be right", and reads my name and distance: 4 INCHES.
Before I could say anything, several of the other guys from other foursomes yell out that it was legit, they saw it happen and my team backs up the story too. John tells the group exactly what happened and I ended up winning a new Alien Sand Wedge (and instructional video).
It was a once in a life time moment that still brings a smile to my face.
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♫ Eric Herman ♫
United States
West Richland
Washington
I like elephants. I like how they swing through trees.
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Two family birthday coincidences...
My grandmother was born on the same day (January 27) as her brother and sister... different years. Probably more common these days with C-sections and induced labor and such, but this was the 1920's.
My younger daughter, Evelyn Jean, was named in part after her grandmother, Emma Jean, and we had picked out that name for her long before she was ever conceived. She ended up being born about 2 weeks ahead of schedule, on New Year's Eve, which also happens to be Emma Jean's birthday.
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Dennis Engilis
United States
Elk Grove
California
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On February 28, 2011 (the date is significant to the story) a BGGr started a thread where he asked how gamers stored their games. I responded mentioning my brick and board setup. Another gentleman who saw my response emailed me to ask if I could send him some picutes which I did. As it turned out he lived in Vienna while I live in California. Somewhere during our emails he mentioned that Feb 28 (which for him in Vienna was "yesterday") was his birthday. Since it was still Feb 28 for me I wished him a happy birthday noting that for me I was not giving a belated greeting. And then to top off the coincidence I also wrote him to say that March 1 (which for me was "tomorrow") was my birthday. And so he wished me a happy birthday on my birthday in Vienna where it was March 1, which for me hadn't arrived yet. So on the same day on this earth which wasn't the same day for both of us we both wished happy birthdays to the other on the day of our birthday which for each of us, as receivers of the greeting, was not our birthday.
So how's that for a co-ing-kee-ding-kee?!
PS - this is one of the most difficult things I have ever tried to write in a clear and understandable manner. I hope I succeeded.
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Nick West
Scotland
Colinton
Edinburgh
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This one dates back to around 1995 when I was working for a marine insurance brokers at Lloyds of London. I was in a meeting about a contentious claim for hull damage to a ship in Rotterdam, and the Average Adjuster (a specialist sort of loss adjuster) was a nice Belgium chap, called Louis. It is so long ago I cannot recall his surname. Anyway, he was very helpful, the meeting made progress and we left the meeting shaking hands and exchanging the usual pleasantries and agreeing to meet again should the case require it.
About a week later, I departed on fortnights holiday to wander around Malaysia.
About a week into that I get off a train from Kuala Lumper to George Town on the island of Penang. The train crosses a long causeway bridge to reach the island. George Town is the capital of the State of Penang and famed in Malaysia as having some of the best food in the region, which is saying something! 
At the time it was also one of the few major cities leeft in the East where cycle rickshaws were still a daily means of public transport rather than just for tourists. A really nice place - highly recommended. For those into their history it was also the location where in WW1 the German raiding cruiser SMS Emden surreptitiously sailed to Penang and sank two Allied warships off its coast – the Russian cruiser Zhemchug in the North Channel, and as it was leaving the island, the French torpedo boat, Mosquet. The small town museum had some exhibits on this, the Battle of Penang.
Anyway, back to the story. I wanted to stay in the old town so booked into the veritable Eastern and Oriental Hotel, the E&O was the favourite hotel of the author Somerset Maugham. It was a bit of a tired and faded Colonial pile when I visited but I believe it has since reopened all posh and expensive.
First morning I am eating my breakfast overlooking the balcony and the harbour when a waiter approaches me as asks if, as I am breakfasting alone, if I would mind them putting another single gentlemen on the same table as me. I agree, with slight misgivings. I am a social chap generally, but not usually so much at breakfast.
"'ello, Monsieur 'Ouest! We meet again sooner than expected."
Cool as a cucumber, it was my Belgian average adjuster friend, who had just arrived to survey a recent loss in Penang harbour. It was both his first, and my first and last visit to Penang and not two weeks since we last met in London. I recall a fairly drunken and very enjoyable evening was spent in his company before he flew out again the KL the next day.
I think that qualifies as a strange coincidence
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91.
Board Game: Tramp
[Average Rating:5.25 Unranked]
Nick West
Scotland
Colinton
Edinburgh
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But there is another - this happened to my father so I am entering this on his behalf. I will pass any geekgold awarded onto him - honestly!
He is in his twenties, working in London, and walking through Green Park to catch a train from Victoria. It is not his usual commuting route. He is approached by a smartly dressed man, albeit badly shaven, wearning a bowler hat. This is not that unusual as this would have happened some time in the late forties, early 1950's maybe. He comes out with a sob story about having lost his wallet and needing 5/- to get himself home. My father offers to lend him what he asks and leaves with the mans address written down on a piece of paper.
Naturally he never gets the money back and the address proves to be made up. My father writes it down to experience. We all get done like that once perhaps.
Twenty years pass and my father is again walking through Green Park after work when he is approached by an old man, in a once smart but worn and rather dirty suit and a very old, rather green tinged, bowler hat.
He takes off his hat and starts his tale of woe, only getting to the part where he has lost his wallet before my fathers dim and distant memory kicks in from twenty years ago and he interrupts saying, "In that case, I think you'll find you owe me 5 shillings!"
The old man stops speaking and looks at him with a rather sad and resigned expression on his face, wishes him good evening and, replacing his bowler hat, walks off into the Park.
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Aaron
United States
Huntington Beach
California
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While serving in Iraq in 03 life sucked bad. Everyday we would patrol the city and guard the gates of the safe house. Patrol after patrol, guard duty after guard duty. And evryday something crappy would happen.
Every chance I got to sleep(which wasn't much.) I would have recurring dreams about my grandmother. In the dream she was on one side of a street while I was on the other. Trying to get me to come to her side. I don't know why but I dreaded the thought of going to her.
One night I just finished a patrol when I spotted a couch that no one else was sleeping on. Most of the time we fought for this couch otherwise we had to sleep on the floor. I went to sleep on the couch and had the same dream.
I woke up as if someone had been whispering in my ear. I lifted my head and BOOM!!! An RPG came through the window bounced off the wall and blew off my feet.
Two weeks later I found myself in Walter Reed hospital where they amputated what they needed of my legs.
I also found out that my grandmother died while I was in Iraq. Maybe those dreams were her reaching out to me. And maybe she was the one that woke me up that night. I don't know. I do know that even though I got hurt I was still able to react faster and get things done because I was woken up.
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93.
Board Game: Zendo
[Average Rating:7.32 Overall Rank:292]
Steven Dueck
Canada
Abbotsford
British Columbia
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The coincidence here is a series of events leading up to a great friendship with
Mark Klassen
Canada
Mission
British Columbia
I was in grade 12 and he was in grade 8 at the same school at the same time. I didn't know who he was.
My taking 8 years to complete a 4 year Math Degree led to us being in the same classes at the same university. He was just some weird guy who was good at math.
We both became members of BGG. He was just some weird guy who signs up to board game websites.
He saw a post of mine in the forums looking for gamers in the area. He was just some geek subscribed to lots of different fora.
He wrote me a geekmail asking if I was the same Steven Dueck from university math class. He was just one of my stalkers.
He had some games that I wanted to try and no one in my games group had so I invited him to bring them to our weekly meetup. He was just a guy that I used for access to his game collection.
He had a gmail account and was in one of those jobs where you don't really do anything and can chat ALL DAY. He became one of my hundreds of gchat contacts.
We found out we both loved all things Wolfgang Kramer. He became a backup friend(you know, just in case)
We found out we share the same birthday! He became too curious to ignore.
We always type and say the same things simultaneously on gchat and coined the phrase "twinstinct" as something we share. He passed the test and was now a friend.
We share a love for Kramer games, Zendo, Netrunner and Hanabi. Since he owns most of them, he has become a great friend.
Here's to Mark! 
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Mark Klassen
Canada
Mission
British Columbia
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One final coincidence:
When I got into gaming and discovered BGG, I searched for other users in my city. I saw a name I thought I recognized:
Steven Dueck
Canada
Abbotsford
British Columbia
Turns out that one of the more active users from this area was also a former university classmate of mine. We had previously split math homework between us, though I never knew he was a gamer during those years. We graduated at the same time. We had also both attended the same high school at the same time.
After I discovered we also shared a passion for board gaming, I started gaming with him. But it doesn't end there. It turns out we both cherish games by Wolfgang Kramer above any other designer. He is like my gaming twin. We often say the same thing at the same time (we call that twinstincts). Furthermore I learned last year that we share the same birthday.
Crazy.
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Conserve energy: Play board games!
United States
California
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My uncle was a Chief Warrant Officer, and a UH-1 "Huey" pilot for the Army. He served two full tours during the Vietnam War, and flew over 250 combat missions. He doesn't often talk about his service, but when he does he has some amazing stories to tell. This one tops them all.
He was flying an extraction mission, and was over Cambodia when his helicopter was approached by a MiG fighter ("They said that we weren't in Cambodia, but I could read a map," he says). My uncle's helicopter was no match for the jet, so he flew straight and level. He says that he could see into the cockpit, and he realized that the pilot had slavic features: this was a Soviet pilot, most likely there to train the North Vietnamese. The Soviet pointed at my uncle, then pointed in a direction that would immediately take him out of country and out to sea. My uncle wiggled his chopper side to side to indicate assent, and the Soviet escorted him out of Cambodia.
Fast forward twenty some-odd years. My uncle is now working as an electronics repairman in Southern California. He goes out on a service call to Anaheim Hills, and is greeted at the door by a gentleman who is about the same age. While my uncle is working, he notices the man has a Russian accent. My uncle decides to float the question: did this man serve in the Soviet military? Yes, he was a fighter pilot.
My uncle then goes on to describe this one encounter he had with a Soviet pilot over Cambodia, and how grateful he was that he wasn't shot down that day. The man politely listens to the story and then says, "I remember you" and provides the tail numbers from my uncle's helicopter. Over twenty years and eight thousand miles later, these two reunited pilots proceed to share a few beers and swap stories.
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Michele Esmanech
Italy
Milano
Milano
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It was April 15th, 2008, the day after my 31st birthday, and, doing my lunch break, I was riding my bike to the gim.
I never arrived to there, as, on the way, I Felt strange, odd.
Without even realizing it, my left foot fell from the peddle, and I couldn't get it back on.
After seconds, my left arm fell down my body, and started trembling.
As if that wasn't enough, I had the clear sensation of being beside something big, kind of as a bus was surpassing me to my left. I turned my head, but there was nothing there: just an empty street.
I didn't have the control of my body, but I was riding in the traffic, and managed not to fall (which would have led to getting run over by the cars going from the other direction).
I called my wife, telling her I didn't want to work out, but that I was going home, and asked her to meet me half way.
When she arrived, she called an ambulance, and was brought to the hospital.
After some more checks, the docs found I had brain cancer, that grew so big, it was literally squishing my brain, in the parts that controlled my left portion of the body, and my sense of distance and space.
The docs said I had an epileptic crisis (there are lots of kinds of them).
The cancer was removed a month and a half later, but I had to take anti-epileptic pills, which caused me not few issues.
The doctors said such pills would have also caused sterility, which was a bummer, cause my wife and I were trying to have kids...
9 months later, my baby girl was born.
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Lisa
United States
Pennsylvania
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OK, this is just an example of how small the world can be.
When I was in junior high in the 1970's (long before the internet) one of my best friends had to move to Florida and then to Europe for her father's job. After 3 + years we lost touch.
Flash forward to 1989 I was at the top of the World Trade Center on a date (I lived in PA but we went to NYC for the day) and I knew I recognized this girl but it took time to figure out how we knew each other. It was my friend from junior high who was also just in NYC for the day. She had moved back to the east coast (Virginia) just a few months before that with her family. We exchanged phone numbers & have kept in touch ever since. (that boyfriend is long gone )
Not earth shattering but a great coincidence.
I miss the twin towers more because it was such a happy place for me.
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Michael Brown
United States
Carrollton
Georgia
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First things first, I work at a University, for the Housing Department, and one of things we have to do is handle disciplinary issues in the halls. We meet with students on a one-on-one basis and talk about the situation and make plans of action from the conversation.
Anyway, I process a massive amount of students in one week, start of the school year in an all freshman building. A student shows up in our conference room, sits down. I ask his name and he has exact name as me!
No way! I look down at my paperwork, and sure enough, same name and he lives in my building.
He checks out my nametag at that moment, and responds "No way!"
We had a good laugh; can't even remember what he was in for now.
But it gets better.
3 years pass, and I get reassigned to another area, our campus Greek Village. I walk into one of the houses, and it is this same guy! Now he is president of his fraternity, and we keep getting each others' phone calls and mail.
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Michael Brown
United States
Carrollton
Georgia
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This one is great. At least I think so.
I moved High Schools after my first year, which wasn't very much fun. The first girl I date at my new school, I find out her birthday is the day after mine. My best friend throughout the remainder of my time in HS, the day after her. We discover this after Christmas break-on my birthday when we get back to school, since my birthday is 1/3, hers is 1/4, and his is 1/5. We had birthday week. It was pretty ballin'.
And to make it just a tad weirder, my cousin is 1/7. Looking for a 6...
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Michael Brown
United States
Carrollton
Georgia
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My Dad and I have never had a "normal" relationship, since I have lived with his mother for most of my life. He has always had hectic jobs with even more hectic schedules, hard to pin down even on a normal day.
But it never fails...
Doesn't matter what time day, season, year, etc. Every time he calls I know it is him. I have tested this at random by asking others to pick up the phone as it starts ringing (without looking, of course). I will call it out. Always Dad.
Once, I was in a staff meeting with a number of coworkers at around 9:45 am. Forgot to turn off my phone. It went off, and I got that awkward look from everyone. Before I started fiddling with my pockets, I told the group "sorry, it's my dad." Checked it-spot on. It was pretty cool.
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Fountain Valley
California
Mission
British Columbia
1st Place (50
Wrocław
Dolny Śląsk
2nd Place (30
3rd Place (20
North Pole
Random Thumber 1 (50
Los Angeles
California
Random Thumber 2 (50
Oud-Beijerland
Zuid-Holland
Random Thumber 3 (50
Hvidovre
Denmark
Random Thumber 4 (50
Ottawa
Ontario
Every single winner is displaying a different country flag. WHAT A COINCIDENCE!!!
Ottawa
Ontario
Oud-Beijerland
Zuid-Holland
Allanton
Berwickshire
I didn't win the national lottery today either.*
What a coincidence!
* to be fair I didn't actually enter that.