Ten Improbable and True Events: 10 Coincidences That Changed the World

Ten Improbable and True Events: 10 Coincidences That Changed the World

Explore the Ten Improbable and True Events: 10 Coincidences That Changed the World - real moments in time in which fate, fortune, and even the universe intervened, altering the path of our world forever. These unbelievable events remind us that sometimes real life is stranger than fiction.

Introduction: When Coincidental Moments Become Destiny

Life has a way of surprising us — though sometimes, coincidences are more than just a coincidence; they are moments that fundamentally shape the destiny of nations, leaders, and sometimes even the world itself.

Through history there have been moments of coincidences which are bizarre, strange, and almost unbelievable, calling into question whether or not our fate has payed a role in such events. From Presidents sharing uneasy similarities to books eerily predicting tragic futures, it appears as though fate or the universe, enjoys a little trickery with our shared human experience.

In this article we present, Ten Improbable and True Events: 10 Coincidences That Changed the World. Each one you will be astonished by, and most certainly question where coincidence ends and where one's fate begins.

1. The Strange Link Between Lincoln and Kennedy

Perhaps the most likely-used coincidence in American history is the Lincoln-Kennedy connection. You might think I'm crazy, but the two presidents of the U.S. were one-hundred years (to the year) apart, but the parallels between their lives are just bizarre!

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846; John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.

Lincoln was elected president in 1860; Kennedy was elected president in 1960.

Both were murdered on a Friday evening while with their wives.

Lincoln was shot in Ford's Theatre; Kennedy was shot in a Lincoln sedan, manufactured by Ford, .

Such a weird coincidence, isn't it?

The vice presidents both had the last name Johnson; Andrew Johnson was born in 1808, Lyndon B. Johnson was born in 1908.

Though these facts are facts, historians classify them as coincidences in history, reminders that, every once in awhile, a coincidence emerges where you least expect it.

Legacy: The Lincoln-Kennedy coincidence remains one of the most discussed examples of how history can play out (or seems to), in a strange way.

2. The Titanic and the Book that Predicted It

In 1898, Morgan Robinson composed the novel "Futility, or The Wreck of the Titan." The book was about a luxury ocean liner called the Titan, which sank after hitting an iceberg in the North Atlantic ocean.

Fourteen years later, in 1912, the Titanic sank in a very similar manner. Both ships were "unsinkable," had insufficient lifeboats, and hit an iceberg during a voyage in April.

What makes this coincidence so chilling is the specificity. The book mentioned that the Titan was almost traveling at the same speed as Titanic when the accident occurred.

Legacy:

This will always be one of the oddest coincidences in literature — a fictional novel that seemingly foretold one of the major maritime disasters of all time.

3. The Twin Brothers Who Died the Exact Same Way — on the Same Road

In 2002, two brothers died in identical fashions — just two hours apart — in Finland. The first brother, 70 years old, was hit and killed by a truck while riding his bike.

Two hours later, the other brother, who by chance did not know about the accident that killed his brother, was hit and killed by a truck on the same road while riding his bike.

Local police confirmed there was no mix-up: two separate accidents involving two twin brothers occurring on the same day and near the same location.

Legacy:

This tragic but unbelievable coincidence puzzled the police and remains one of the most incredible examples of fate working in tandem with itself.

4. The Man Who Survived Two Atomic Bombs

Tsutomu Yamaguchi, a Japanese engineer, holds an eerie record — being a survivor of both atomic bombings in World War II.

On August 6, 1945, visiting Hiroshima for a business trip when the bomb exploded. He returned home to Nagasaki to be nearby and was dosed again on August 9, 1945.

Incredibly, he survived again. Yamaguchi later became a peace activist and drew attention to the horrors of nuclear war.

Legacy: His survival exemplified how coincidences can be both cruel and miraculous all at once; he lived to the age of 93 — a poster child for survival.

5. The Unlucky Baby Who Fell Twice - And Was Caught by a Man Both Times

In the 1930s, there was a New York City baby that fell out of a high building window - and was caught by a man both times.

In 1937, a man named Joseph Figlock was sweeping the street, when the baby fell from a window, and he caught it before it fell to the ground and saved the baby. The following year, another baby fell from the same building out the same window, and again, Figlock was sweeping underneath and caught the baby, again!

Legacy:

The likelihood of this happening is exceedingly low. It s an inspiring story that shows how sometimes coincidence can save someone’s life.

6. The Civil War Bullet That Came Home

Regarding the American Civil War, there is a story of a Union Sergeant named John Sedgwick who was shot in the leg and had the bullet stuck in a nearby tree.

Years later, while his son was chopping firewood from that tree, he found the bullet that had once injured his father.

Historians cannot corroborate every detail of this story, but stories of soldiers rediscovering their lost war souvenirs is a common theme amongst records, lending the story credence as a tale of fate.

Legacy:

It is a chilling reminder of what can happen when history repeats itself - quite literally.

7. The King That Ate His Words — Literally

In the 18th century, King Umberto I of Italy met a restaurant owner in Monza who looked strangely like him.

Amazingly, they learned:

They were both born on the same day of the same year

They both married women named Margherita

The restaurant opened the same day Umberto became King.

The next day, the restaurant owner was shot dead. Hours later, King Umberto was shot dead as well.

Legacy:

To this day, the “King Umberto Coincidence” is often cited as one of the weirdest royal mysteries.

8. The Author Who Predicted the Sinking of the Lusitania

In 1914, writer Morgan Roberts (of the Titanic disaster fame) penned yet another story called, “Beyond the Spectrum,” detailing a future war with advanced weaponry and a passenger ship sunk by a submarine with little warning.

Just one year later, in World War I, a German U-boat sunk the RMS Lusitania, one of the events that prompted the U.S. to enter the war.

Legacy:

Robertson’s story is so accurate it is often mentioned in discussion of "predictive coincidences" in historical studies.

9. The Two Thomas Jeffersons and the Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence was finalized and signed on July 4, 1776. Exactly fifty years later, to the day, both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, former presidents and founding fathers, died.

Both were political rivals and lifelong friends -- both central figures in America’s birth, and given the bizarre nature of both men dying fifty years to the day of the signing, makes this more than a coincidence.

10. The Coincidental Reincarnation of Mark Twain and Halley’s Comet

The legendary writer Mark Twain was born in 1835, the same year Halley's Comet orbited Earth on its cycle. Twain stated, "I came in with Halley's Comet. In some way, I expect to go out with it."

As luck would have it, Twain passed away in 1910, the same year the comet returned.

Legacy: Twain’s statement turned out to be one of the most quoted coincidences in literature and a poetic ending for one of America’s greatest storytellers.

Bonus: The Strange Connection Between World War I and the Archduke’s Car Plate

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 marked the beginning of World War I.

The license plate on his vehicle read: A III 118.

World War I officially ended on November 11, 1918 — which can also be read as 11/11/18. Coincidence? Call it a strange coincidence or a cosmic message from the outside. Historians have gone so far to call it the “eerie number of war.”

Legacy: It’s another one of those small coincidences in history that prompts you to stop and think dimly about how fate weaves in and out of our world.

What These Coincidences Teach Us

The Top 10 Strange but True: 10 Coincidences that Changed History show us that history isn't only shaped by the large decisions made by people, it is touched by the whims of mystery, timing, and fate.

Each story reminds us that bursting with possibility:

Some coincidences lead to tragedy

Some coincides that save lives.

Some reminiscent the human life connection with time and fate.

Scientific validity may imply coincidences are coincidence, but you can't help feeling a poetic sensation that the universe communicates with us through surprising encounters.

Final Thought: The Fabric of History is Weird

When we look back at these 10 weird but true coincidences that changed history, we see that history itself folds together in ways that are not easy to reconcile with patterns, mystery, and oddities.

Whether they are presidents who met similar fates, authors predicting catastrophes years before they happened, or two human beings who were connected one way or another, each intersection ends in a beautiful overlap of reality and mystery.

Maybe human hands are not the only hands writing the story of history, but a larger hand is prompting us to recall that every moment since we ever breathed is a once and future moment to change history forever and that every small moment ripples backwards in history.