To paraphrase a popular saying, nothing in this world is certain except that socks disappear in the laundry and taxes. It's why we bring an umbrella even when the highest-paid weatherman predicts blue skies.
To illustrate this point, the members of the subreddit 'Strange Earth' share unsettling conspiracy theories, bizarre coincidences, unexpected animal behaviors, and everything else that challenges our understanding of reality.
After all, you can't write surreal without real. Life imitates art imitates life imitates art imitates...
#1 On July 9, 2020, 6-Year-Old Bridger Walker Saved His Little Sister From A Dog Attack. He Had 90 Stitches All Over His Body, But Saved His 3-Year-Old Sister From Certain Death
He stated, “If anyone has to die, it's me. I'm the big brother.” The World Boxing Council recognized him as a world champion
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324points
#2 In 1996, Binti Jua, A Then 8-Year-Old Female Gorilla, Rescued A 3-Year-Old Boy Who Fell 25 Feet Into Her Enclosure And Broke His Hand
She carried him near a service door and handed him over to the paramedics. Binti is still alive today and has also become a grandmother.
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278points
#3 Judith Love Cohen Was American Aerospace Engineer Who Helped Create Abort-Guidance System That Rescued Apollo 13 Astronauts
When she went into labor, she took her work to the hospital, printed out the problem, called her boss, and said she finished it before giving birth to Jack Black.
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246points
#4 In 2017, A 10-Year-Old Florida Girl Juliana Ossa Fought Off A Deadly Alligator Attack By Sticking Her Two Fingers Up The Alligator's Nose
This forced the alligator to open its mouth to breathe, which freed the girl's leg and she escaped. She had learned the trick from Gatorland
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236points
#5 In 2015, A Father Saved His Son's Life When Doctors Wrongly Declared Him Brain-Dead And Were Taking Him Off Life Support
He barricaded himself with a gun in the hospital and had a stand-off with SWAT until his son squeezed his hand. The son made a full recovery
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230points
#6 minutes Before The 2004 Tsunami Hit Thailand, Tilly Smith, 10 Y.o. Girl Warned Her Parents It Was Coming
While on beach, she recognized the warning signs of a tsunami as she had learned them in geography class just two weeks earlier. She is credited with saving the lives of hundreds of tourists.
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230points
#7 In 2019, Fred Pepperman, A 53-Year-Old Father Swam Out To Rescue His Daughters When Grace (16), Olivia (20), & Kathryn (24) Caught In A Riptide On A Florida Beach
When his daughters were saved, he fell unconscious. He died on his way to the hospital. His last words to them were “I got you.”
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215points
#8 A Local Fisherman Chito In Costa Rica Nursed A Crocodile Back To Health After It Had Been Shot In Head, And Released The Reptile Back To Its Home
The next day, Chito discovered “Pocho” had followed him home and was sleeping on the man’s porch. For 20 years Pocho became part of the man’s family.
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203points
#9 Today I Learned Scientists Discovered A Dinosaur Tail Perfectly Preserved In Amber. It Is Full Of Feathers
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200points
#10 In 1999, Harvard Physicist Lene Hau Was Able To Slow Down Light To 17 Meters Per Second. In 2001, She Was Able To Stop Light Completely
In 2005, Professor Lene Hau did something that Einstein theorized was impossible. Hau stopped light cold using atoms and lasers in her Harvard lab
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189points
#11 Aleksander Doba Kayaked Solo Across The Atlantic Ocean (5400 Km, Under His Own Power) Three Times, Most Recently In 2017 At Age Of 70
He died in 2021 while climbing Kilimanjaro. After reaching top asked for a two-minute break before posing for photo. He then sat down on a rock & "just fell asleep"
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172points
#12 15yo Mary Vincent, Who In 1970's Hitched A Ride With A Stranger. She Was Then Brutally Assaulted In The Van, Had Both Of Her Arms Chopped Off, And Was Then Thrown Down A 30 Ft Cliff
She packed the stumps with mud and climbed back up to run naked in the street to flag down help.
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167points
#13 In 2013, Harrison Okene Spent 60 Hours Underwater, In Total Darkness, After His Vessel Capsized 20 Miles Off The Coast Of Nigeria And Sunk To The Bottom Of The Sea
He was discovered alive by divers sent to recover dead bodies
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164points
#14 A 9,000-Year-Old Skeleton Was Found In 2018 Inside A Cave In Cheddar, England, And Was Nicknamed “Cheddar Man”
His DNA was tested and it was concluded that a living relative was teaching history about a 1/2 mile away, tracing back nearly 300 generations.
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162points
#15 In 1948, A Man Wore 30-Pound, Three-Toed Lead Shoes & Stomped Around A Florida Beach During The Night
The footprints lead people to believe that a 15-foot-tall penguin was roaming their lands. He kept up the prank for 10 years, visiting various beaches. The hoax wasn't revealed until 40 years later
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156points
#16 From A Million Miles Away, Nasa Captures Moon Crossing Face Of Earth. (Yes, This Is Real) Credit: Nasa/Noaa
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154points
#17 She Is The Youngest New Zealand Mp And Performs The Traditional Māori Haka Dance In Parliament. Her Ancestry Dates Back 5,000 Years
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154points
#18 In 1999, Skydiver Joan Murray’s Parachutes Malfunctioned, Leaving Her To Free-Fall 14,500 Feet Above North Carolina, Landing Directly On A Fire Ants' Mound
Miraculously, she survived. Doctors believe that being stung over 200 times by ants triggered a surge of adrenaline, keeping her heart beating
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144points
#19 62-Year-Old Boeing Whistleblower John Barnett Found Dead In His Truck After He Didn't Show Up For A Legal Interview Linked To A Case Against Boeing
Barnett worked for Boeing for 32 years and retired in 2017. After retiring, Barnett spoke out about how Boeing was cutting corners on their airplanes
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132points
#20 Nikola Tesla's Last Message To His Mother: "All These Years That I Had Spent In The Service Of Mankind Brought Me Nothing But Insults And Humiliation."
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131points