You're more likely to end up six feet under because of eating bad food on a plane than you are because the plane crashed. Statistically speaking, the odds of meeting your maker after an aviation accident are 1 in 11 million, compared to 1 in 3 million for food poisoning.
Just because the chances of something happening are tiny, doesn't mean it won't ever happen to you. There's actually something called Littlewood's Law. It states that a person can expect to experience events with odds of one in a million at the rate of about one per month. But more on that a little later...
Someone asked, "What is a 1 in 1,000,000 thing that happened to you that no one believes, but you swear is true?" And the 5,700 comments that followed might give fact-checkers and statisticians enough work to last for weeks.
From heart-warming encounters that could restore your faith in destiny, to more creepy incidents that deserve a spot in a Steven King novel, people are proving that life truly is full of surprises. Bored Panda has put together a list of the best responses for you to scroll through while you wait for your monthly miracle to occur.
#1
Deep sigh…
In 1965, at the age of 23, my beloved father — who just passed away last month at 83 — came to this country from eastern Europe to start his new life in the ‘promised land’ of America where he ultimately became very successful after toiling in the city for 60 years to provide for me, my siblings and my beloved late mother.
The only problem was, he didn’t speak English that well and was obviously concerned that it would hold him back in his new country.
That same year, a brand new movie came out, called ‘The Sound of Music’ which he was very interested in as it reminded him of the “hills from the old country” that he wouldn’t see again until The Wall fell in 1989.
Determined to learn his newly adopted language, he walked into a seedy Times Square movie theater that year and watched that movie intently to learn the language — not once; but ten (10) times that year. It’s a memory he would never forget and occasionally bring up over the years
Flash forward 50 years and it’s 2015 and it’s the 50th anniversary of that movie’s release. To commemorate it, the Academy had invited a very well known Lady Gaga to come perform the famed title track during the Oscars - with beloved star of the film, Julie Andrews, there to witness it.
The performance was other-worldly and completely out of character of Lady Gaga’s nasally vocal range. It’s like an alien took over her vocal tract and it sounds nothing like her (Google it) — much like the way Bob Dylan threw his voice on ‘Nashville Skyline.’
My father, now in his 70’s, watched this famed performance in real time and was blown away… just completely brought back to his youth as a young man facing down this crazy city, and Stefanie Germanotta was the one blowing his mind.
He turned to me during the performance, nearly in tears, and asked me who she was. I let out a comic sigh and began to explain her history & cultural value. He then turned back to me and said,
“She’s so incredibly talented. If you ever meet her in the city, please let her know how proud I am of her, will you?”
I smirked to myself, laughed it off, and said, “Sure, Dad…” knowing darn well that would never happen.
FLASH FORWARD to a few months later… I am hanging out on the LES with my rocker friends in an underground bar downtown, all getting drunk and having a blast when all of a sudden I need to excuse myself to go hit the bathroom downstairs to take a leak.
As I make my way down the stairs, I look up and walking up the stairs is none other than Lady Gaga. Alone. Just me & her on a narrow stairwell in dirty bar in the city.
I take a deep breath, along with a big leap of faith, open my lips, and go…
“Ummmm… can I tell you something?”
She turns to me, fully expecting me to bust into some “OMG, I’m like your biggest fan, OMG!!” diatribe when I just turn and go,
“…sooooooo, my old man asked me to tell you something…”
…as I explained the entire story above, fully expecting her to be completely apathetic to the admission, etc.
I look up after the words leave my lips only to find her eyes the size of the moon — completely swelled up with humility and compassion nearly bursting into tears as she told me how much that story meant to her.
“Can I tell YOU something now?” she said, as I braced for impact.
“I rehearsed that song for 8 straight weeks for 8 hours a day leading up to that performance knowing how important it was to an entire generation of people like your father. So please, tell him *I* said thank you, ok?!”
I was completely blown away, thanked her for her hard work on my father’s behalf, hugged her and sent her off as I drove home out to Long Island that night.
The next morning, my dad walked into the kitchen and asked how my night went. I smirked, turned to him, and said…
“Have a seat, pops… do I have a story for you, old man.”
Rest in Peace, Dad. I love you.
In 1965, at the age of 23, my beloved father — who just passed away last month at 83 — came to this country from eastern Europe to start his new life in the ‘promised land’ of America where he ultimately became very successful after toiling in the city for 60 years to provide for me, my siblings and my beloved late mother.
The only problem was, he didn’t speak English that well and was obviously concerned that it would hold him back in his new country.
That same year, a brand new movie came out, called ‘The Sound of Music’ which he was very interested in as it reminded him of the “hills from the old country” that he wouldn’t see again until The Wall fell in 1989.
Determined to learn his newly adopted language, he walked into a seedy Times Square movie theater that year and watched that movie intently to learn the language — not once; but ten (10) times that year. It’s a memory he would never forget and occasionally bring up over the years
Flash forward 50 years and it’s 2015 and it’s the 50th anniversary of that movie’s release. To commemorate it, the Academy had invited a very well known Lady Gaga to come perform the famed title track during the Oscars - with beloved star of the film, Julie Andrews, there to witness it.
The performance was other-worldly and completely out of character of Lady Gaga’s nasally vocal range. It’s like an alien took over her vocal tract and it sounds nothing like her (Google it) — much like the way Bob Dylan threw his voice on ‘Nashville Skyline.’
My father, now in his 70’s, watched this famed performance in real time and was blown away… just completely brought back to his youth as a young man facing down this crazy city, and Stefanie Germanotta was the one blowing his mind.
He turned to me during the performance, nearly in tears, and asked me who she was. I let out a comic sigh and began to explain her history & cultural value. He then turned back to me and said,
“She’s so incredibly talented. If you ever meet her in the city, please let her know how proud I am of her, will you?”
I smirked to myself, laughed it off, and said, “Sure, Dad…” knowing darn well that would never happen.
FLASH FORWARD to a few months later… I am hanging out on the LES with my rocker friends in an underground bar downtown, all getting drunk and having a blast when all of a sudden I need to excuse myself to go hit the bathroom downstairs to take a leak.
As I make my way down the stairs, I look up and walking up the stairs is none other than Lady Gaga. Alone. Just me & her on a narrow stairwell in dirty bar in the city.
I take a deep breath, along with a big leap of faith, open my lips, and go…
“Ummmm… can I tell you something?”
She turns to me, fully expecting me to bust into some “OMG, I’m like your biggest fan, OMG!!” diatribe when I just turn and go,
“…sooooooo, my old man asked me to tell you something…”
…as I explained the entire story above, fully expecting her to be completely apathetic to the admission, etc.
I look up after the words leave my lips only to find her eyes the size of the moon — completely swelled up with humility and compassion nearly bursting into tears as she told me how much that story meant to her.
“Can I tell YOU something now?” she said, as I braced for impact.
“I rehearsed that song for 8 straight weeks for 8 hours a day leading up to that performance knowing how important it was to an entire generation of people like your father. So please, tell him *I* said thank you, ok?!”
I was completely blown away, thanked her for her hard work on my father’s behalf, hugged her and sent her off as I drove home out to Long Island that night.
The next morning, my dad walked into the kitchen and asked how my night went. I smirked, turned to him, and said…
“Have a seat, pops… do I have a story for you, old man.”
Rest in Peace, Dad. I love you.
Report
150points
Anyone who says miracles don't exist is lying...
At least that's according to a mathematician called John Edensor Littlewood. While many of us would settle for a handful of miracles in our lifetime, the maths professor believed that we should expect a miracle every 35 days. What are the chances?
According to How Stuff Works, Littlewood defined a miracle as something that has a one in a million chance of happening. "He based his calculation on the assumption that the typical person is awake and alert eight hours a day... and that events occur at an approximate rate of one per second," explains the site.
#2
Oh! I love telling this story!
I was dating a girl, and on our second date she made me dinner at her apartment. Sometime during the evening I walked around her place looking at the art she had on the wall. One print looked very familiar. She said she found it at a thrift store a few years back and it was the first decoration she bought when she moved to this state. Then it hit me why it looked familiar: my grandmother had painted it. I'd been looking at the original my entire life. My grandmother was a prolific local artist, but it was the only painting she ever had made into a print.
Anyway, we've been married 16 years now, and the original piece hangs in our house.
I was dating a girl, and on our second date she made me dinner at her apartment. Sometime during the evening I walked around her place looking at the art she had on the wall. One print looked very familiar. She said she found it at a thrift store a few years back and it was the first decoration she bought when she moved to this state. Then it hit me why it looked familiar: my grandmother had painted it. I'd been looking at the original my entire life. My grandmother was a prolific local artist, but it was the only painting she ever had made into a print.
Anyway, we've been married 16 years now, and the original piece hangs in our house.
Report
114points
#3
I was broke as a joke after a series of unfortunate events. My boyfriend and I managed to save up first and last months rent JUST in time to not be homeless. We were on our way to give the cash - all our money in the world - to our new landlord. A truck started aggressively tailgating us, honking at us, and waving at us to pull over. We were on a lonesome country road. I pulled to the side to let him pass and he kept pulling right alongside us. We were spooked but he was persistent. When I finally fully stopped, he opened his truck door and waved MY WALLET WITH ALL OUR MONEY at me. It had flown off the dash when I made a turn and he picked it up and chased me down. It had no ID, just the cash. We would never have seen it again if he hadn't happened to be both behind us at the exact right time, and a very good human.
Report
103points
This means around 30,000 things happen to us per day, or about a million per month. Most are insignificant. But because the chance of a miracle is about one per million events, we should expect about one miracle to happen, on the average, every month, or every 35 days.
Littlewoods' Law or Littlewood's Law of Miracles, as it later became known, aimed to prove that so-called "miracles" are actually pretty normal occurrences and happen more often than we might think.
#4
I got my tiny drone caught in a tree once. It was stuck in the leaves really good.
I was just getting ready to go home and find some long poles, but before I did, an owl swoop onto the tree branch, grabs my drone, and drops it to the ground. It was still quite light outside, so it was surprising to see him.
Ive been friendly with this owl for the last year..he is really sweet..loves to buzz my head during my night walks, land in the tree just outside of my arms reach, and observe me. He's even popped up by my house while walking my dog..lands in the tree right beside where we were walking..I swear they recognize faces.
He had a mate last year, and sadly i found her hit by a car shortly after..He was hooting in the forest for a long time...very sad. Happily, he seems to have finally found another one!
I was just getting ready to go home and find some long poles, but before I did, an owl swoop onto the tree branch, grabs my drone, and drops it to the ground. It was still quite light outside, so it was surprising to see him.
Ive been friendly with this owl for the last year..he is really sweet..loves to buzz my head during my night walks, land in the tree just outside of my arms reach, and observe me. He's even popped up by my house while walking my dog..lands in the tree right beside where we were walking..I swear they recognize faces.
He had a mate last year, and sadly i found her hit by a car shortly after..He was hooting in the forest for a long time...very sad. Happily, he seems to have finally found another one!
Report
100points
#5
When I was 14, my nextdoor neighbor was 12. We had our first kiss behind her dad's car. Soon after, they moved away and our romance was done. Until 45 years later when we reconnected on Facebook. I posted that I was going to Mexico and she replied, "I wanna go." 45 years between our first and second kiss. Now 51 years after our first kiss, we married on a beach in Cozumel living our best life. The first person I kissed will be the last person I kiss.
Report
100points
#6
At a zoo as a teenager. Walked by an Orangutan exhibit. It was open air but there was a barrier. As I’m walking by a rock hits the ground next to me. I look around and an orangutan is laughing at me. I pick up the rock and toss it to him. He catches it deftly and tosses it back to me. This turned into a game of catch for a few minutes.
No one believed me when I got home. Dad called me a liar and actually grounded me for making stuff up.
Flash forward a few years later and we go to the zoo with my family. Guess who remembered me and wanted to play?
Vindication!
No one believed me when I got home. Dad called me a liar and actually grounded me for making stuff up.
Flash forward a few years later and we go to the zoo with my family. Guess who remembered me and wanted to play?
Vindication!
Report
91points
The phrase "one in a million" is often thrown about loosely to mean that something is unlikely to occur. But according to experts from the Berkley University Department of Statistics, there are some events that have an exact one in a million chance of happening.
For example, that one of the next 25 babies born in the United States will become president of the country...
"The birth rate in the United States is approximately 4 million babies per year, and the average presidential term is 6 years, so 6 x 4 million = 24 million babies will be born until a new president is needed," explains the department's site. "Therefore, if we randomly select 24 babies to be born in the future, we can say that the probability that one of them will become president is 1 in 1 million."
#7
My house was hit by lightning in the morning and someone robbed my house later that same day. All the electronics they stole were fried from the lightning strike.
Report
75points
#8
Maybe not exactly one in a million but I find this little story/experience super magical and rare for sure.
Back in 2017 I took a two week trip to Iceland with my ex and some friends. We rented a truck and drove around the entire island, camping at various spots. It was in late August by the way, so Iceland summer with the sun being out till pst midnight, very cool to witness.
On one of the last big stretches of driving we had to do we ended up getting a bad flat tire and had to pull over to the side of the local highway we were on which had two huge grassland fields on either side. It was the middle of the night and actually dark out, and the closest roadside assistance was about two hours away so needless to say we had some time to spend. We decided to just hang out in the trunk of the car and drink some beers while we waited. Then my friend Louisa shouted “oh my god guys look” and pointed towards the field. Then seemingly out of nowhere a huge herd of wild horses approached the wire fence of the field by where we were parked and seemingly came to check on us and hung out with us the whole time we waited for roadside assistance.
But then it got even better, my other friend then shouted “WHOA LOOK UP GUYS” and we all somehow hadn’t even noticed that the Aurora borealis was shining MAGICALLY BRIGHT in the sky above us. None of us had ever seen it in person and definitely weren’t expecting to see it on the second to last night of our trip. It just all felt so so magical and like we were SUPPOSED to get a flat tire that night. What started off as a major inconvenience ended up becoming one of our fondest memories of that trip, and I’ll never forget it.
Back in 2017 I took a two week trip to Iceland with my ex and some friends. We rented a truck and drove around the entire island, camping at various spots. It was in late August by the way, so Iceland summer with the sun being out till pst midnight, very cool to witness.
On one of the last big stretches of driving we had to do we ended up getting a bad flat tire and had to pull over to the side of the local highway we were on which had two huge grassland fields on either side. It was the middle of the night and actually dark out, and the closest roadside assistance was about two hours away so needless to say we had some time to spend. We decided to just hang out in the trunk of the car and drink some beers while we waited. Then my friend Louisa shouted “oh my god guys look” and pointed towards the field. Then seemingly out of nowhere a huge herd of wild horses approached the wire fence of the field by where we were parked and seemingly came to check on us and hung out with us the whole time we waited for roadside assistance.
But then it got even better, my other friend then shouted “WHOA LOOK UP GUYS” and we all somehow hadn’t even noticed that the Aurora borealis was shining MAGICALLY BRIGHT in the sky above us. None of us had ever seen it in person and definitely weren’t expecting to see it on the second to last night of our trip. It just all felt so so magical and like we were SUPPOSED to get a flat tire that night. What started off as a major inconvenience ended up becoming one of our fondest memories of that trip, and I’ll never forget it.
73points
#9
I ordered a used paperback of To The Lighthouse online and received the exact copy I had donated to the bookstore in the small town I grew up in. 15 years had passed.
My name was on the inside cover, and I had some marginalia written lightly in pencil.
My name was on the inside cover, and I had some marginalia written lightly in pencil.
Report
71points
If we were to take maths out of the equation and think about rare occurrences happening, some might refer to them as synchronicities. Carl Jung coined the term "synchronicity" as a way to describe meaningful coincidences.
"Unlike random chance, synchronicities feel charged with significance—as if life itself is winking at us. Maybe it’s hearing a song lyric that answers the exact question you were just wrestling with. Or bumping into an old friend at the exact moment you’d been thinking about them," explains the psychology today site.
#10
Wife and I were going through our Pokémon cards one day and organizing them into a shared binder, she had soo many more than me because most of mine were stolen by a bully of mine back in elementary school.
When we were looking through them I noticed on a few of the cards something I did when I was younger, I left little nail imprints on the corners of my cards so I'd know which were mine when i used to play and trade.. I asked my wife where she got those cards as all of those nail printed cards were the same that were stolen from me..
She says "Oh some kid back in elementary school used to have a crush on me and gave me these cards"
I asked what his name was.
She says Matt S... my freaking elementary school bully!!
So wife and I went to completely different schools on opposite sides of the same town, she moved to Cali, came back to NY for a week to visit parents, 2 days before going back to Cali we randomly met at mutual friends house in our mid 20s, hit it off got married 2 years later, bought a house decided to combine our cards to decorate the game room and now I have all my old Pokémon cards back.
We were meant to be together.. the wife and the cards.
When we were looking through them I noticed on a few of the cards something I did when I was younger, I left little nail imprints on the corners of my cards so I'd know which were mine when i used to play and trade.. I asked my wife where she got those cards as all of those nail printed cards were the same that were stolen from me..
She says "Oh some kid back in elementary school used to have a crush on me and gave me these cards"
I asked what his name was.
She says Matt S... my freaking elementary school bully!!
So wife and I went to completely different schools on opposite sides of the same town, she moved to Cali, came back to NY for a week to visit parents, 2 days before going back to Cali we randomly met at mutual friends house in our mid 20s, hit it off got married 2 years later, bought a house decided to combine our cards to decorate the game room and now I have all my old Pokémon cards back.
We were meant to be together.. the wife and the cards.
Report
69points
#11
My brother passed in an accident. His fiance was upset with my family during the funeral and afterward she never spoke to us again. Him and his fiancé had two dogs.
About 3 months after his passing, on a random Saturday, my girlfriend at the time and I went to a local dog shelter to see if we could maybe adopt a dog. I was really depressed and sad about his passing. It still felt very fresh.
While I was walking through the shelter looking at these dogs I saw a dog that looked familiar. One of my brothers dogs had a beautiful orange color coat and was long and thin like a greyhound. She may have been a mix. When I saw her name I just about fainted. Her name was impala. That’s what he named her because his favorite car was a Chevy impala. I immediately asked to speak to the person in charge of the shelter and explained the situation. I gave them the name of my brother’s finance and asked if she had surrendered her. He explained that under normal circumstances they would never give out that information but would make an exception. He confirmed she had given her up for adoption and allowed us to adopt her.
My girlfriend and I both cried all night with her like I’m crying as I type this. She was a very loving dog and so so special. She lived for 10 years and every time I looked at her she reminded me of my brother and we loved her so much. It was extremely sad when she passed and we miss her dearly. I hope my brother was looking down on me smiling knowing that for whatever reason we decided to go to a random dog shelter on a random Saturday and found his dog. We never found out if his fiancé kept the other dog because he was not at that shelter.
This is my 1 in 1,000,000 thing that happened to me.
May they both be resting in peace.
About 3 months after his passing, on a random Saturday, my girlfriend at the time and I went to a local dog shelter to see if we could maybe adopt a dog. I was really depressed and sad about his passing. It still felt very fresh.
While I was walking through the shelter looking at these dogs I saw a dog that looked familiar. One of my brothers dogs had a beautiful orange color coat and was long and thin like a greyhound. She may have been a mix. When I saw her name I just about fainted. Her name was impala. That’s what he named her because his favorite car was a Chevy impala. I immediately asked to speak to the person in charge of the shelter and explained the situation. I gave them the name of my brother’s finance and asked if she had surrendered her. He explained that under normal circumstances they would never give out that information but would make an exception. He confirmed she had given her up for adoption and allowed us to adopt her.
My girlfriend and I both cried all night with her like I’m crying as I type this. She was a very loving dog and so so special. She lived for 10 years and every time I looked at her she reminded me of my brother and we loved her so much. It was extremely sad when she passed and we miss her dearly. I hope my brother was looking down on me smiling knowing that for whatever reason we decided to go to a random dog shelter on a random Saturday and found his dog. We never found out if his fiancé kept the other dog because he was not at that shelter.
This is my 1 in 1,000,000 thing that happened to me.
May they both be resting in peace.
Report
61points
#12
Took a PATH train to New York from Hoboken a long time ago when it was $1 fare and the machine didn’t accept change. The train arrived and there was a guy in a panic because he only had change. I gave him a dollar bill and he insisted I take his change(which I didn’t want to do) and apologized that it was only 90 cents. I laughed but he was sincerely apologetic. The train makes about 5 stops and ends at 33rd street nyc. I spent the whole day in nyc and was traveling back to Hoboken from 33rd street. At 14th street station the door opens and a guy I didn’t recognize gets on heading back to Hoboken. He smiled and said “I always pay my debts” and hands me a dime. It took me a split second to realize who he was and we had a good laugh.
Report
60points
Or maybe, like this guy featured on our list, it's seeing a print on someone's wall during your second date... and discovering they'd bought it at a thrift store - and that your grandmother had painted the original. That is a perfect synchronicity hinting that you may have just met your future wife.
Whether you want to call them coincidences, rare occurrences, one in a millions, synchronicities or miracles, the fact is they happen to all of us - probably more often than we realize.
#13
In the early '90's I was in Manhattan and taking one of those elevators that's glass and overlooks a large atrium. About 30 or so floors up, it stops and the power goes out (meaning the little phone/alarm doesn't work). We are smashed in there like, well, an elevator in Manhattan at rush hour.
After half an hour people really start getting uncomfortable and after an hour people start freaking out. No one is coming by and no one is hearing us shout. Then, about 90 minutes in two guys start walking in our direction and we start pounding on the glass and yelling.
They walk over and when they do I can see it's George Wendt and John Ratzenberger (Norm and Cliff) of Cheers. At the time, the show had just had it's series finale and was one of the most popular shows on earth. They come over, pry the doors open just enough to talk to us, learn we're stuck and get help.
When we get out we learned they were staying in that building, there with the whole cast for some sort of press event related to the show ending. Minutes later Ted Danson comes out of his room to join the fun. All three were so incredibly nice and took pics with everyone. Out of all the people in that city, we were saved b/c Cliff and Norm happened to be headed to their room and see us.
After half an hour people really start getting uncomfortable and after an hour people start freaking out. No one is coming by and no one is hearing us shout. Then, about 90 minutes in two guys start walking in our direction and we start pounding on the glass and yelling.
They walk over and when they do I can see it's George Wendt and John Ratzenberger (Norm and Cliff) of Cheers. At the time, the show had just had it's series finale and was one of the most popular shows on earth. They come over, pry the doors open just enough to talk to us, learn we're stuck and get help.
When we get out we learned they were staying in that building, there with the whole cast for some sort of press event related to the show ending. Minutes later Ted Danson comes out of his room to join the fun. All three were so incredibly nice and took pics with everyone. Out of all the people in that city, we were saved b/c Cliff and Norm happened to be headed to their room and see us.
Report
58points
#14
I once got a self serve checkout to work without needing to call an employee.
Report
58points
#15
When i was 8 i visited an elephant reserve and we had to wear these huge ugly hats and i dropped mine and a baby elephant picked in up and put it back on my head.
Report
58points
#16
I work construction, so oftentimes there is garbage blowing or strewn about. I was on a raised platform, supervising about 10 guys, I noticed a lottery ticket on the ground.
Didn't think anything of it, probably a losing ticket, and someone threw it away.
The next day, I was in the same area of the build, I noticed the ticket was still there.....I picked it up and scanned it. Where I'm from, we have an app that we can check if your lottery ticket is a winner or not.
$500!!! A $500 winner! Couldn't believe it!!
Didn't think anything of it, probably a losing ticket, and someone threw it away.
The next day, I was in the same area of the build, I noticed the ticket was still there.....I picked it up and scanned it. Where I'm from, we have an app that we can check if your lottery ticket is a winner or not.
$500!!! A $500 winner! Couldn't believe it!!
Report
54points
#17
Ok - this is nuts. I was on my first day at a job in New York City and had moved there the day before from the Midwest. My coworker asked if I had ever been to New York before and I told her that a couple of years prior I had taken a semester off during college and lived there. I mentioned that I delivered lunches in the very neighborhood we were working in and I just adored this one doorman who worked at a building just down the street. I said to her, “you’ll never guess how I met him? “And she responded without hesitation, “you handed him a white rose.” I was floored. I just met this woman minutes before and I had never told anybody about the white rose because I was embarrassed. Then she said, “his name was Richie, right? “Still flabbergasted, I said yes and how did she know? She said she worked in that office building a few years back and was friends with him. One night when she was leaving the building, he said, “Hey, you’re never going to believe this, but this girl came up to me today and handed me this white rose because she wanted to meet me. Isn’t that cool?” I couldn’t believe it.
Fast forward to a few months and I was having drinks with that same co-worker and her mom and sisters came out to meet us. Her mom was first gen Irish and asked me where I was from. I told her I was from Ohio. She said, “oh, I don’t think I know anyone from Ohio except Mary x” who is from our town in Ireland. I asked her to repeat the name thinking I didn’t hear correctly with her thick accent. She said, “Mary x.” I responded, “Mary has been my next door neighbor for 25 years and practically raised me.” Both of these stories still blow me away.
Fast forward to a few months and I was having drinks with that same co-worker and her mom and sisters came out to meet us. Her mom was first gen Irish and asked me where I was from. I told her I was from Ohio. She said, “oh, I don’t think I know anyone from Ohio except Mary x” who is from our town in Ireland. I asked her to repeat the name thinking I didn’t hear correctly with her thick accent. She said, “Mary x.” I responded, “Mary has been my next door neighbor for 25 years and practically raised me.” Both of these stories still blow me away.
Report
52points
#18
I was driving on a 2 lane road going about 50 mph. Guy in front of me in a car with t-tops. Wind blows his hat off. I caught it out of my driver side window. He watched through his rear view mirror. We both pulled over and I gave him his hat back.
49points
#19
My cousin was adopted from Kenya when we were kids. He was about 8 when he was adopted and grew up in an orphanage before the adoption. We went out to eat at a restaurant with him and his parents one evening, and while we were at the table a woman runs up to us and tells us she was one of the caretakers at the orphanage he grew up at. They recognized each other immediately. We were in California at the time, so it’s crazy to think that this lady who knew him from Kenya ended up at the same restaurant as us, at the same time, thousands of miles away. It was so sweet to see their reunion!
45points
#20
Years ago I was working at a USPS distribution center, and a single piece of (junk) mail fell from a tray on the overhead conveyor system landing next to me ... I pick it up to deal with it ... and I was flabbergasted to see that it was addressed to my father. No one was around, and I seriously thought it was a joke. I put it back into the system and it was delivered to our home a few days later. It had to literally be a 1 in a million chance.
Report
44points