Some people believe that there’s no such thing as a coincidence. Everything is intentional and meaningful, nothing is random. But when you just so happen to run into your next-door neighbors halfway across the world from where you live, it’s hard to call that anything other than serendipity.
People online have been sharing the craziest coincidences that they’ve ever experienced, so we’ve gathered some of their best stories below. Apparently, the world is a lot smaller than we think it is, because people manage to find connections no matter where they are on the planet. Enjoy reading through these tales that might blow your mind, and be sure to upvote the ones that convince you that coincidences are 100% real.
#21
It’s very complicated but:
1. I had to phone a man at the BBC, a huge corporation. I didn’t really want to call and wasn’t going to. (Admin, nothing glam).
2. I also hired a man at work who was bipolar, and spoke to him about making reasonable adjustments.
3. I looked on a bipolar charity website and found a number for employer support.
4. I called the number. It was a wrong number …. but was the direct dial to the man at the BBC I wasn’t going to call.
1. I had to phone a man at the BBC, a huge corporation. I didn’t really want to call and wasn’t going to. (Admin, nothing glam).
2. I also hired a man at work who was bipolar, and spoke to him about making reasonable adjustments.
3. I looked on a bipolar charity website and found a number for employer support.
4. I called the number. It was a wrong number …. but was the direct dial to the man at the BBC I wasn’t going to call.
19points
#22
I was reading a story from a local news site about a woman who had had a bad experience in a pub. Then I got a notification on my phone saying that someone had liked me a on a dating app... and it was the woman from the news story! It was definitely a real person, she had a linked instagram account with lots of posts.
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18points
#23
Started talking to a random person at my uni - same course but in the 4th year. She started asking me where I was from, then gets more and more specific, then asks for my primary school... turns out her dad was my year 4 teacher!
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16points
#24
When I finished my A-levels in the ‘90s, my college held an end-of-term party (proms not being a thing in the UK then) I was seated at a long rectangular table for dinner, away from my friends, and opposite a boy I hadn’t met in the whole two years I’d been there. We had a nice chat and a laugh, all just friendly, and said goodbye after dinner.
Two weeks later, I was on a family holiday in Disneyworld Florida before starting university and heard someone call my name. It was the same boy! He was on holiday there with his family too. Neither of us had mentioned this at the party. It felt such a bizarre coincidence. Never saw him again after that.
Two weeks later, I was on a family holiday in Disneyworld Florida before starting university and heard someone call my name. It was the same boy! He was on holiday there with his family too. Neither of us had mentioned this at the party. It felt such a bizarre coincidence. Never saw him again after that.
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15points
#25
I've told this story before but anyway...
I'm just casually doomscrolling on my phone when Facebook makes a friend suggestion to me. It's someone I knew at school but was never part of the same group of friends and there was little to no real overlap between our friend groups after leaving school. I hadn't seen this guy in twenty years.
Facebook has never once suggested him as a possible friend l before this and I'd never searched him on Facebook.
Anyway, I send the Friend Request and he accepts. The very next day I'm walking home from the pub after a few jars when who the f**k do I see walking towards me? The very guy I'd connected with on Facebook the day before!
We live in completely different parts of the city. He doesn't drink at any of the places I do or patronise the same clubs. There's like zero overlap in our friends and acquaintances. Yet here we were! We had a brief chat to catch up then went on our way.
I'm just casually doomscrolling on my phone when Facebook makes a friend suggestion to me. It's someone I knew at school but was never part of the same group of friends and there was little to no real overlap between our friend groups after leaving school. I hadn't seen this guy in twenty years.
Facebook has never once suggested him as a possible friend l before this and I'd never searched him on Facebook.
Anyway, I send the Friend Request and he accepts. The very next day I'm walking home from the pub after a few jars when who the f**k do I see walking towards me? The very guy I'd connected with on Facebook the day before!
We live in completely different parts of the city. He doesn't drink at any of the places I do or patronise the same clubs. There's like zero overlap in our friends and acquaintances. Yet here we were! We had a brief chat to catch up then went on our way.
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15points
#26
Don't know if it's a coincidence but my grandad has a habit of meeting people he knows wherever he goes. Now within 20 miles of where he lives I can understand but I was once on a skiing holiday with them in Flaine and was getting off a ski lift with him when we heard "Alright Arthur what are you doing here?" And getting off the seat behind us was an old colleague he worked with years before!
Another time he was visiting my village Christmas market (I live 80 miles away from my grandparents) and he bumped into his friend who was the warden at a country park he was a volunteer at.
On a cruise he bumped into another couple he and my grandma both knew at one of the stops they had, their friends just so happened to be on holiday in the place my grandparents were docked at, they saw them sat outside a cafe.
There's loads of other times it's happened to but these are the most memorable ones. My grandad knows ton's of people but that's because he is very easy to get along with! And he will talk to just about anyone 🤣.
Another time he was visiting my village Christmas market (I live 80 miles away from my grandparents) and he bumped into his friend who was the warden at a country park he was a volunteer at.
On a cruise he bumped into another couple he and my grandma both knew at one of the stops they had, their friends just so happened to be on holiday in the place my grandparents were docked at, they saw them sat outside a cafe.
There's loads of other times it's happened to but these are the most memorable ones. My grandad knows ton's of people but that's because he is very easy to get along with! And he will talk to just about anyone 🤣.
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13points
#27
This is one of my favourites…last summer I was on vacation in another country, 4000 km from home. My travel companion got sick on the last day so I had a day to myself with no plans. I posted in the local subreddit to ask for suggestions. Shortly after, I got a DM from a stranger who had looked at my post history and seen that I’m into pro wrestling, so he invited me out to a wrestling event that night.
I thought h**l no, I’m not meeting some random Reddit stranger in a foreign country alone! But he sent a link to his Instagram and I clicked it out of curiosity. Turns out the random Reddit stranger was one of my boyfriend’s oldest, closest friends who had just moved to the city. So we ended up meeting up and I had the time of my life.
I can’t get over the fact that in a city of millions of people, so far away from home, from a subreddit with hundreds of thousands of users, the one person who reached out to me directly was my bf’s bestie.
I thought h**l no, I’m not meeting some random Reddit stranger in a foreign country alone! But he sent a link to his Instagram and I clicked it out of curiosity. Turns out the random Reddit stranger was one of my boyfriend’s oldest, closest friends who had just moved to the city. So we ended up meeting up and I had the time of my life.
I can’t get over the fact that in a city of millions of people, so far away from home, from a subreddit with hundreds of thousands of users, the one person who reached out to me directly was my bf’s bestie.
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13points
#28
A girl and I were going through a break up and went for a hike/walk to talk things over. We get to the to this look out point and there was a bench with a plaque on it that read “Bob and Jane’s place”.
Our names are Bob and Jane (not our real names).
It was so weird. We took it as a sign and kept going. We did eventually break up after a few more months though. But still wild.
Our names are Bob and Jane (not our real names).
It was so weird. We took it as a sign and kept going. We did eventually break up after a few more months though. But still wild.
12points
#29
My wife and I were stood behind our next door neighbours in a queue at an ice cream shop in Wales and we live no where near Wales.
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12points
#30
I was standing at Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, a friend from highschool, let's call him B, was visiting and we went on one of those walking tours. Just as the Tourguide pointed at the French embassy 3 girls walked by and shouted Viva la France! Then walked off to take a Foto in Front of the gate. B suddenly peeled off from the group saying, hey, I think that's V! V was an exchange student from France while we were in highschool (Midwest USA btw) and indeed, there she was, visiting Berlin with some friends. She was so surprised when we talked to her, and we met up for drinks later that evening. We talked a long time and found out they were staying at a hostel , they had tried out couch surfing but said no one had responded to them so they gave up.
That's where I realized she had contacted me on Couch Surfing (without recognizing me) and I hadn't responded because all they wrote was: we are 3 French girls, do u live near the city? And I thought it was Spam.
That's where I realized she had contacted me on Couch Surfing (without recognizing me) and I hadn't responded because all they wrote was: we are 3 French girls, do u live near the city? And I thought it was Spam.
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12points
#31
I lived near Reading in the late 90s before going off on a backpacking trip to Australia. Few months later I was working in Sydney and started chatting to a girl. Turned out she'd moved into the same house I'd lived in just after I'd left the UK.
I also met a guy in a Sydney hostel and borrowed $10 from him, didn't see him the next day and then moved on. Few months later I'd moved to Munich and walking along the main shopping street, I saw him again, gave him 10dm and that was it, never saw him again.
I also met a guy in a Sydney hostel and borrowed $10 from him, didn't see him the next day and then moved on. Few months later I'd moved to Munich and walking along the main shopping street, I saw him again, gave him 10dm and that was it, never saw him again.
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11points
#32
At the start of Covid a David Mitchell event got cancelled in London, I was super disappointed. After covid during the same week as that David Mitchell event I met him outside the Plaza Cinema in Truro and nearly had a heart attack. The three people I had been going to that event with were literally at my house at the time. I still think about it.
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11points
#33
We (UK residents) were on a train in Canada talking to a local. He asked where we lived and we discovered that his English penfriend lived on the same road as our ex-neighbours.
Same trip, a bus driver in North Vancouver was describing a coffee shop he'd loved and remembered fondly from a recent visit to the UK; It's two minutes walk from our home.
We stayed in a B&B. The woman that ran it was from the UK. She came from the same village as my Godmother.
Same trip, a bus driver in North Vancouver was describing a coffee shop he'd loved and remembered fondly from a recent visit to the UK; It's two minutes walk from our home.
We stayed in a B&B. The woman that ran it was from the UK. She came from the same village as my Godmother.
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11points
#34
I was visiting my grandparents in France from the US last year. The day I arrived I posted a story of a sunset from the balcony with the location tagged. A friend from the US I had lost touch with and hadn't spoken to for 8+ years (we didn't follow each other on IG, my profile is public) looked at my story and reached out saying he was visiting the city and we should catch up.
When we met up I said it was wild that he had reached out and happened to catch me when were both visiting this city (I don't go often, it was his first time). He said it wasn't entirely a coincidence, he had seen me a few days ago in a certain neighborhood but I was too far away to catch my attention so he decided to look me up on socials. I said that was impossible as I'd just arrived a few hours before I posted that story and came straight to my grandparents' home from the airport, so it couldn't have been me. His mind was blown as he said the girl looked just like me. Anyway we had a nice time catching up and have rekindled our friendship. Kinda felt like the universe was telling us we should lol.
When we met up I said it was wild that he had reached out and happened to catch me when were both visiting this city (I don't go often, it was his first time). He said it wasn't entirely a coincidence, he had seen me a few days ago in a certain neighborhood but I was too far away to catch my attention so he decided to look me up on socials. I said that was impossible as I'd just arrived a few hours before I posted that story and came straight to my grandparents' home from the airport, so it couldn't have been me. His mind was blown as he said the girl looked just like me. Anyway we had a nice time catching up and have rekindled our friendship. Kinda felt like the universe was telling us we should lol.
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9points
#35
Went to uni a few hundred miles from home, came from a relatively small town. First night there, the local pub had a welcome night for new students hosted by some of the second years.
Sat down with a couple of people I knew from home and a girl approached us. She was one of the ones there to show us the ropes.
She's in the middle of explaining that she moved from south Africa and only knew one Scottish family but they were nowhere near.
Yeah, my childhood best friend's yearly holidays to South Africa were with her family. It was her pool they saw a hippo in once.
Sat down with a couple of people I knew from home and a girl approached us. She was one of the ones there to show us the ropes.
She's in the middle of explaining that she moved from south Africa and only knew one Scottish family but they were nowhere near.
Yeah, my childhood best friend's yearly holidays to South Africa were with her family. It was her pool they saw a hippo in once.
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8points
#36
Flew to Melbourne for a work trip. Queuing at passport control with hundreds of fellow passengers when I got off the plane I glanced around the immigration hall and caught the eye of the bloke in the adjacent line just at that moment snaking back on my line. It was actually a colleague from a previous company I had worked at seven years prior and hadn't seen since moving half way across the UK from Peterborough to Bristol. Turns out we were both there for two weeks for work meetings and staying half a mile away from each other and booked on the same return flight.
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8points
#37
OOOOH I GOT THIS ONE
Me and my sister shared a dream. We were going up this tall cliff with our chess teacher Mr. Macho (name change) and jumping off. We were surprised we didn't die at the bottom. We went back up another time. And another. On the third time Mr. Macho didn't come back up with us. We looked at each other in the dream like "oh no..." and woke up.
I know we had the same exact dream because she woke up and immediately told me "I had the weirdest dream!" and when she told me it all, it was my dream!
We had school that morning. As soon as the bell rings for the class we are told there will be no pledge of allegiance. We will be holding a moment of silence for Mr. Macho. He died in a freak sport accident the night before. He went instantly from what I heard. Rest his soul.
It's not the first or last time we've had experiences. I think we both have abilities related mostly to the dead and dying. It's just the first and only time we had a shared experience.
Me and my sister shared a dream. We were going up this tall cliff with our chess teacher Mr. Macho (name change) and jumping off. We were surprised we didn't die at the bottom. We went back up another time. And another. On the third time Mr. Macho didn't come back up with us. We looked at each other in the dream like "oh no..." and woke up.
I know we had the same exact dream because she woke up and immediately told me "I had the weirdest dream!" and when she told me it all, it was my dream!
We had school that morning. As soon as the bell rings for the class we are told there will be no pledge of allegiance. We will be holding a moment of silence for Mr. Macho. He died in a freak sport accident the night before. He went instantly from what I heard. Rest his soul.
It's not the first or last time we've had experiences. I think we both have abilities related mostly to the dead and dying. It's just the first and only time we had a shared experience.
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8points
#38
In 2009 I did the mongol rally and then after that I did a ski season in st Anton Austria.
One night in the mongol steppe we met a load of other ralliers. Then again in ulaan bataar again bumped into a load of ralliers. Then on the way back I drove to Moscow and bumped into more ralliers. Same guy each time.
He also happened to be living downstairs from my mates in st Anton also doing a ski season.
One night in the mongol steppe we met a load of other ralliers. Then again in ulaan bataar again bumped into a load of ralliers. Then on the way back I drove to Moscow and bumped into more ralliers. Same guy each time.
He also happened to be living downstairs from my mates in st Anton also doing a ski season.
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7points
#39
Someone I hadn't seen in years recognised me on Reddit me from a comment I made about running through a field away from a bull pished years ago. Small world.
7points
#40
I was best friends with a girl from K-12 and I officially ended our friendship in my early 20s for a variety of reasons. After a few years without us talking, one night I had a dream about her. (This was already unusual, because I normally don't have dreams about myself or people I know irl) It made me feel sad. I wanted to reach out and text her something but couldn't bring myself to do it.
I checked my Instagram, and I had a message from her saying I was in her dream the night before. Oh.
That was a few years ago and we still haven't met to have a conversation in person, but we do message on IG from time to time. That event made me realize I was hurting myself by refusing to be vulnerable and acknowledge the fact that I've missed our friendship.
I checked my Instagram, and I had a message from her saying I was in her dream the night before. Oh.
That was a few years ago and we still haven't met to have a conversation in person, but we do message on IG from time to time. That event made me realize I was hurting myself by refusing to be vulnerable and acknowledge the fact that I've missed our friendship.
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7points