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People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) I was walking to school and got distracted by a hedgehog that ran in a bush next to me then a big ass tree branch fell infront of me, would've crushed me if I didn't get distracted by a spikey little mouse scurrying in the bushes. I gave him a dead cricket the next day, he took it and ran off. God speed spikey mouse.

EhhLeeBee , Nicolas Savignat Report

Final score:

547points

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SentimentAndBadJokes 3 years ago (edited)

We thank the spikey mouse 😂

450points

To find out more about this incredible phenomenon, Bored Panda reached out to Helen Marlo, a licensed clinical psychologist and Jungian psychoanalyst who provides psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, and consultation. Helen is also a Professor of Clinical Psychology and the Department Chair at Notre Dame de Namur University.

“At its core, the 'butterfly effect' describes a phenomenon of interconnection between people and our larger world,” she explained and added that “This phenomenon has been expressed poetically by Walt Whitman in 'Song of Myself' when he describes the natural, inherent interconnectedness across space and time between individuals and the world.”

“Whitman writes:

I celebrate myself,

And what I assume, you shall assume

For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.

Walt Whitman (1959, p. 25)”

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) My teacher encouraged me to enter a poetry competition when I was 17 years old. I only entered because there was a cash prize, but I ended up winning and getting my poem published. Well, a couple of months later, I got a Facebook message from a girl who wanted to know more about my poem because she had to analyze it for her upcoming exam. It turned out that we were about the same age, so we decided to meet up and discuss it. We've been together for four years and are getting married next month. I often wonder what my life would look like if my teacher hadn't approached me back then.

GoGoGadgetD*ck95 , Toa Heftiba Report

Final score:

520points

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Floofy Samoyed 3 years ago

Wow

234points

A911owner , Robin Jonathan Deutsch Report

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) When my dad was 20, he needed to find someone's phone number, so he called the operator from a pay phone and she gave him the number. He hung up, and she accidentally refunded the money back to the pay phone. She called the pay phone back and asked him if he could put the money back in, which he did and hung up again. She accidentally refunded the money a third time and had to call back again to ask him to put the money back in...he did and hung up.

She was so flustered, she refunded the money AGAIN and called back AGAIN and, since it was such a funny situation, my father got to chatting with her and got HER number. They set up a date, got coffee, and — four years later — were married.

This coming August, it'll be 50 years for them.

If my dad didn't need that original phone number, I wouldn't be here. My dad still calls it 'The most expensive phone call he ever made.

Final score:

484points

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Caro Caro 3 years ago

Aw, this is sweet.

262points

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) When I was in eighth grade, I had a really long bus ride home, so I would pass the time by reading. One day, I faced the very serious situation of having nothing to read and only a minute to grab something in the library. For whatever reason, I grabbed a book on astronomy. That book was amazing and grabbed me like nothing else had before. I remember being so excited to realize every astronomer on Earth was 13 years old once too, and that was a career you could actually do, even if you were from Pittsburgh!

Anyway, today I am a professional astronomer who studies gigantic space explosions for a living. There was a lot of work to get from that moment to this one, but I’m always grateful that I picked up that library book!

Andromeda321 , Clem Onojeghuo Report

Final score:

436points

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Samantha Lomb 3 years ago

Hey , lots of cool people (Mr. Rogers for one) are from Pittsburgh

202points

Helen continued that similarly, this phenomenon has also been described, psychologically, by psychoanalyst Carl Jung. “His concept of 'synchronicity,' which he defines as an 'acausal connecting principle,' involves the simultaneous occurrence of two meaningfully but not causally connected events,” she explained. So ‘butterfly effect’ is not only referred to in mathematics or philosophy, it also has a significance in psychoanalysis.

My parents dream was to have a 'famous child.' When my older sister's figure skating career ended in her early twenties, the spotlight shifted to me. I was a fine oboist, and took private voice lessons with the intent to audition for the local music faculty. In any case, there was a lot of pressure and, while I was successful at school and with classical music, it was never enough.

At 17 — before senior year began — my sister gifted me a kitten. My parents had given her two in her senior year and the implication was that it was my turn. When my sister dropped me off at their house, my parents locked me out, saying that if 'I wanted my own pet, I needed my own place.' So I found one that night. I worked three jobs to support myself through my senior year and graduated with entrance scholarships to both of the local universities.

Still, I couldn't afford a music degree while living on my own, even with the entrance scholarships. It was a good thing. Entering the work force showed me how much I love active jobs. Three years later, I enrolled in college and became an industrial mechanic/millwright, to my parents great shame.

After a few years of this I landed a sweet contract where I work on Saturdays and Sundays, but receive a full week's pay. Although I am a living beacon of disappointment, I comfort myself with my 100k a year job, two day workweek, and two cats. So, basically, kicked out over a kitten saved me from wasting years chasing an improbable career just to please my parents

duceddaftfan Report

Final score:

435points

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Marny 3 years ago

Wow, those sounds like incredibly toxic parents.

652points

Leo Domitrix 3 years ago

I had the misfortune to meet the parent of an Olympic-level skater. How she didn't cut that parent's throat with her skate blade, I'll never know....

96points

deanna woods 3 years ago

That's how my godbrother's parents are. They want his brother and him to play sports so that they can hopefully get into the pros. Except they are never there for him and he doesn't like sports anyway.

22points

Jessie Zhang 3 years ago

I actually want to become famous, but if I need to please my parents too much, I won't do it.

8points

Micheal Sharp 2 years ago

I know right?!... WOWee growing up my mom and stepdad were always at the bingo hall leaving me and my brothers and sisters at home often with little to no food, so my life as a child, teen, and young adult wasn't good at all but in way I'm glad it happened the way it did because I'm happy with who I am in 2022. The only thing I would change is the day my mother tried to take her own life.. she shot herself in the stomach in 2010 and suffered a massive stroke, she passed away in 2012 as a result of an infection from a bed sore.. she lasted 2 days in hospice.. that's the only thing I'd change

4points

Marinasongs1432 2 years ago

I play the oboe, and I did it by my own desire. My dad will complain a bit about the price of reeds, but he is happy I found something I love doing. He wants me to be happy but also to have a stable life and job. I respect that.

2points

Kimberly Young 3 years ago

Always go where the kittens take you

43points

LangiStudios 3 years ago

This story reminds me of Asia Carrera's (aka Jessica Steinhauser) home life. Her parents were hell-bent on having a genius daughter and poured on the pressure constantly. And she wasn't an academic slouch either - they just wanted perfection. She loved playing piano and they'd prevent her from taking lessons or even playing at home if she brought home anything less than an A for any of her grades. It got too much for her one day and she ran away from home. Became a stripper to cover her expenses and a porn star shortly after. My main takeaway was that her parents didn't appreciate the child they had and drove her away because they insisted on getting the "perfect" child they wanted.

27points

Bored Birgit 3 years ago

This is so sad. What could have been without those parents. I can't understand that parents forget so fast how it is to be a child with needs and dreams.

14points

Vicky Z 3 years ago

Sounds like those parents shouldn't even have a child especially a famous one!

27points

Pamela Blue 3 years ago

Agreed. Let's just hope they don't have any say over their grandchildren!

1point

Katie Lutesinger 3 years ago

Those parents are scum. S-C-U-M scum.

21points

The sword 2 years ago

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lara 3 years ago

Well, I AM PROUD OF YOU.

18points

chrissy goodman 3 years ago

never do wat ur parents want u do to do. i have an anxeity disorder and social anxeity disorder bc i tried to do just that. i failed at making my parents happy wen i was a kid it wasnt until i was going to college that they realized somethings wrong. i was afraid to b in a classroom or on campus in general but 3 failed college runs later and 12 failes jobs later im on disability (after making both forms of anxeity worse may i add) having free time led to walking and exercise which led to me meeting the man who is now my husband. if i hadnt disappointed my parents and not gone on disability and unable to work i wouldve never met my husband. im the happiest woman in the world now. i still have my anxeity and social anxeity but at least im happy instead of depressed and feeling like a disappointment

13points

Caro Caro 3 years ago

Good for you.

11points

Randolph Croft 3 years ago

When your parents don't even UNDERSTAND 'happiness', you have a different problem.

9points

Ka Se 3 years ago

These parents seem to be complete idiots. It is never the responsibility of the kids to fulfill the dreams of the parents.

7points

deanna woods 3 years ago

All my parents have ever wanted for my sister and I is for us to be happy.

7points

Lucky 3 years ago

Sorry to say, but your parents are idiots!

7points

Lolliegag 3 years ago

I'm so happy that you made your own path. A two day work week and $100,000 a year, they should be so lucky to have such a successful child!!!

6points

albernistuff 4sale 3 years ago

THIS! Success is not measured by your fame or your level of academic achievement, but by how happy you are in life. Its not a success to be rich but miserable or famous but neurotic.

6points

Wednesday 3 years ago

I was hoping my son would play baseball because he's a lefty with a wicked curved and a smoking fast ball. He took me at my word and came to me one day to tell me he didn't want to play anymore. He thought I would be disappointed because he knows I just love baseball. But, it's not my life and I want my kids to pursue things that make them happy, to fulfill their dreams - poor kid almost cried when I said it was okay. And now, my cool adventure baby is rocking his dreams and I could not be more pleased!

4points

Mark Kelly 3 years ago (edited)

What idiot and awful parents.

4points

Kaseylulu 3 years ago

Sounds like an amazing life! I am very happy for you!

4points

JD Lee 3 years ago

Correction: those parents are the living beacon of disappointment. If they wanted famous they should have put in the effort themselves.

3points

Evangeline Dell 2 years ago

Aww. I’m glad you didn’t let your parents pressure you into doing something you didn’t like.

2points

Carole Strawn 3 years ago

Good for you but shame on your parents.

2points

LindrosTheDog 3 years ago

I mean… is there a such thing as a “famous oboist”?

2points

Azure Adams 3 years ago

And I hope you don't talk to your parent and they are not a part of your life

2points

Sarah Loan 2 years ago

Please dont refer to yourself as a "living beacon of disappointment." I think the choices you have made for yourself sound great and you are HAPPY. That is hardly disappointing.

1point

Sanchi Shiva 2 years ago

Wow your parents are… I don’t even know which word to ise

1point

ERIKA H. 2 years ago

What is this j9b that pays a full week of work for only 2 days? I want it!

1point

RICK VARNER 2 years ago

what do you do for 2 days to make 100k, & how & where can I get a job like that?

1point

Sarah 2 years ago

I want to work 2 days a week and make 100k

1point

Raven DeathShade 2 years ago

Interestingly, there's a job in the Sims 4 where you do just that...work 2 days of work for a lot of money.

1point

Elaine Mattingly 2 years ago

It was your parent's loss to have missed helping you. I'm not your Mom but I sure am proud of you. And I love cats.

1point

Rett 3 years ago

😳I’m really happy you got your dream and the two cats. 💖😁 I really wonder about some parents, but pleased you managed to extradite your self from that situation. Your sister rescued you like you rescued the cat. Win win all around.

1point

Immortal Emperor Paradox 3 years ago

*cough* I'm Really A Superstar *cough*

1point

Brandy Grote 3 years ago

Cat saves person's life, film at 11...

1point

Jackie Nettleton 3 years ago

Your sister is either your saviour or your worst enemy, I can’t tell which tbh but I’m glad you got to do something you want and don’t have to deal with your parents

1point

Dorothy Cloud 2 years ago

I can't imagine what the parents were thinking. Lose a kid over a pet! Never!

0points

David J Blanchard 2 years ago

No, I won't... I WON'T... I WILL NOT ASK... OK, I have to ask... are your parents Asian? :-}

0points

Lara Gedzelman 2 years ago

I love that riff of self-aware humour, that the "living beacon of disappointment" can see himself through his parents' eyes and yet not internalize their "stuff", and see it for what it is. Meanwhile you are open to the wonderful reality that you have created for yourself. How hard it is to get beyond our parental programming and good on you for doing so! Thanks for sharing that. 😃

0points

Shabbir Yamani 2 years ago

Music? A career in the times of YouTube musicians? Don't make a profession your hobby.

0points

Ashley Reardon 2 years ago

This person's parents got their sister 2 kittens when she was a senior, but kicked her out at 17 bc SHE got a pet?? I think this person left a lot of that story out and have twisted their vision to see things they way they see them, instead of the way they actually happened... I say this bc it sounds like a story a friend of mine tells about her past, but I've known her for over 20 years and I was there when things actually happened... The way she tells a story, she's technically not lying, but she's not telling the truth either...

0points

Cactus McCoy 2 years ago

Honestly screw OPs parents.

0points

Mr. Pigeon 2 years ago

I think you came out pretty good 👍

0points

Alexander Superlex 2 years ago

so your parents gave you the kitten and then kicked you out and like as in they locked you out your parents wow f****** d***s

0points

Sally Brown 2 years ago

I’d be interested to know what happened with the relationship with the parents afterwards. Glad to see life panned out well, but jeeze, booted out over something so innocent.

0points

Annmarie Mccormick 2 years ago

Wow go you

0points

Annmarie Mccormick 2 years ago

Wow good for you

0points

Banana Peehole 2 years ago

Disgusting parents.

0points

weirdcatgurl 2 years ago

sounds like typical asian parents

0points

no thoughts, just frog 2 years ago

I just wonder, what happened to OP's kitten, did they keep it?

0points

YourLocalFnafSuperfan 2 years ago

Damn. The sister got two kittens GIVEN to her by the parents, yet OP got kicked out over being given just one. Favoritism much??

0points

Soleah Kirsnerova 2 years ago

Wow, you're hard working and smart and have done a lot, and care about kittens! Not a disappointment! Geese

0points

Amy Bullock 2 years ago

As a bonus, you're setting an awesome example to your cats to follow their hearts no matter what everyone says

0points

Keisha 2 years ago

Your parents are horrible.

0points

Redwood Rebelgirl 2 years ago

Sorry your parents are such @$$holes. 💔

0points

Jeremy Biggs 2 years ago

👍

0points

Pat Lenzo 2 years ago

I'm surprised you're on speaking terms with your parents. But if they'd treated you like they did your sister you might be miserably trying to live the life they wanted for you.

0points

Sarah 2 years ago

Weird.. average salary is about 48k.. but ok

0points

Rosemary Moreland 2 years ago

What horrible parents.

0points

Sandra Crawford 2 years ago

🙏🙏❤️❤️❤️❤️

0points

Kelly Siksay 2 years ago

This comment has been deleted.

0points

Jaded Monk 2 years ago

👏

0points

Angie Bracken 2 years ago

Wow..final score Should have been higher

0points

The Sweets 2 years ago

Ugh what d***s for parents

0points

Brandi Davidson 2 years ago

I'm a millwright and I would love to know how you found that gem of a job! Lol. Can I be a shame with you?

0points

Lori Everard 2 years ago

Well thank the good Lord for kittens.

0points

°•King-A•° 2 years ago (edited)

i have 2 good examples within family and friends, from parents who imagined other way of living for their kids but never stopped them from chasing dreams the kids felt it's right for them. one of those kids is a state musician the other one is a pilot and engineer.

0points

Terre Tulsiak 2 years ago

I am sorry your parents didn't appreciate you. Creating something with your hands must be so satisfying. What do you do with the rest of your week?

0points

albernistuff 4sale 2 years ago

Another win for the philosophy of Mike Rowe! Tired of folks who frown on trades people.

0points

Jo Choto 3 years ago

I can so relate. Getting kicked out of home at 16 and becoming emancipated was the beginning of my freedom and happiness

0points

Tom Spade 3 years ago

Me too. Was supposed to be homecoming king (in the eyes of others), attend college, ect. Worked iron at great heights, worked ranches out west, and as an agricultural millwright for about 10 years. Currently on a farm managing a small biofuel plant. Was booted at a young age because I enjoy cannabis, absolutely think for myself and question everyfuckingthing. And was a young asshole, lol. Found my way, got my s**t together, I'm 55. On the side I do sound and lights for a local band and for an MMA promoter. College may have been a waste for me. I'm too independent of mind to blindly accept everything claimed by self-proclaimed experts.

0points

Kayla Engle Lewis 3 years ago

Sad for you, but you faced the truth early in life. For some it takes a lifetime. I’m inspired by your strength and I hope you have made a strong community around you

0points

Jane W. 3 years ago

So many people make the mistake of living life for their parents---or at least starting out their lives to please them. Things usually shift later, and it's not always a fun transition.

0points

JessRS 3 years ago

Those parents are disgusting.

0points

M 3 years ago

Um...how do I score a job like this??????

0points

You_Know_What? 3 years ago

You are a living beacon of disappointment to your parents. Every bored panda here will say that you are a great worker and a great person.

0points

Melia Janssen 3 years ago

I would really like to know what an industrial mechanic/millwright actually does.

0points

Llama Alpacca 3 years ago

Thank you for succeeding in life. ♥️

0points

Deja Katz 3 years ago

I wonder if in order for them to get a full week’s pay for a two-day week if somebody else at their workplace works a full week for peanuts. Like the janitor or the cleaner?

0points

Pamela Blue 3 years ago

I don't think it works that way, and besides, this isn't about work life. It's about the butterfly effect.

0points

CincyReds 3 years ago

Your parents sound like horrible people! How do you kick a 17 year old out?

0points

Kim Lorton 3 years ago

To your parents’ great shame, locking you out for not being famous, they are the only disappointments. You, on the other hand, came into your own, worked hard and are doing what you love, with cats to love you right now! I don’t know you, but I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!! , your parents didn’t give you what you needed, so you found the way to give it. To yourself. One day, you will also find love, and you, will be a wonderful parent, if children are what you choose! Thank you, for such an inspiration to work hard and find your dreams.

0points

Susie Swearingen-Kamachi 3 years ago

That’s fantastic.

0points

Diana Roby 3 years ago

Your parents sound like really unhappy people. They need to get their own lives to live. Did you ever patch things up with them?

0points

Thomas Turnbull 3 years ago

Good for you putting a kitten above your toxic parents

0points

Amaranthim Talon 3 years ago

Bless the stars and kitten and your sister. And thank all the gods you escaped your parents' grip! Awful people. Surprised they didn't bill you for your "up-keep"!

0points

Riley Quinn 3 years ago

You obviously made the correct decision. It's unfortunate your parents were so harsh, but it appears their intolerance is what created a situation where you were motivated to succeed.

0points

Zelda Jones 3 years ago

Your parents sound mean

0points

LesAnimaux 3 years ago

Your parents SUCK

0points

Arctic Fox Lover 3 years ago

100k a year?!?! Omg! I would be so proud of that if I were your parents!!!

0points

Leslie Burleson 3 years ago

And then she won American Idol ! Ok , not really , but her story was better anyways

0points

Eris Ea 2 years ago

To the honor of being the black sheep!! I rather die than fulfil someone else expectations on me....

-1point

shep ona 3 years ago

But didn't learn how to use an apostrophe.

-2points

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) My mother and her five siblings were deported to Auschwitz in May of 1944. Soon after their arrival, my mother was placed into a line of people assigned to 'take showers' after their long trip. My mother was 13 years old and very frightened, so she held her mother's hand. Well, a Nazi soldier happened to spot this, and he ordered my mother into a different line, thinking it would be funny to separate her from her mother and make her cry. My grandmother was gassed to death about 15 minutes later, but my mother had been put in the line for the work camp. She worked in that camp until the Russians liberated Auschwitz in 1945, then moved to Romania, where she met the man who would become my father

peterfonda2 , Jean Carlo Emer Report

Final score:

398points

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SentimentAndBadJokes 3 years ago

Honestly, that's such a horrible thing. Auschwitz was a terrible place that had to business in existing, and that solider who thought it was funny to seperate two loved ones he was about to murder was a sick, sick person. What a terrible place and event. I find it hard to even call the mother 'lucky'.

393points

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) I was going out to grab pizza and a case of beer for me and my roommate but he texted me that he had a stomach thing so I walked to a restaurant and ordered dinner at the bar and met a girl there and now we are married and have two kids because my roommate had diarrhea

plateishot , Caitlyn Roberts Report

Final score:

365points

POST

beastmachine. 3 years ago

An interesting HIMYM

171points

The psychoanalyst also said that in the butterfly effect, these meaningful interconnections happen with such frequency and often trigger reflection. “I have found it valuable to work with them, as other sources of reflection, guidance and meaning, in my psychotherapy practice,” she said.

Helen even coined the term, “Synchronicity-Informed Psychotherapy,” “to describe treatment that is informed by these kinds of phenomena.”

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) My mom made me sign up for French in high school since I already spoke Spanish. I didn't really care about the language, but I became friends with a girl in that class. Later that year, she became sick with cancer, and she passed away the following year. Well, I had become close with her family, and they told me that French was her favorite subject and that it was her dream to study abroad. Her parents asked if we — her friends from French class — would do that on her behalf.... I was the only one who worked towards it, and I finally spent a semester there during my third year of college. I had always enjoyed French, but it wasn't a passion until something shifted that semester. So I came home, finished my undergrad degree, got my masters in French, then moved back to France. It's been 11 years since my friend died, and three years since I've lived here, and the whole time it's been clear to me that she's been with me on this journey.

avocadopixels , Thibault Penin Report

Final score:

360points

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Caro Caro 3 years ago

She became your angel.

254points

#10

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) My girlfriend and I were on a road trip on the West Coast, and we had planned to spend a night in Las Vegas, go to Zion the next day for some hiking, and then spend another night in Vegas. Well, when we woke up for our Zion trip, we discovered that our hotel's coffee machine had broken down, so we had to go to a nearby McDonald's to get some coffee to go. When we got there, however, they told us they had run out of milk, so we let our GPS direct us to another one around the corner. Well, we arrived to find that one was permanently closed... The third McDonald's we tried to find only existed on the map. So, we nervously arrived at the fourth and final McDonald's and agreed that if we can't get coffee there, we'll stop wasting time and just go to Zion. They did have coffee and milk, but after we got to our car, we realized our order was wrong. We replaced it and laughed the whole thing off, and headed to Zion late. Well, we got back to Las Vegas just before 10 p.m. and started getting ready to go to the Harvest County Music Festival on the strip. We knew we were late, but thought we'd go anyway. But we were stopped at our hotel exit by a policeman telling us to remain in our room. There had been a shooting there, and if not for wasting all that time in the morning trying to get coffee, we would have made it to the festival in time. 58 people were shot dead that night at the festival. If not for McDonald's, it could've been 60

irunn3r , Jurij Kenda Report

Final score:

335points

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beastmachine. 3 years ago

This probably is the only good thing that happened due to broken mcd machines

288points

#11

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) I had to renew the sticker on my license plate a couple of years ago and really didn't feel like sitting in the waiting room by myself forever, so I told my mom I'd take her out to dinner after if she came with me. The guy working at the counter turned out to be my mom's long-lost biological brother. If she hadn't come with me, I would have never known

Mutchie , NICHOLAS BYRNE Report

Final score:

313points

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Stephanie IV 3 years ago

Fate!

183points

Moreover, “Psychotherapy is a process where two people mutually constellate the unconscious. It is a unique dialect between two psyches where patient and therapist develop a meaningful exchange guided by their conscious and unconscious mind.” Such an exchange may include experiences from synchronicities or the “butterfly effect,” Helen concluded.

#12

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) Pregnant cousin usually takes the bus at around 5:10pm after work. She was about to hop inside the bus but she needed to pee really badly and the commute is about an hour long so she decided to go to the restroom instead and just catch the next bus. That 5:10 bus ended up falling from a cliff.

ImaginaryxDoll , Donald Tran Report

Final score:

301points

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Lauren Caswell 3 years ago

Oh hell, may those poor ppl rest in peace and their families find solace :(

283points

#13

So a few years back, I lived in Nice (South of France) for a while. As a musician, I would make a bit of extra cash busking, and one day, I figured I'd go and busk at the Promenade des Anglais by the sea. It's usually packed, but a generally pleasant place to be. I set up, played a couple of songs and was doing pretty well and making a decent amount of money. Then, suddenly, not one, but two of my guitar strings snapped (I even remember I was playing 'The Scientist' at the time).

I was massively gutted and decided to cut my losses early. I stormed off home (by the station) in a bit of a sulk at having to re-string my guitar and cutting short what was essentially one of my most productive days of busking since moving there. Literally one hour later, my phone starts to blow up with family and friends freaking out and asking if I was at the promenade.

It was Bastille Day, 2016. The truck drove into the same crowd I was playing to, killing 86 people, including my at-the-time gf's uncle. I had two other friends who were among the 458 injured. I moved home the next month because it was too much, and haven't been back since.

It's hard to explain, sometimes I think I was super lucky, sometimes I just kind of cry and wonder why I was lucky and others weren't. It's surreal, and despite what people think...it's a truly horrible feeling

haywhat Report

Final score:

294points

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Katie Lutesinger 3 years ago

Survivor's guilt. :(

333points

#14

had to call my heart surgeon to give him my new insurance number, which was delayed by a bit because I was waiting on the insurance lady to call, but she had the flu. When I finally called, the receptionist said, 'Oh hey, we just had a cancellation for this Friday! Do you want it?' Of course I wanted to get it over with and not wait another full month, so I decided to take the open heart surgery cancellation appointment. Well, my surgeon said thank goodness I did because — once he got a look inside — he realized I would not have survived to the original appointment date.

So, if the insurance lady didn't have the flu, I would have gotten those numbers sooner, called at a different time, and probably never have gotten the offer to have the surgery when I did.

Someone else's flu saved my life

myeggsarebig Report

Final score:

286points

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Caro Caro 3 years ago

Oh boy, that's good news.

170points

#15

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) I had been looking for direction, and went out for Chinese food one day. In my fortune cookie was a fortune that said, 'To teach is to learn twice.' I thought hard about it, and it led me to apply for a job at a local school as an ESL instructor. Well, two years later, there was an earthquake in Taiwan which caused many English teachers to leave. The school I was working for asked if anyone was interested in replacing those teachers at its sister school — I signed up, got a promotion there, then a wife, dog, son, and daughter. All because I like Chinese food

phatbatt , Meritt Thomas Report

Final score:

247points

POST

Monday 3 years ago

"Daddy, how did you and mommy meet?" "Well you see kiddo, daddy took some advice from a cookie".

327points

Generic-Online-User , Markus Spiske Report

#16

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) Four years ago a kid I barely knew from school invited me to a Six Flags. I was a bit of a loner at the time and I heard rumors about this kid being 'weird,' so I intended not to go but, on the day he wanted me to go, I was extra bored and decided on a whim, 'Why not?' So I met up with this kid and two of his friends.

It's been four years and that 'kid' is my best friend, and I have three other very close friends I met through him. Not only that, but I also met my first ever girlfriend because of the connections some of my new friends had. It transformed my high school years from being lonely to having an amazing group of friends I could do almost anything with.

I intend to ask him to be my best man one day, and I don’t intend on ever falling out of touch with any of them. I’m home from college now, and we are still having a lot of fun together. Going to Six Flags was still the best decision I ever made

Final score:

246points

POST

Devil's Advocate 3 years ago

He was probably labelled "weird" by the same people who labelled you "weird" and made you "a loner" so hopefully you also learnt an important life lesson about believing the prattling of fools

295points

#17

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) My grandfather, then a toddler, woke in a night during WWII, and moved to his parents bed.

His room was a short while later decimated by a German bomb.

cali_mari_ , Kelly Sikkema Report

Final score:

244points

POST

Stephanie IV 3 years ago

Oh God.

167points

#18

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) High school, I didnt get into the AP history class wanted. Changed up my schedule, including a different gym class, without everyone I knew. I was heartbroken. I really wanted to teach, and without an AP class senior year, I was screwed.

Made a new friend in gym class, who was wearing a volunteer firefighter shirt. He had just joined. Seemed interesting, and he invited me to check it out.

They paid for me to get my EMT. Fell in love with healthcare.

Fast forward quite a while, and I'm an ER Nurse and 'precept' students and new nurses, teaching them how to survive in the ER. I also do public outreach and injury prevention. And I love it. Glad I missed out on my class.

sh*tscrubber , MedicAlert UK Report

Final score:

240points

POST

Pernille Dyre 3 years ago (edited)

That i can relate to. My parents were teachers... I would never ever become a teacher, i swore. Long story short. I became a midwife and my strong side is/was teaching: students of all kind, pregnant women, sick pregnant women, fathers-to-be, women in labor ... And I didn't find out my self! The doctors told me.... do you know your patients release them self when you leave???? I became a teacher and I love it ❤❤❤

83points

busytoothbrush , The Creative Exchange Report

#19

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) My mother wore heels to work and slipped on the carpeted steps, resulting in a broken high heel and a broken leg. While she was home recovering, she somehow developed allergies that led to her needing an inhaler*.

The inhaler* interfered with her birth control and now I have a brother 13 years younger than me.

Final score:

218points

POST

Lauren Caswell 3 years ago

Why the asterisk on inhaler?

132points

Naganofagano , Glenn Carstens-Peters Report

#20

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) When my now-husband was 18, he found out that his mom's side of the family was Spanish, not Mexican. He found this interesting, so he changed his country to 'Spain' on MySpace, instead of the US, which is where he really was.

Meanwhile, in Australia, I was helping my friend find Spanish people to add as friends, since she was learning the language. I came across my now-husband's profile and decided to send him a friend request as well. We got along really well and met in person after three years. We have now been together 11 years, married for seven. If he didn’t change his country to Spain (which he only did for a day or so) we’d never have known each other existed.

Final score:

194points

POST

denzoren 3 years ago

Oh wow, this is pretty cool.

107points

#21

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) At the end of 6th grade, my class took a field trip on a whale watch. That night, I saw a commercial for a documentary TV series on whales. Ever since that day, I wanted to grow up and protect whales from being hunted. Today I work in the military specializing in Marine Preservation.

[deleted] , Todd Cravens Report

Final score:

188points

POST

Mary Rose Kent 3 years ago

I would like to suggest you go on YouTube and find a relatively short (15~ minutes) clip called Saving Valentina

65points

#22

My desire for pizza set off a chain reaction that destroyed my family:

One day, I got home from school and really wanted pizza. My family was poor, so spontaneous food trips weren't always in the cards. I really worked my pouty face on my mom, and begged to go to the local pizza place for dinner. She actually went with it, so we went. While chilling there, I saw my uncle walk by, and I said, 'Uncle [insert name], is that you?!' Now, you might be thinking, 'He just wanted pizza, what's the big deal?'

WELL, he lived several states away, so to arbitrarily be in town and not tell anyone was strange.

Turned out he was having an affair with his sister-in-law (my aunt on the other side of the family). One thing led to another and now everyone hates each other, and we haven't had contact in like 20 years.

I just wanted some pizza

demonardvark Report

Final score:

185points

POST

Cecilia Herrera 3 years ago

It's not the Pizza craving that is at fault. It was your sleazy uncle and aunt that were to blame.

323points

#23

A few years ago, I was on the phone with my boss as I was getting home. We were discussing what we needed to get done the next day when he asked, 'What the eff is that noise?!' I said it'd make more sense to just show him, so I took a video of me opening the door and feeding my (very loud) farm cats.

He wanted me to show the video to other people, but I realized I didn't like anyone crowding me awkwardly looking at my phone to show the video, so I uploaded it to YouTube. The next morning, I went to show someone on the computer, and noticed it was up to 11 views, which I found odd.

Then, it went viral.

Thousands of views per hour. I was getting constant calls and emails about buying the video rights and just asking for permission to use it. It took off again in the pandemic time and has been a nice little source of income when things have been rough.

All because I didn't like holding my phone to show people a 30 second video."

urhero1 Report

Final score:

180points

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Katie Lutesinger 3 years ago

I think this might be it! Boy, they really are noisy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EYZnSXEla0

247points

Dutch Swimmer Goes Viral For Super Revealing Trunks During 2024 Olympics: “Is This Legal?”

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Thrill-Seeking Diver Jumps Down Extreme Waterslide, Ignoring The Strict Ban For Women

#24

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) I procrastinated one day in high school by watching a foreign musical on youtube. I ended up trying to learn the lyrics and eventually the language. That led me to discovering the field of linguistics, which I'm now majoring in. I don't know what I'd be doing now had I actually started doing my homework that day instead.

ASzinhaz , CardMapr.nl Report

Final score:

174points

POST

Vicky Z 3 years ago

I'm a master of procrastination and nothing good has come out of it! What am i doing wrong?

187points

#25

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) Had a surprising and rough breakup and decided to treat myself to a vacation somewhere I'd always wanted to go. Well, I loved it there more than I expected, and six months later, I emigrated there.

YWGtrapped , Timo Stern Report

Final score:

173points

POST

Samantha Lomb 3 years ago

Yeah I was supposed to be here just a year in 2012 . . .

91points

#26

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) The wife and I were having dinner in Hawaii one night on vacation. As we were getting up to leave, I noticed she hadn’t finished her beer. I told her she should finish the beer since we paid some ridiculous price for it. Fast forward 30 seconds and we leave the restaurant and are walking the 3 blocks back to the hotel. About 50 feet in front of us as we’re walking (were walking down the sidewalk on the left side of the road), a car comes flying out of a side street from the right and crosses through the street, hops the sidewalk in front of us, and smashes into a wall. If she didn’t finish her beer, we would have been smoked by the car and most likely squished between the car and the wall. We always finish our beer now.

mikevankempen , kazuend Report

Final score:

163points

POST

Vicky Z 3 years ago

One more reason for me to finish my drinks

121points

Woman Put A Water Fountain With A Camera In Her Yard, Here Are 24 Photos Of Regular Visitors (New Pics)

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“Ma’am I Live Here”: Woman Refuses To Back Out Of Driveway, Learns A Lesson The Hard Way

#27

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) I was going to carpool with my aunt to go to a family gathering. At the last minute, I decided to go by myself instead so that I could leave early if I wanted.

On the way there, my aunt drove off the road into a ditch. She was okay, but the passenger side of her car — where I likely would've been sitting — was totally smashed in

discostud1515 , Michael Jin Report

Final score:

160points

POST

Skulduggery Pheasant 3 years ago

My Dad knew someone who never, ever missed school. One day, the boy was ill, and couldn’t come in. On that same day, the school bus hit something ( Idk what), and his seat’s window shattered, covering his seat with glass. If he had been there, he would’ve been cut pretty badly. No one else was hurt.

133points

architecturalneeds , Suhyeon Choi Report

#28

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) Back in the 80s, my mom studied abroad in England. A couple days before her flight back home to the US, she got too homesick to wait any longer and spontaneously bought a ticket home early. The flight she was originally supposed to take was Pan Am flight 103, where all 243 passengers and 16 crew died. If not for her homesickness, her and my dad would not have met and my brother and I would not have been in existence.

Final score:

158points

POST

Jo Johannsen 3 years ago

I worked with a sweet woman whose daughter was a flight attendant on that flight.

142points

#29

The other day, I was driving home from work. Traffic was light and I was behind a car with a license plate that started 'KFD.' It made me hungry, so I decided to duck through the KFC drive-thru for chippies with extra salt as a little treat to myself!

They took forever to bring them out and by the time they finally did (all told, about 10 minutes later), traffic had slowed to a complete halt.

I needed to get over a bridge that's normally six lanes, which had now been reduced to one. Turns out, it was due to a massive collision involving several cars. When I finally got to the point where I was driving past the accident, I noticed the license on one of the cars...it's the KFD plate.

If I hadn't stopped to get hot chips, I'm fairly sure I'd have been in a major collision. KFC chippies with extra salt saved my life.

kimar2 Report

Final score:

156points

POST

Cecilia Herrera 3 years ago

It's not every day that you hear about fast food saving someone's life.

155points

50 Of The Most Incredible Shots That Were Submitted To The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

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French Diver’s “Jewels” In Tight Swimming Trunks Become Talk Of The Town At Olympics

#30

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) I'm alive because my aunt was born.

My grandfather was conscripted into the Romanian army as a medic, and his unit was one of the many acting as a defensive barrier, covering the Nazi supply lines to Stalingrad. She was born, and he was called back to Bucharest from the front. While he was on leave, the Russians launched Operation Uranus, which decimated the axis forces. He recieved word that his unit had been completely destroyed. He was never reassigned, and in 1948, my mother was born.

I'm also alive because a bunch of Romanian cows got sick. My other grandfather was a pharmacist, back when that meant actually making medicines, he was also a Jew. The town he lived in was largely agrarian, and their cow herds came down with some illness that was killing them. He whipped something up that cured them. The townspeople were very grateful to him. So grateful that when the chief of police heard that the Nazis were coming to town to take inventory of who lived there, he came to my grandfather's house with some train tickets for him and his wife. They escaped the Nazis, and never got caught. My father was born at the end of 1945.

I guess this is the opposite of the butterfly effect, really. Rather than one small action blowing up into a much more important chain of events, two hugely improbable events are eventually lead to my birth(and obviously my extended family as well)... and now, I run ads on the internet.

JackRusselTerrorist , Museums Victoria Report

Final score:

148points

POST

Monday 3 years ago (edited)

"and now, I run ads on the internet"

160points

Woman Moves Out Of Parents' Home After They Asked Her To Give Her Space To Brother, They Freak Out

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Mom Leaves $250k Inheritance To Son, Throws A Fit When Daughter Stops Looking After Her

#31

My wife got an email from her old colleagues the day we returned home from our honeymoon, asking if she wanted to star in a short film they were doing for fun. She said 'sure,' and asked if I wanted to come along, as she knew I had an interest in movies.

At the time, I worked in life insurance and was miserable, and filmmaking was more than an interest — I had always wanted to make films, but never made the right connections with people and didn’t know where to start.

I made friends with the producer of that short film my wife was in and, 11 years later, filmmaking and video production is my career. I’ve shot feature films, short films, video for TV and web all over the world because of that one email to my wife. Changed our lives!

35mmPirate Report

Final score:

144points

POST

Eagle Girl 3 years ago

Am I the only one who kinda wants to know What Kind of films?

132points

#32

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) I chose to rearrange my sequence of classes slightly before starting my education. By doing this, I had to commute to a different branch of the school in a different town than the one I was originally signed up for.

On my first day there, I helped a girl who had, somehow, managed to break both of her arms in a drunken shopping cart accident. This girl, whom I would absolutely never have met had I not changed my classes around, is my wife of 14 years

Nematobrycon , Kelly Sikkema Report

Final score:

131points

POST

Mary Rose Kent 3 years ago

Breaking both arms is crazy bad—I worked with someone who broke both of hers because she was trying to improve her balance on a balance board and fell off.

74points

Woman Refuses To Chip In For Babysitting Because She Doesn’t Even Have Kids, Asks If She’s A Jerk

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“This Breaks My Heart”: People Stunned—And Angry—After Woman Buys Lost Luggage From Airport

#33

I was Very little and singing a song completely with made up words. My mom asked what it was, and I said Evelynese (my name is Evelyn). Then a year later I made up a fake country for that fake language (Evelyninis). Then I started making up some stories. Now it’s a little over a decade later, I’m in high school, and I have a whole fictional world with three political superpowers (that I won’t name for personal reasons, but just know Evelyninis has a better name now). This world has a very intricate map of ecosystems (and soon, political borders of various eras), five distinct cultural and ethnic groups so far, and some unique flora and fauna. Former Evelyninis specifically has twenty families of nobility, two hundred thirty seven common families, a religion, a specific type of domesticated big cat, the bones of a conlang, two epics in the works (the first being adapted from older stories I made up), and much more. I’m probably going to work on this until the day I die. All because toddler me wanted to throw some snark at my mom.

EggeLegge Report

Final score:

125points

POST

Wood Carver 3 years ago

Please publish it sounds fun

162points

"I Didn't Start The Dryer": Karen Gets Taught A Lesson After Throwing Out Neighbor's Wet Clothes

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Guy Divorced 3 Years Ago Drops Off 3 Y.O. With His Ex-Wife Completely Out Of The Blue

#34

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) Got arrested for growing weed, moved back home. Got first job I could at Ikea. After working there for over a year, randomly decided to check Craigslist for jobs and saw an opening at a cafe and they were hiring right then, so instinctively went for it.

The cafe was connected and owned by one of the most popular brewpubs/beer gardens in the area. They hired me to host there, quickly worked my way up the ranks to eventually bar manager. Met girl of my dreams, we are now married with 2 amazing kids. Opened two more restaurants with them and currently assistant director of operations, overseeing three restaurants @ 3, 5, and 8 million a year in sales!

Love my job, love my family, love my life. No idea what I'd be doing if I never got arrested, or never applied for the cafe job.

pakiranian , Angelo Pantazis Report

Final score:

118points

POST

Caro Caro 3 years ago

Told you weed was good stuff!

141points

#35

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) Someone I know once had a flight planned to Spain. He ended up missing it because he was like one minute late. The plane ended up crashing... one minute literally saved his life

elsi3000 , yousef alfuhigi Report

Final score:

117points

POST

~hUmMuS vIbEs~ 3 years ago

Here's a morbid thought: you never save a person's life, you only delay their death.

137points

“All Three Shot Out Pink”: Triplets' Baby Shower Turns Sour, Pregnant Wife Wants A Divorce

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College Student Does Exactly As Told After Roommates Demand They Keep Their Stuff In Their Room

#36

I sent a friend from secondary school (who I had a huge crush on) a message just saying, 'Happy Birthday!' a couple years after we all left school. I did the whole 'We'll have to catch up soon!' thing, not expecting much.

He replied, 'How about Monday?' So I saw him that Monday for a coffee.

Next month is our six year anniversary.

It's truly the best thing that ever happened to me, and my friends joke that I'm the queen of escaping the friendzone.

lulun97 Report

Final score:

114points

POST

Vanta Black 3 years ago

Dude probably had feelings himself, but needed some extra courage. Which hopefully wasn't Dutch.

56points

#37

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) Getting my ears pierced the day after I graduated high school got me where I am today.

I worked at McDonald’s at the time and was scheduled to work that night. Before my shift, my girlfriend at the time convinced me to get my ears pierced. Well, when I showed up to my shift with these clear ear studs in, my manager gave me an option. Either take them out, or go home. Being only 17 and not taking anything seriously, I went home.

On my way home, I called that girlfriend’s dad, and asked if I could work with him laying tile. He gave me a chance, and I quit McDonald’s that day. Worked with him for about a year until the 08’/09’ recession caused us to run out of work. I got laid off.

4 months later, I land a job in a new hospital doing admitting in the emergency room. Did that for 2 years before I got my phlebotomy certification. Been doing that for a few years and now I’m in my final semester of nursing school.

I attribute everything I’ve done to that day my ex girlfriend pressured me into getting my ears pierced. Who knows how long I would have stayed at McDonald’s.

Comatose22 , Kilian Seiler Report

Final score:

108points

POST

Mary Rose Kent 3 years ago

Good on you!

66points

#38

I decided to try weed in high school. I met a dude through my weed connections, and we became roommates. My roommate talked me into trying World of Warcraft. I met a girl through WoW. Years later, I dated her. A year after that, I moved states and married her. We have kids now.

So, basically, my children are a direct result of weed.

Megalon84 Report

Final score:

103points

POST

cybermerlin2000 3 years ago

Weed and Warcraft. Sounds like the name of a good romcom

138points

meme-com-poop , Erica Marsland Huynh Report

#39

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) If my former roommate wasn't an alcoholic going thru withdrawal and had to be hospitalized, we'd have had enough money for rent. Then, I wouldn't have moved home. If I hadn't decided, while looking for a new job in my hometown, that it would be nice to have insurance, I'd have got another restaurant job instead of a manufacturing job. If I hadn't started that manufacturing job, I'd have never met a co-worker who was quitting for a much better job. Then, I wouldn't have also applied for a job with that company that was still hiring. I still work here 8 years later and hope to retire from here. It has its sh*tty days (or weeks), but the benefits are amazing and I'm making more than most college graduates.

Final score:

78points

POST

LivingTheDream 3 years ago

uh.... this is not the butterfly effect. this is just how normal life works.

98points

#40

In grad school I said f it and submitted a conference proposal the night before the deadline. Long story short, I basically have my job, my city, and my wife as a direct result of that decision.

AStormofSwines Report

Final score:

56points

POST

humdrum 3 years ago

This wasn't the place for long story short.

153points

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#41

In high school I read House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski and, one day, was trying to explain the concept of the book to a friend. My drama teacher overheard and said it sounded a bit like Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov.

On his recommendation, I read that book, which sparked an interest in Russian literature. I branched out from there, always seeking out new reading opportunities. My quest to find more reading led me to major in English and my becoming a teacher myself. Being a teacher at a Title I school has had a huge impact on my political philosophy as well. So, basically, I am who I am today because my drama teacher suggested a book to me

abonagram Report

Final score:

27points

POST

Cecilia Herrera 3 years ago

I always enjoyed teacher recommended books.

9points

#42

People Are Sharing Cases Of The "Butterfly Effect" Happening In Real Life (40 Stories) Almost everything that has happened in my life for the past eight years is a direct result of me literally flipping a coin to decide between two colleges. I play the sport I do, have the friends I do, am dating the person I am, and very nearly every other aspect of my life, is because a nickel landed on heads.

Sethrial , Virgil Cayasa Report

Final score:

23points

POST

FloC 3 years ago

In an other parallel universe, this person is living the "tail" life.

29points

#43

My grandpa's first wife cheated on him with his best friend, so he was pissed and wanted to get away. His aunt had recently moved to Australia, so he figured he would start his new life there. But since he already had two kids with his ex-wife, she was worried he wouldn't pay child support if he left the country, and she got his passport taken away under the premise that he was trying to flee his responsibilities. The day after he was supposed to have left, he went to get drunk at an old colleague's housewarming party, and that's where he met my grandma, who was there on a date with another man. They took one look at each other, and never looked back!

simspom Report

Final score:

23points

POST

Claudia Coulson 2 years ago

Hey, second comment! Cool!

1point

#44

One day in junior high I tried out for a play, but I didn’t get a part. But I saw on the bottom of the cast list that they were looking for a student director to help out with it. I wasn't particularly interested, but another girl saw it at the exact same time and she wanted it. Well, my dad raised me to be highly competitive, so I just wanted to beat her. So we both applied, and I got it. I ended up being a theater director for 15 years, and now I direct films.

FreddieGregg Report

Final score:

11points

POST

Devil's Advocate 3 years ago

Wow, I wonder how the life of the girl you screwed over went... It's not "being competitive" to go after something you don't want just because someone else does want it...

35points

Liucija Adomaite is a creative mind with years of experience in copywriting. She has a dynamic set of experiences from advertising, academia, and journalism. This time, she has set out on a journey to investigate the ways in which we communicate ideas on a large scale. Her current mission is to find a magic formula for how to make ideas, news, and other such things spread like a virus.

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I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda since 2017. I've searched through a multitude of images to create over 2000 diverse posts on a wide range of topics. I love memes, funny, and cute stuff, but I'm also into social issues topics. Despite my background in communication, my heart belongs to visual media, especially photography. When I'm not at my desk, you're likely to find me in the streets with my camera, checking out cool exhibitions, watching a movie at the cinema or just chilling with a coffee in a cozy place

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What do you think ?

POST

tuzdayschild 3 years ago

When my friends daughters were very young (2 and 3 yo) they caught colds. They were in their room crying and whining because they didn't feel good and would not go to sleep. My friend put them both in her bed so they would sleep. A storm came in overnight and blew a massive tree down which came through the roof and smashed into the girl's bedroom absolutely destroying their beds. Any other night, they would have been in those beds.

50points

ric carter 3 years ago

We lived on a hillside of coastal redwood trees. A neighbor came home one night, too drunk to crawl into bed, so she flopped on her living-room couch. Strong winds that night blew a redwood down on her bedroom. If she'd been sober, she'd have died.

16points

Big Blue Cat 3 years ago

My grandfather was shot by Russian soldier during the war. He was wounded and things were grim, they were surrounded. No way they could have carried him to safety. Until one of the soldiers tripped to a wooden sledge , under the snow in the middle of a forest. They were able to sneak out of there, pulling gramps in the sledge. I wouldn’t have born, neither my brother or our dad and his siblings, if not that old sledge.

29points

Rench 3 years ago

That is serendipity!!!

11points

Devil's Advocate 3 years ago (edited)

These are mostly examples of serendipity, an under-used word as it is, without calling it "butterfly effect". Or maybe an ancestor watching over people in some stories

26points

Rench 3 years ago

Serendipity is actually making a fortunate discovery by accident. Like finding money on the sidewalk while in your way to work. I don't think these stories qualify.

21points

Devil's Advocate 3 years ago (edited)

It's not necessarily finding something, it's when something happens with a good result, for a whimsical sort of reason. Think of it like "fate", but without the mystical undertones. EDIT: "the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way."

5points

Skylar Jaxx 2 years ago

One of my favorite movies!

0points

Lee Kerr 2 years ago

Do you mean synchronicity? That’s more like the butterfly effect than serendipity which means happy accident. When I was a child there was a kids cartoon called Serendipity Dog, which was about a boxer dog, so I’ve always liked the word

0points

Buck Up 2 years ago

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ƒιѕн 3 years ago

Some times driving down the road I will make a random right or left turn and circle the block, then wonder what I just changed in life.

12points

Sky Render 3 years ago

Responding to a random e-mail from someone I didn't know because they wrote it in a very amusing tone led me down a path that resulted in the completion of a fan translation of a video game, my writing 3 novels, my fiance and I hooking up, and my recovering my true self from 30 years of repression. And yes, the author of that e-mail was in fact my fiance. She really has helped me make all of my dreams come true!

11points

Jace 3 years ago

I got through ¼ to ⅓ of this list and gave up because all it’s doing for me is making me think of how my own examples of butterfly effect only lead on a path from “life was pretty okay” to “my life is absolutely miserable”. I already do that on my own without people’s happy tales of chance leading to happy outcomes (and probably survivorship bias) being presented as entertainment for me to distract myself when I’m too depressed to do anything productive (because what’s the goddamned point). I’m glad for these people having happy stories and neat little “imagine if” hypotheticals, but I got to age 45 with nothing but repeat lessons that no matter what I tried to do to live well, THIS is where I ended up. Yeah I’m ranting. “Learned helplessness” sucks. It’s not bad character; it’s repeated bad outcomes. My intellectual self knows better, but today my emotional self is driving.

10points

Bernadette Circle 3 years ago

I feel that way these days too. I could count my blessings, but I just focus on the crap that sucks in my life (and there is so much!) Just remember these stories are all told to share happy outcomes. You are not gonna get the stories about ‘How my life turned into hell with just one decision’ on Bored Panda

7points

Paige Hyney 3 years ago

Between my junior & senior year of college I was offered a job in NYC for the summer. I had decided to take a trip into the city prior to my first day to get aquatinted with the subway system. I ended up getting lost in a very bad part of the city and called my mom crying. She told me to quit my new job & move up to Cape Cod for the summer with my best friend from high school. 2 days after being there with her we went out to a local bar and she introduced me to a guy she met at her new job. Two weeks after meeting him, I told my best friend that I was going to spend the rest of my life with him. Fast forward, 8 years later. I remind him every day that I'm always right. We got married a month ago, own our home here on the Cape, and have a house full of fur babies we love so very much. Never thought getting lost on a subway would land me in my very own fairytale.

9points

Seedy Vine 3 years ago (edited)

Because my boss stole money from my purse, I missed getting hit by a car that flew through a red light and crashed. Instead of walking across the street at that point, I was in a payphone talking to police about the theft.

9points

Leo Domitrix 3 years ago

Whatever you call it, just glad people didn't end up in worse places...

9points

cheers, cassidy 3 years ago

i had plans to go to france with my family one winter. we would go to london, and then take a train to france. unfortunately, two nights before we left, my sister got incredibly sick, so we missed the trip. we later found out that the train we were supposed to go on caught fire.

7points

Sean Harrison 3 years ago

I don't think any of these people know what the butterfly effect is. Same thing happens when people (incorrectly) try to use Occam's Razor.

7points

Vanta Black 3 years ago

None of these are Butterfly Effect events. Plenty of coincidences, some people making a choice they wouldn't normally make, and other events that came from seeing/hearing about something that inspired them (going whale watching, then seeing a commercial about whales while still a kid, and deciding to work in marine preservation as an aduly is not an example of the Butterfly Effect). There is no chaos in any of these stories.

4points

Samantha Becker 3 years ago

After high school, I was working in a grocery store, no way to pay for college, so I decided I'd check out the Air Force. I called the number in the phone book, but it was listed incorrectly and ended up being the Army recruiter, so I joined the Army (planning is not my strong suit). I chose my job because the school was in California and I'd always wanted to go. My roommate in school promised to take our new neighbor to the mall one day, but asked me to do it because she found something better to do. Five months later, I married the neighbor; we'll celebrate 25 years in January thanks to a wrong number.

6points

Ann Morrissey 3 years ago

My father was in the army in basic training. His unit was scheduled to do a 20 mile walk on a rainy day. My dad noticed a few of the guys were not going. He found out they were going to take a test to qualify for medical school. My dad sneaked in and took the test and got a top score. He went to med school. Most of the guys in his unit were killed in one of the early battles in world war II. My dad went on the become a gastroenterologist and one of the pioneers of endoscopy. He taught dozens of other doctors how to do endoscopy. I went to medical school and may have changed the course of a few people's lives when I found early cancers that were cured. Now my son is finishing his training to become a doctor.

5points

Pheolei 3 years ago

My cousin was dating this guy. She was over at his place and I had him on MSN messenger, I message him asking how my cousin was. To my surprise his friend answered we hit it off we were friends for over 9 years then he asked me to be his girlfriend and then sometime later his wife. Messaging on his friend account was super out of character for him but if he didn't we wouldn't be happily married with amazing dogs and a chonky cat.

5points

Paradise 3 years ago

So half are chain reactions/domino effect and half are not being in the same place and time as something bad happening.

5points

Carolyn Holt 3 years ago

Let me start by saying I was basically single for 20 yrs while I raised my children. When they became adults, I moved to a town I knew noone in and ended up working my way up to mgr at a fast food restaurant. Now I have had chronic kidney problems for as long as I can remember. Due to a flair up, I was off work and heavily medicated. I normally worked 60+ hrs a week so my free time was usually spent sleeping. So being off work and high as a kite, I decided to scroll Facebook and started talking to a ironworker from Alabama. After a few months of talking, he came to visit me for New Years Eve. 2 months later I moved to Alabama and 3 months later we are married. That was 5 yrs ago. I am now a housewife to a ret. ironworker and our days are spent fishing and doing projects around our home. He's my best friend and the kindest man I have ever met. None of this would have ever happened if I hadnt been high on pain meds and bored. My son and SIL got into the field right b4 I met my hubby.

4points

Hannah Walters 3 years ago

Interesting thank you for sharing . Very unique stories. If your reading this I hope you have a great day and know. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” ‭‭John‬ ‭3:16‬ ‭NIV

4points

Auntiecorn 3 years ago

Met a good friend literally on the street. She said "Hi" when I walked by and we talked a bit. I had no idea who she was but the week after, found out she worked with my sister. We soon became very close friends. When it was almost her husbands (now her ex though) birthday, I wanted to get him a gift. Didn't know what to get him though. And knew if I asked her or anyone in the family I would have gotten the answer: you don't need to buy a gift! I knew they both had the same male best friend, decided to look him up back then on Facebook. I had never seen him before, since he lived on the other side of the country. He gave a suggestion, we kept talking after that. And now we are married! Thanks to a random person talking to me on the street, and I myself messaging their best friend whom I only knew from pictures. Before I got to know him I wasn’t really interested. But he’s the best thing that ever happened to me!

4points

Rench 3 years ago

If my mom hadn't died when I was 15, I probably wouldn't have moved out when I was 17. If I hadn't moved, I probably would not have been at the house that I moved into on the night that I met my future wife. We've been together for 30+ years now.

4points

Steph Harrison 3 years ago

My partner and I met completely by chance. A few years ago the gaming club I was a member of did a collaboration with a local video game shop to host a mixed tabletop and video gaming evening. My partner's cousin was going and convinced him to go along because they were running a Tekken tournament and my partner had won a national Tekken championship at that point. In between rounds of the tournament, he would pop to a nearby table to do his turn in a tabletop game, which I was also playing. We noticed each other but didn't really talk until a year later when we both went on a group camping trip. We instantly became best friends at a point when we were both in really bad places, and have on multiple occasions acknowledged that if it hadn't been for that gaming event, we wouldn't have met and would be in much worse situations today if we were still here at all. We're getting married next year.

4points

Julie 3 years ago (edited)

This is an amazing series of events. It happened to my good girlfriend's husband before they were married. I will call her Jane and her husband Joe. Joe's family was having a family party when his brother playfully sprayed the sink water hose at one of his nieces, who jumped back in surprise and slipped on the water and fell...which scared the cat who jumped up at the exact same time Joe was entering the kitchen, which made him fall too. While laying on the floor he saw underneath the refrigerator and saw a long lost family heirloom, a gold ring that had been lost for 3 years!!!! He then decided it was fate, and he proposed to Jane that very day, with that very ring. The fallen niece was the flower girl and the cat was the ring bearer. LOL

3points

Annie Anderson 3 years ago

About a year ago, I was severely depressed and anxious. I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to go back to college, but my parents made me get a job before I tried to go back. I had to apply for three a day. I applied for a lot of random restaurant jobs on indeed, as well as other random things. Anything that I could show my parents. (Didn’t want to work.) Found a job working with children, it was one of the only ones I was qualified for. I HATED kids. They were the only 2 people that called me into an interview. After my first choice cancelled the interview, I got the job working with kids. Best therapy I’ve ever had. I loved the kids, loved the job, and decided to go into school to be an occupational therapist for children. Today, my depression is in remission and I am three months clean and sober. I would’ve hated painting cabinets.

3points

Vicky Z 3 years ago (edited)

Few years ago i was suffering from depression and had also a broken heart... i had to do a small routine surgery that kept me in bed for a few days and needed something to occupy myself.... i downloaded an app and started talking with someone... I never liked those apps and did it only cause i was bored and also deleted it a month later! However i kept contact with the person I was talking and ended up in a 7 year relationship....

3points

Kyli Gayle 2 years ago

I have a few, but I think the craziest one would be when I was about 8 years old. I always bugged my mom to let me sit in the passenger seat (cause big kids sit up there). She always told me no and explained why. Well one day on our way back from her job she told me I could sit in front just this once til I got a bit older. I sat in the front all excited, but before we took off, I told her I wanted to get into the back. Idk why but something felt wrong, so I played my game boy in the back seat. 15 minutes later there's a buck thru the windshield who's antlers penetrated the passenger seat. It would've killed me for sure. I always listen to my gut ever since that day.

2points

Jazmin Shepherd 3 years ago

About three years ago I had to move from Shelby Ohio and move to Indiana due to my dad getting a job.Because we move I had to move schools. A couple weeks after I moved I met a guy in band class, apparently we rode the same bus. When I got on the bus that day he said hi to me and introduced me to his friend (I'll just call him k) anyway. Turns out k was also in band and realized I was pretty quiet and thought I was deaf. Which lead to the most embarrassing conversation in my life : "hi" k:"oh I thought you were deaf" "well I just don't like talking to people" "I'm people. You're talking to me" "I don't like talking to normal people" "Wooow thannnnks". I had only released it could be taken offensive afterwords and felt bad. Anyway after that we didn't talk at all. A couple weeks into the next school year he said my name on the bus and asked if I wanted a box of candy that he didn't want I said sure then we started talking. three years later we've been dating for a year

2points

P.A.B. 3 years ago

I was in junior college, getting my art career started, when a lady came into my painting class to announce that there was a job opening for an art instructor at her daughter’s day care facility. It went in one ear and out the other; I wanted to do art, not teach art. After class, my instructor told to me apply for the job and I said ok, never intending to make the call. She knew me well, tho, knew I’d procrastinate, so she insisted I make the call immediately from her office. I went for an interview and got the position. I worked my way up from part-time art teacher to program director and was at that job for 20 years. I’ve been in child care for 35 years now.

2points

Megan Tees 3 years ago

When I was 13, my parents bought a farm, leaving the house I grew up in. I had to attend a new high school that I wouldn’t have gone to if we hadn’t moved. At the high school, I met a guy that I started dating about three years later. We moved in together eventually to place we found because he helped us do inventory at the store I worked at. He met my boss’s boyfriend (also helping out) and that guy knew a guy with a place to rent. We moved in but things went sideways and he moved out a few months later. The guy living downstairs from me had a sister who introduced me to her friend who needed a place to live. I needed a roommate. He moved in. My roommate had a crush on a straight guy and when the straight guy kept being straight, my roommate endeavoured to set us up. Somebody had to be with this beautiful man! Eventually we got married and had two kids. All because my parents bought a farm.

2points

Liza Doxtater 2 years ago

So, you had a normal everyday occurrence life?

0points

the annoying theatre kid 3 years ago

me and my friend friend in kindergarten had a play date once. basically she had an au pair and i had a nanny. my mom had gotten sick on the day before so she had to catch up on her work then. basically my nanny had to drop me off then and she mets my friends au pir. eventually they started liking each other and nine years later they're married in sweden with a two year old. my friend and i like to joke thag our friendship created life!!

2points

Jarrod Nichols 3 years ago

When the internet first started up, the wife of one of my friends told me to search for a Filipina (she was a filipina), as she said it would fit my personality better and I had had an extraordinarily hard run up till then. I met the most beautiful women I'd ever seen online. We chatted for years, but she wasn't interested in a relationship. I made the joke that when she turned 40 in 13 years, if she wasn't married, I would marry her. We laughed and thought it was funny. We drifted apart, as things happened, and one day, years after I last chatted with her, I happened to check an old email account and she DM me. She told me it was her birthday and she was 40. She joked and asked if I was still going to marry her. To make a long story short. We've been married 6 years now. Just because of a series of unlikely events.

2points

Susan Bosse 3 years ago

I had throat cancer when I was 19. We probably wouldn't have known until it was too late if it weren't for two church ladies who lived in two different states and knew two different people in my life. Coworker told me about a lady he went to Christ with who talked like me (raspy) and had nodules. Told my mom and we thought nothing more about it. Three months later, my aunt tells me the same exact story...lady at church, etc. She lives in another state, three hours away. So I went to the dr. He said I had a polyp, nothing to worry about. On the way to the hospital at 5:30 a.m. for surgery, I told my mom that I'd dreamt I had cancer. Mom said "omg. You don't have cancer," and I said "I know. It was a dream." I now know all of that was God getting me to the doctor and preparing me for having cancer. 33 years remission this past June. Had it not been for those two ladies, I might have a voice box mechanism or I might be dead.

2points

Happy Daihatsu 3 years ago (edited)

These stories reminded me that I only exist because of bacon.

2points

Kym Boyle 3 years ago

One day at Six Flags, my family had just finished lunch. At first, we were planning on riding a roller coaster, but my mom said we should ride something tamer on our full stomachs. Flash forward to after we returned home. We turned on the news, and there was a story of someone falling out of the very roller coaster we decided not to ride.

2points

Stephen Watkins 2 years ago

The best can come from the worst.. Back in 2014 my marriage collapsed along with my world. Fast forward almost a year and I'm doing freelance work for an online media company. A young lady and I get to talking and think maybe there could be something there, problem is we live in two different provinces (I'm in Johannesburg, she's in Cape Town) and I have already accepted a Job running a restaurant in Marseilles and am just about ready to fly out because that is the path my life is going. Anyways I am on the Air France website getting ready to book my flight and I see a random banner ad at the bottom of the screen (the kind you see a thousand times a day and ignore) I glance at it and it says "Everything You Need Is In Cape Town" I look at it, cancel my flight, leave behind everything I've ever known and April 21st was our 7 year Anniversary.

1point

Dick Fletes 2 years ago

I'm pretty sure Butterfly Effect came from Ray Bradbury's 1952 "A sound of thunder" where the guy steps on a butterfly in the past and makes subtle but significant changes to the future.

1point

Jackie Lulu 2 years ago

My friend "E" had a roommate "S" in Naval Nuke school in Idaho. After school, they lost touch. A few years later, E was driving somewhere on the east coast and saw S driving the other way. They stopped, talked, and E invited S to his Halloween party. I was also at the party. 1.5 years later, S and I were married. So, Pandas, is this serendipity, or butterflies? I don't understand the difference.

1point

Adam L 2 years ago

I was shy and never did anything besides work and binge TV shows. My cousin convinced me to join her for karaoke nights at a local bar. I started coming out of my shell because I was meeting new people and having fun. Eventually I received a message from a friend of my older brother, she was on a dart team that needed one more player and my brother suggested me. I joined the team and made friends with them. Eventually the dart captain decided he needed a break for awhile, so I joined a team with that one of the other members started along with a couple others and a few new people. After awhile I had needed a dart night off because I was Co-Den leader with my older brother and his son was receiving a cub scout award. My new dart captain was practically begging me to show up late for darts anyway, so I said fine. I made it to the bar and ended being introduced to a girl that was the best friend of the daughter of 2 of my teammates, and now I'm happily married with a son.

1point

Monica Isnota Robot 2 years ago

When I was 11, I got sick with what my doctor thought was mono. In 3 weeks, I'd lost the ability to eat, drink, use the bathroom myself and couldn't walk. I got my first period ever and everyone thought maybe I was being overly dramatic about my pain. My dad took me to the family Dr a second time without an appointment and the only one there was his med student, locking up to close the office. She took one look at me and said "it's not period cramps! It's her appendix! Go to the ER NOW!" sure enough, my appendix had ruptured and I was septic. I spent a month in the hospital and missed 3 months of school. All because a female med student stayed late at the office. I wouldn't have survived another night.

1point

Victoria Pitt 2 years ago

You can literally backtrack any current situation in your life back to some random thing that if you had done otherwise would have changed the course of your life. Just saying.

1point

Vincent Van Bro 2 years ago

My great-grandfather kept a swiss army knife in his chest pocket, and he was shot in the chest, but that little knife saved him. I’m always in awe whenever my dad tells me about him, he was super cool!

1point

TmKhr 3 years ago

Mine isn't nearly as impressive as most of these here, but: back in September, after being unemployed for about a month, I checked online from a specific website if there was any one-time security guard jobs nearby. There was a hockey game and I applied there for the job (I have the necessary licenses etc.) and got accepted. There I met a fellow security guard who's been in the company for two years now, and after telling her I'd be interested in a job in the same company, she gave me the boss' number, and a couple of days later I called, got into the interview and got the job after the company paid for the proper training, and now I have a full-time job. Would be a different story if I hadn't check that one website back in September :D

1point

leigh arbuckle 3 years ago

when I was 10 we moved from Ontario to Saskatchewan. it was 3 long days. While traveling through northern Ontario, we were behind a tractor trailer who was driving pretty fast for an empty trailer. The roads were winding and his trailer kept crossing the line. My dad decided that we needed to stop for a snack/bathroom break. We pulled into this little cafe and were there probably about 1/2 hour. when we started back our journey, we saw the driver of the transport truck had crossed the line and hit a vehicle killing both the driver and the child in the backseat. My father figured if we hadn't stopped, we would have been in the middle of it

1point

Brandy Grote 3 years ago (edited)

I had minor surgery in early June. Complications led to one ER visit, and med side effects led to ANOTHER ER visit by the end of June. 2nd week of July, I saw my ortho surgeon, and agreed to get the spine fusion I needed because I couldn't get pt and pain shots during Covid, and was bed bound from pain. He said late July. Before I got back to my car, the ofc mgr called saying we could get it done the NEXT WEEK- but I needed tests and xrays! Which had been done in the ER! The tests were normal, and within time limits. I just needed Covid and MRSA tests at the hospital! Got my surgery, already 95% less pain!! Glad I went to the ER, and had the tests, there would gave been no way I could have gotten them in time otherwise!

1point

Lucas Jackson-Ayre 2 years ago

The butterfly effect is a theory to do with time travel....?

0points

Kasandra Porter 2 years ago

My son 17 at the time and a bunch of his friends and their friends 28 total, all had tickets to go see The Dark Knight on opening night. That night all but 2 of them had things happen so that they couldn't go, haf to work am extra shift, got grounded, food poisoning etc... The 2 that went were in the second theater that bullets came through the wall and in a row that was just above where a man got hit. It was an unbelievable morning after, trying to contact all those kids and parents to see if they were ok. --- Ialso had a real close friend who lived in NY who had decided to take a personal day and called out of work for the first time in 20+ years. An hour later she watched as the first plane hit the world trade center - where her office was! She had never called out before for no reason and still to this day doesn't know what made her do it THAT day.

0points

Cathy Hurd 2 years ago

The Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane is alive today because of a hangover. He was supposed to have been on one of the 9/11 planes.

0points

that rando_;) 2 years ago

My mother had this friend who was scheduled to be on one of the 9/11 flights. However, his alarm clock didn't go off that morning and he missed the flight.

0points

Patti Vance 2 years ago

my ex was military in the 80s and the housing we were in were like duplexes with tiny little fence "yards" big enough for a clothesline. i had a washer but no dryer so this was fine. one afternoon i was hanging clothes and he started calling me in to see something on tv. i kept telling him to wait but he insisted. i had barely stepped into the house when a car came crashing through the fence. had i kept hanging clothes i would have been history.

0points

Sara 2 years ago (edited)

In elementary school I had a crush on a boy. One time I wrote him a love song.He threw it at me and said he didnt like me. My soul was crushed and I left hin alone. Fast forward to highschool. Everytime I saw him I would avoid him because of shame and rejection.He saw me walking in the opposite direction so he ran towards me and said "hey you wrote me a song in elementary school, I still have it" and he proceeds to show me the letter. He kept it! Anyway we dated for 9 months and we broke up bc my mom was controlling. His next girlfriend "A" lived in a town 30 mins from us. When he broke up with A he moved on to the next. A and I ended up becoming good friends as a result of dating the guy.Fast forward to my 20s. Instagram was super big and I posted A as my woman crush wednesday. She returned the gesture 3 weeks later. That same day a guy was in my DM's spitting some game. A said she dated K in middle school and vouched he was a solid guy. Weve together 8 yrs married 5 with a kid

0points

Bernát Bonda 2 years ago

When I was young(er), I found a very nice Computer game, but my parents limited my online time. So I copied the game, and migrated it To paper base, so I could play it offline. Years later, when I got bored throwing about 30 dices, I decided to create a computer program of my own. And oh now I am a senior Software engineer, just because my parents wanted To protect my eyes.

0points

Patricia 2 years ago

The building on the corner of a crossroads "village" burned down and some boys from a farm up the road came down to sift the ashes for nails. Dad was one of those. Some people wanted to adopt a girl, but her brother wouldn't hear of it and practically kidnapped her and got her a job at a farm the other direction from the corner. She went down to look at the smouldering remains of the building. That was Mother. So, if that building hadn't burned, Mother wouldn't have met Dad, and all of us wouldn't be.

0points

RedFox 3 years ago

I don’t remember how the story goes exactly, so don’t hate on me if it sounds odd.. Right around the 2000’s, my dads best friend invited him to a movie with this girl that he had met (happened to be my moms best friend or something like that) and they wanted to go on a double blind date, in right around two years, my parents met, dated, married, and had my older sister. Four years later, they had me. The only side affect to this is that me and my sister assume that anyone that we even sort of like might be our future husband/wife/married significant other.

0points

Nubmaeme 3 years ago

I was going home from work one day and was about to get on the interstate when I had this overwhelming desire for a soda. I'm not normally a big soda drinker but I had to have one so I pulled into a little convenience store near the on ramp. The car behind me pulled up into my place in line for the ramp. When I came out of the store, there were flashing lights and sirens just up on the interstate. When I finally got up the ramp, I could see what had happened. The car that had taken my place in line was now smashed against a bridge railing by a semi. The people in the car didn't make it.

0points

Ryan O'Carroll 3 years ago

A friend of mine pressured me into coming to a role play club meeting one night. I hadn't been for weeks because I was lazy and not in the mood but he convinced me to turn up and say hi if nothing else. So I turn up and a guy i've never met comes bounding over, jumping up and down like a toddler begging me to play in his game. I thought his behaviour was endearing so agreed. Anyway, we got chatting online figuring out character stuff and got close. I was in a crumbling relationship at the time though, but then that guy kinda imploded our relationship. First, he worked halloween after arranging to spend the night with me. Then he ditched me at a party so I had to walk home alone. I was upset about both these things and turned to my new friend. I bullied him into taking me out for drinks, one thing led to another. We've been married like 12 years now. Amusingly, the ex ended up marrying an aquaintance of my husband and I. No idea how they met. Small world.

0points

A 3 years ago

One day, my mother, brother and myself were planning to go to the beach. However, my brother and I were stalling for time because we wanted to finish some comics we were drawing. When we finally left our house, our close family friend who lived in a different country was deciding to visit us while she was in our country to visit her sister. If my brother and I weren't persisting on finishing our comic drawings, we would have never seen her after around 2 years of no contact (It was 2014 at the time and that was the last time we've seen her in person).

0points

Apollo Starbuck 2 years ago

Most of these stories weren't "butterfly effects". They're a series of coincidences

-1point

Kieran N 2 years ago

I decided to apply to a college on a whim at 7 pm the day the apps were due even though I had just spent days working on apps for other schools. Mostly I didn't want to be forced into family time after having spent all of Christmas break working on apps with my mother. Surprise, it was the only one I got fully into for the fall semester without having come off the waitlist to get there. I have all of my friends, a job I'm valued in, and my two cats because of a whim that I went with to avoid family time

-1point

Buck Up 2 years ago (edited)

Most blessings come on the heels of a let-down. Usually, some sort of sacrifice is the setup ...a testing period, to see if you'll hang in there and be patient for the eventual reversal of fortune. It Involves a form of faith.

-1point

Britt 3 years ago

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POST

tuzdayschild 3 years ago

50points

ric carter 3 years ago

16points

Big Blue Cat 3 years ago

29points

Rench 3 years ago

That is serendipity!!!

11points

Devil's Advocate 3 years ago (edited)

These are mostly examples of serendipity, an under-used word as it is, without calling it "butterfly effect". Or maybe an ancestor watching over people in some stories

26points

Rench 3 years ago

Serendipity is actually making a fortunate discovery by accident. Like finding money on the sidewalk while in your way to work. I don't think these stories qualify.

21points

Devil's Advocate 3 years ago (edited)

5points

Skylar Jaxx 2 years ago

One of my favorite movies!

0points

Lee Kerr 2 years ago

0points

Buck Up 2 years ago

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ƒιѕн 3 years ago

Some times driving down the road I will make a random right or left turn and circle the block, then wonder what I just changed in life.

12points

Sky Render 3 years ago

11points

Jace 3 years ago

10points

Bernadette Circle 3 years ago

7points

Paige Hyney 3 years ago

9points

Seedy Vine 3 years ago (edited)

9points

Leo Domitrix 3 years ago

Whatever you call it, just glad people didn't end up in worse places...

9points

cheers, cassidy 3 years ago

7points

Sean Harrison 3 years ago

I don't think any of these people know what the butterfly effect is. Same thing happens when people (incorrectly) try to use Occam's Razor.

7points

Vanta Black 3 years ago

4points

Samantha Becker 3 years ago

6points

Ann Morrissey 3 years ago

5points

Pheolei 3 years ago

5points

Paradise 3 years ago

So half are chain reactions/domino effect and half are not being in the same place and time as something bad happening.

5points

Carolyn Holt 3 years ago

4points

Hannah Walters 3 years ago

4points

Auntiecorn 3 years ago

4points

Rench 3 years ago

4points

Steph Harrison 3 years ago

4points

Julie 3 years ago (edited)

3points

Annie Anderson 3 years ago

3points

Vicky Z 3 years ago (edited)

3points

Kyli Gayle 2 years ago

2points

Jazmin Shepherd 3 years ago

2points

P.A.B. 3 years ago

2points

Megan Tees 3 years ago

2points

Liza Doxtater 2 years ago

So, you had a normal everyday occurrence life?

0points