Join the Fun!

dandroid_design , Royal Broi / flickr Report

The easiest definition of a low-probability event would be an experience that is not likely to happen. Getting hit by lightning or winning the lottery are unlikely to happen, so the majority of reasonable people would agree that it's highly improbable.

But how do we know which things are probable and which are not? "As humans, it is often extremely difficult for us to know how probable events are," Associate Professor of Statistics Chris Franck says.

"How likely is it that my favorite sports team will win the championship next season? What is the chance that someone I care about will recover from a serious disease? Do I have a large enough investment portfolio to comfortably retire in the next five years? Is it going to rain this weekend? We yearn to know how probable these events are."

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People At 13 years of age, my father and I used to go to dirt track races at the Dixie Speedway in Georgia. We always cheered for car 28. At 21 years of age, I start dating this girl in North Carolina, somehow get on that subject, as she was from GA. "My father used to race there... number 28."

Final score:

179points

POST

LooseSeal's $10 Banana 8 months ago

Davey Allison fans, I reckon.

28points

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People Saw a lady walk by one of those banks of slot machines where you can win a car--the kind where the car is actually on the casino floor. She stopped, considered for a moment, then turned around and put a buck in. Spins. Jackpot. Alarms go off. Won the car.

She freaks out. Like, freaks the f**k out. Screaming, crying, yelling, barking, you name it. Almost faints a time or two. Her girlfriends finally get her calmed down, and they're waiting for casino staff to come over and do their thing.

But this lady, she just won a car. So she's restless. And to give herself something to do, she walks over to another bank of slot machines. A bank of slot machines where you can win an entirely different car. So she puts a buck in. Spins. Jackpot. Alarms go off. Won another car.

mourninglark , Watts / flickr Report

Final score:

178points

POST

Paula G 8 months ago

Her name wasn’t Mrs Papageorgio was it? 😏

11points

Remiangel1989 , gentlebird / flickr Report

Franck says that statisticians define the probability of events based on the existing data for similar events. "When your doctor tells you there is a 90% chance that your tumor is benign, this has been established in the medical literature because doctors and biostatisticians have studied many cases that are similar to yours, and in those cases, 90% of the tumors were benign. There is quite a bit more subtlety that goes into it, but that is the basic idea."

So, for us to determine whether a thing has low probability or high probability, there have to be two conditions, Franck says. The first is a carefully analyzed set of data about similar events. The second is that the event has to be uncommon or nonexistent in the collected data.

"Executing a large-scale data analysis is not quite as simple as I make it sound in the above explanation," Franck adds. "We typically require a team of statistical data analysts and also relevant domain experts, such as medical doctors, meteorologists, etc. Conducting research is expensive, and it frequently takes years to finish projects."

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People I was stumbling around the tent area of a festival in Portugal late at night and drunk and entered a tent I thought was mine. It was not. But it did belong to a guy I had dated in high school in Australia about 10 years earlier.

Final score:

163points

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ShyWahine 8 months ago

Dang, what are the odds…

38points

MR 8 months ago

Pretty high if you marry them and they're on the trip with you.

14points

Peter Parker 8 months ago

That depends on how many guys she had dated...

2points

Silly-Rabbit 8 months ago

Low probability odds

2points

Jason Boyd 8 months ago

Pretty good at a music festival in Europe!

2points

Ozymandias73 8 months ago

3,270 to 1! But never tell me the odds!

1point

David Paterson 8 months ago

For Australians, that's extremely common. It happened to both me and my first wife. Me in South Korea, her in Norway.

10points

Dianellian 8 months ago

So true! Even with our dog we bought in Melbourne and flew to Perth, Gigi. At Stanley in Hong Kong we saw a dog that looked just like her. It was her sister!

1point

UncleJohn3000 8 months ago

Imagine this from the guy's perspective.

5points

Danielle 8 months ago

Particularly if his poor behaviour had ended the relationship, he must have been horrified!

1point

Jerry Bee 8 months ago

I just want to thank the OP of this list for using the phrase "low probability" instead of one of the many ethereal, religious, magical etc terms that are laced through our sensibilities.

5points

CatWoman1014 8 months ago

Is that how the story ends or was there more?

3points

Luis Hernandez Dauajare 8 months ago

I had a similar experience while working in London as a temp in the Mexican Embassy. There was another temp: a girl that was not only from my same state, but turned out we both went to the same school -different grades- and was my neighbor from across the street. We had never meet until then.

1point

KillerKiwi 8 months ago

Thats… actually pretty dangerous to go stumbling around into strangers tents

1point

Jayeff Vee 8 months ago

Did you stay there?

0points

Dave Hinckley 8 months ago

I'd say the odds were 100%

0points

Hey! 8 months ago

So... did you go back to your own tent that night?

0points

Palo Sulek 8 months ago

Derivating from the article headline, there was a billion tents at the festival

0points

Rigor Moreno 8 months ago

And then? :D

0points

The Original Bruno 8 months ago

"I KNEW someday you'd come back!"

0points

Jaya 8 months ago

"I'm not stalking you, I swear! It really is a coincidence that I just happened to step into your tent! Hey, why are you calling the police..."

0points

Sawdust 8 months ago

And then what happened?!

-1point

Elchinero 8 months ago

-1point

Wu-Kang , Kampus Production / pexels Report

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People Driving across state in an old Oldsmobile and it breaks down. Water pipe burst in the middle of nowhere. Guy in a RV rolls up looks at the car. Goes back to the RV and comes back with the exact pipe we need. It even says Oldsmobile on the pipe. He installed it and wouldn’t accept any payment. He just asked us to help someone if we saw someone in need.

Final score:

153points

POST

JB 8 months ago

some heroes don't wear capes, they apparently drive RVs full of random spare parts

125points

sheepheadslayer , Gaspar Zaldo / pexels Report

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People My great grandpa was in WW1. He got stuck in no man's land for a few days wounded, and eventually got to a hospital, and spent 6 months there. Got to be good buddies with the guy in the bed next to him, but eventually both left.

Decades later, he's at a party, gets to talking to another guy his age about the war. Turns out to be the same guy he was next to in the hospital.

Final score:

151points

POST

ShyWahine 8 months ago

Wow, glad they got to reconnect after all those years…

50points

hameater , Tima Miroshnichenko / pexels Report

There is also the element of our reactions to such events. Why do we get so surprised, shocked even, when we see a lady in a casino win two cars in a row? Franck thinks two elements make us so surprised.

One of them is purely the fact that something rare just happened, something we 'didn't think should happen.' "But rarity alone doesn't really capture the imagination," Franck observes. I do not think it would make headlines if I played a one-in-a-billion game of solitaire."

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People Lost a ring shovelling snow one winter when I took my gloves off.

That autumn, raking leaves while chatting to a friend I said ‘wouldn’t it be neat if I found my ring?’ That exact moment I looked down and found my ring.

Final score:

133points

POST

Kristiina 8 months ago

Maybe he already had subconsciously seen it on the ground and that made him say it before his mind caught up.

4points

whistlerite , Omar Ramadan / pexels Report

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People Was walking with a girl and don’t remember the exact context but said something like “the craziest thing would be if that street light went out right now” and pointed at a light and then it did actually go out for some reason. She literally screamed and ran away, it was bizarre, weirdest coincidence I’ve ever seen.

Final score:

110points

POST

Multa Nocte 8 months ago

That was Dumbledore having a laugh.

76points

ImNotA_IThink , Karolina Grabowska / pexels Report

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People I got a brain injury in an accident and the doctor told me after doing all the scans and stuff that he’d never seen an injury so bad that didn’t end in paralyzation or death. The fact I walked out of the hospital a week later was a medical miracle apparently. So got that going for me.

Final score:

109points

POST

Star Warrior 8 months ago

I had this happen…. Twice. Second one happened on the anniversary of the day I walked out of the hospital from the first.

53points

StarChaser_Tyger , Dilan Kusanç / pexels Report

It's also the gravity of the event itself. "Actually getting struck by lightning is impossible to comprehend for most of us. We imagine that winning the lottery would permanently and positively change our [lives]. The idea of a chance encounter with an old friend abroad might invoke daydreams about missed opportunities or hint at a desire to correct old regrets."

"So what we are really reacting to is the combined effects of a rare event that is also incredible. We simply ignore extremely rare events that are uninteresting, such as my game of solitaire," Franck explains.

#10

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People I was in the back of the house, and looked out the back window, saw it was raining and yelled to my brother he should bring his laundry in.

He was in the living room at the front of the house, looked out the window, blue sky and sun, no rain. He said I was crazy, I told him to come look.

We went out the front door, and it was raining in the back yard. A line that stopped right at the peak of the roof as far left and right as you could see.

Final score:

108points

POST

Funhog 8 months ago

So, was the laundry hanging in the front yard or the backyard?

9points

CatboyInAMaidOutfit , cottonbro studio / pexels Report

#11

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People I was in a restaurant in Spain the night they were holding the nation's largest lottery. The staff won the lottery that night. I spent the night in a restaurant of celebration and champagne.

Final score:

100points

POST

Pittsburgh rare 8 months ago

The largest lottery is played on 22nd December in the morning. Big enough that all mayor TV stations broadcast it live for four or five hours straight. OP was probably on a Thursday or Friday night when they play a different lottery called Primitiva or Euro millions, that can actually give bigger prizes. The joy is contagious even if you don't get anything.

23points

matcliff , Jeremy Thompson / flickr Report

#12

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People At Disneyland in front of the Castle my wife and I asked a person to take our photo. At the same time another couple 2-3 feet to our side asked another person to take their photo as well. We looked over at each other and it was our next door neighbors from home 5 states away. Neither of us knew either of us were going on vacation at the same time to the same location at the same time.

Final score:

93points

POST

ShyWahine 8 months ago

That’s hilarious!!! Hope there’s a group picture of all of you in front of the castle to commemorate that what-are-the-odds moment.

30points

Ocelot2727 , Pavel Danilyuk / pexels Report

"We should remember that many things happen every day," the Associate Professor of Statistics tells Bored Panda. "Tons of people are admitted to hospitals under dire circumstances. A rare weather event could conceptually occur somewhere at any time."

"If you think of a rare event as a coin flip with an incredibly small chance of flipping heads, then remember that millions or billions of these coins are being flipped in any given domain every day. A certain number of rare events should happen by chance alone."

#13

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People Back to back to back winning 13s on roulette. Doubled up after the first one because some randomer told me to take my winning chip off the number, it's not coming up again. Came up, left the doubled up chips on again, another win.

After the third time they said 'Wow, are you leaving it on again??'

I said 'No, I'm not stupid' and left with all my winnings

Final score:

92points

POST

Bugoy-420 8 months ago

Great feeling - walked up to the table and put everything on green 0 - Hit & walked away loaded...

28points

#14

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People On a trip to New Zealand with my parents in 1988 (we lived in Florida). I don't remember what town we were in, but we checked out of our hotel and got in the rental car. Suddenly my dad realizes that he forgot his credit card at the front desk, so he goes back in.

As he's waiting for the desk clerk to go retrieve his card, he realizes that the elderly man next to him is also American, so they start talking. Long story short, turns out the other guy had been my dad's little league coach in Chicago in the 1950s.

Plug_5 , Rob Bixby / flickr Report

Final score:

89points

POST

Weirdo with Internet 8 months ago

Small world, huh?

20points

weagle01 , Corey Balazowich / flickr Report

#15

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People Went on a cruise with my wife when we were young. We were sat with another couple at dinner who we really clicked with. We said we would keep in touch but never did. Almost a decade later we went on another cruise. Who did we end up next to at dinner? That same couple. It was insane. We had a great time and still don’t keep in touch.

Final score:

88points

POST

ShyWahine 8 months ago

Maybe 10 years from now…

42points

Blackfell0518 , RDNE Stock project / pexels Report

We also tend to explain low-probability events as something mystical. We say that it was "fate" that brought us together again with an old friend. 'The stars aligned' for that person who just won the lottery, and so on. Franck says that it has to do with explaining improbable events.

"Attaching meaning to the things that happen in our lives is generally a spiritual rather than statistical activity. In their professional role, statisticians might be content to determine how improbable an event is relative to existing data."

"The bigger questions in life, such as the meaning behind why things happen the way they do, are of general interest to all humans but also beyond the scope of what statistics alone can provide," the professor notes.

#16

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People Was at a veterans get together and two guys were talking about Normandy. One was a landing craft driver and the other was a soldier that took part in the landing. Eventually their stories line up really well, so well infact that that landing craft driver drove that marine to shore during d-day

Final score:

81points

POST

Hooked 8 months ago

My maternal grand-parents were traveling by train, going from here to there (no idea, long time ago), when they overheard some army WW2 veterans talk about a reunion they went to. The vets talked about who was at the reunion and who wasn't and were wondering how one of the vets that wasn't there was doing. They were talking about my paternal grand-father, the father-in-law of my grand-parents youngest daughter !

26points

cheesesteak_genocide , Rachel Claire / pexels Report

#17

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People I saw a giraffe poop on another giraffes head.

Final score:

78points

POST

BTDubs 8 months ago (edited)

How is that fucken possible?!? Edit: maybe one giraffe was looking at the butt of the other?

25points

#18

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People My high school girlfriend and I went to colleges on the opposite coast but kept in touch. We both made new friends as you do, and as we started talking over winter back home we were telling each other about our new best friends at school and realized they were from the same place. After we got back to school, found out THEY were best friends in high school!

Taynt42 , fauxels / pexels Report

Final score:

77points

POST

ShyWahine 8 months ago

Birds of a feather flock together…

25points

Bruenor80 , takenbytablo / pexels Report

#19

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People I watched a guy get struck by lightning for a 2nd time. This was all in Missouri. The 1st time was a few years prior - he was mowing the grass in his tractor, a storm rolled in real fast, and he got hit running to the house. I didn't see that one, but his son was one of my good friends, and I was at the house fairly often, so I saw the aftermath and heard the story.

The 2nd time was while we were on a construction job, same deal, a storm rolled in out of nowhere (it was clear skies, and then we saw clouds and started cleaning up and 15 minutes later a torrential downpour starts). He was running back to the truck after tarping over some material and got struck again. I was in the truck looking right at him when it happened, it was f*****g unreal. I was absolutely sure he was dead. He had some hearing loss, his hair mostly burnt off (what didn't was shaved off), had some nasty burns and scars as a result and got knocked out. Spent a couple of days in the hospital and was back at work the following week (supervising - he was the owner anyway).

Final score:

74points

POST

DRMAGDN 8 months ago

Thunderbolt & Lightning, Very Very Frightening

70points

Aggressive-Ad5292 , Pavel Polyakov / pexels Report

#20

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People Me and my brother recently watched a small meteorite burn up and land in a field across the road from where we were working.

Final score:

68points

POST

DRMAGDN 8 months ago

Now that's out of this world

41points

sushitrain_ , Pavel Danilyuk / pexels Report

#21

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People My ex and I were playing the number game where you guess the other’s number that they’re thinking of. We did it between 1-50, and I guessed his number correctly *6 times in a row*.

It’s never happened again, but he was absolutely losing his mind. He still brings it up randomly and asks if I’m a witch.

Final score:

68points

POST

DRMAGDN 8 months ago

I ran out of gas once underneath an overpass on the way to the Holland Tunnel headed into NYC. Cars were flying on this highway and there was no way to get over. I couldn't leave the car cause I would get run over. But I heard tires screech like 15x and kept pumping the brakes to let people know I was stopped (even with the hazard lights on). Some guy with a pickup truck came with a huge chain, strapped it to the front of my car and pulled me to the gas station. Gave him cash since he saved my life. I always make sure to have enough gas now.

30points

rodrigo_i , Matheus Viana / pexels Report

#22

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People Just before going off the a new city, I was working in a computer store. Sold a nice local couple a new laptop. A week later I'm 1000 miles away taking the subway from the airport to pick up the keys to my new place. I hear "Hi, ” and look over, and it's that same couple.

Final score:

62points

POST

Mike F 8 months ago

Sure hope that laptop is going strong, lol.

16points

cardew-vascular , Magda Ehlers / pexels Report

#23

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People I'm from Vancouver, Canada. I was visiting Munich, Germany and met a couple from White Rock, they were distressed because something got screwed up in their itinerary and my friends and I helped them sort it out.

Weeks later I am taking the train from Amsterdam to Bruges during a massive thunder storm, I actually saw a tree get hit by lightning then a minute later they announced we would be going back because there was an issue ahead.

We get back to Amsterdam and the station is packed with so many people who are trying to figure out what the plan is now, then I hear someone yell my friends name and it's our new friends from White Rock, who we've now met in two different countries 8000km from home where we lived 40min apart.

Final score:

59points

POST

ShyWahine 8 months ago

It really is a small world…

26points

#24

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People Just last year me and a friend were in Japan visiting a mamashibe cafe and while we were waiting in line these two girls entered after us and the one talking had an Australian accent so I said hello being neighbours from New Zealand and she points to the other girl with her and she’s like, she’s also a kiwi! Any way long story short the kiwi girl literally grew up on the same street as me, about ten houses down and we spent our whole lives so close but didn’t know each other haha. Seems so odd we ran into each other in such a remote part of the world.

I know nz is a small place but it isn’t that small.

doxjq , Sam Lion / pexels Report

Final score:

50points

POST

Riley Quinn 8 months ago

I've spent the majority of my life in rural communities where you know every single resident and their familial lineage, broken up by living in cities where you might not know the tenants on your floor.

5points

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

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#25

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People Dad was born in a very small hospital in 1939 in Fullerton, CA. Successful life, aero engineer, retired a millionaire at 55 and hung em up. Bought a camper and travelled the states with a fly rod for a few years. Bought a house on a golf course in AR while he was fishing in Montana. Turns out the groundskeeper at the course was born a few minutes prior to him in the next room over. Still tells Pop to respect his elders lol.

They met at 1 day old and re-met 57 years later. I love it.

valis6886 , Kathryn Archibald / pexels Report

Final score:

49points

POST

Debby Keir 8 months ago

Had my tonsils out age 5 - small children's ward at the cottage hospital (UK) all having had their tonsils out. One boy in the opposite corner to me developed chickenpox, and the entire ward came down with it over the next couple of weeks (we were home by then) Met this guy some 20 years later - we lived in the same area but had gone to differing schools etc, so not in the same circle. Chatting to his mum one day, turns out we'd been in the same ward, and he was the one who'd given us all chickenpox....

15points

Clear-Penalty339 , Rachel Claire / pexels Report

#26

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People I (American) sparked up a random conversation with a guy (Canadian) while on a small island off the coast of Croatia in 2021. We discovered that we were both in the same industrial park in rural England at shops across the parking lot from one another at the exact same time in 2017.

Final score:

46points

POST

Howl's sleeping castle 8 months ago

Met one guy on a dating website. Found we both took the same train back in 2006 to move to the same city for different companies at the same business park.

20points

HuckleberryCream , Otra ruta / pexels Report

#27

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People Was descending in a commercial airplane through the clouds and saw a skydiver parachuting in the clouds about a football field away from us. My jaw dropped.

Final score:

44points

POST

JB 8 months ago

yeah, well, I bet the skydiver pooped themself

61points

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

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#28

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People Two friends playing a dice game. One rolls 5 6s. The other then has his turn & also rolls 5 6s. I don’t know the odds but I’m pretty sure they’re astronomical

SnooWalruses6440 , Anete Lusina / pexels Report

Final score:

42points

POST

maka paka 8 months ago

Done similar playing Ludo with the ex. rolled 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 6, 1, 2 , 3 Also my lad rolled 2 Yahtzee's one after the other on his first rolls

13points

#29

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People I bumped into the same mate in different countries, different years, no plans.

LupeHikari , Allan Mas / pexels Report

Final score:

41points

POST

E.V. 8 months ago

Ha, he was stalking you! Lol

18points

#30

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People Poker night with friends: One friend got two royal flushes in a row.

anon , cottonbro studio / pexels Report

Final score:

35points

POST

Donna Peluda 8 months ago

Yea, I'd keep and eye on him.

31points

fessa_angel , MART PRODUCTION / pexels Report

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#31

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People My mom had IVF and all of her embryos took, she also had one of the embryos become an ectopic pregnancy, then the other embryos implanted normally which is a heterotopic pregnancy.

The odds of all 3 of these things occurring together is approximately 1 in 41.6 billion.

To make it even crazier one of the uterine embryos survived and was carried to term, which is another crazy statistic I don't even know the number for. I can't find info even on the odds of the uterine pregnancy surviving the surgeries to fix the heterotopic one, I just know her specific case landed in a medical book somewhere.

So yeah. My sibling's sheer existence is the lowest probability event I have personally witnessed.

Final score:

25points

POST

Hey! 8 months ago

So cool. I love those stats; I was a midwife but before that I was also an expert in NFPs, concentrating on breastfeeding and ovulation.

0points

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#32

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People Our local Wendy’s here has apple trees outside for decoration. They don’t do anything with the apples, so some townsfolk will sometimes go out there and pick the apples.

As I was driving by one day, a gentleman was picking up apples off the ground. As he was bent over an apple fell out of the tree and hit his head.

I laughed myself to work that day.

Maiyku , Muhammad Ali / flickr Report

Final score:

23points

POST

John Bababuie 8 months ago

Not that unlikely, happened to my friend Newton.

28points

DeaDPaNSalesmaN , Steve Momot / pexels Report

#33

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People I was playing golf in a corporate league and one of the guys said “this field is where I was struck by lightning”. I thought that was interesting but then another guy said “you’ve been struck by lightning too?”. It’s probably not insanely unlikely but it felt like I was living in the start of a statistics test problem for a second.

Final score:

22points

POST

grosse_daus 8 months ago

I have no idea why people don't understand that being struck by lightning while swinging a literal metal antenna on a green space where you are the highest point during a thunderstorm has nothing to do with coincidence

26points

Material-Strength-92 Report

#34

Not sure, but I did see someone drive through the wall of a gas station convenience store once. I was about to walk into the store when I heard the crash and watched the giant coffee containers fly across the store. I was about a foot from the door when it happened. I would’ve been severely injured if it had happened 5 seconds later.

Final score:

21points

POST

ShyWahine 8 months ago

Guardian angel …

10points

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

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#35

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People I had both my best friend and a family member separately win the Powerball within a 2-year span.

InternationalAttrny , LightFieldStudios / envatoelements Report

Final score:

21points

POST

Donna Peluda 8 months ago

Last Thursday 7th of march I got in to the car park at 07:07:07. Played the lottery and won f**k all!!

15points

Mister_Glass_ , Leticia Curvelo / pexels Report

#36

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People Went for dinner and at another table a woman had her purse on her chair and it got knocked off. Inside was a bottle of wine that got all over her stuff.

The next day at work I was meeting a client who came in from out of town that I had never met before. I recounted that wine story to him and as it turns out he was at that very table. It was insane.

Final score:

21points

POST

Upstaged75 8 months ago

I once read a story about myself on one of those Classmates sites for my high school. Someone said "hey remember that poor Freshman who had her books thrown out the window by that crazy Spanish teacher?" LOL, that Freshman was me! He caught me doing math homework in his class and did indeed throw my math text and notebook out the 2nd floor window. He was a weird guy - but a good teacher. And he did like me, which is why he knew I wouldn't be too upset about my books. I thought it was hilarious! :)

5points

#37

Small world stuff. So I went to the same elementary school with this guy. his family moved, then a year later my family moved to the same town. We hung out a bit but not that much. Then years later I started working at a golf course and he’s a member there. I happen to get a job at a golf course in Florida. He’s ALSO a member there. We’ve some how followed each other basically 1,500 miles.

I have another small world story. I’m sitting at my local watering hole, enjoying a beer, and I’m sitting next to some dude. We start shooting the shit. Turns out we’re born in the same city, same hospital and are actually alumni. He’s a couple years older than me. He also plays golf. Basically became BFFs after that.

Edit: I even have a 3rd small world story. My cousin is in Europe at an event. She happens to start talking to a woman on the street who is also at the event and realize they can both speak English to each other. They gets to talking and realize they are from the same town in Canada. They start hanging out and have a blast for the rest of the trip.

Turns out my Cousin is hanging out with my mom’s best friend from college who happens to be at the same event in Europe.

My mom pieced it all together when she heard them tell the same story but from opposite sides. Like wait a second… I just heard this exact thing from my niece…

DrWallybFeed Report

Final score:

21points

POST

Alicia M 8 months ago (edited)

My biggest "small world" story isn't as exciting as some. I moved to a new city (far away) in the fourth grade and had to leave all my previous school friends behind. A couple years later, one of my friends from that school shows up at my new school and we picked right back up where we left off. I couldn't believe it.

4points

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

See Also on Bored Panda

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

#38

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People I locked myself outside my car while there was an amber abduction alert for the exact model year colour. When i tried to unlock it through a small gap in the window on a big parking lot cops swarmed me and almost arrested me with hands on their guns. Xd i thought it was pretty low probability

CheapChemistry8358 , Kindel Media/ pexels Report

Final score:

20points

POST

"Disembodied voice" 8 months ago

Wow, and I thought it was scary getting pulled over for my truck looking like one involved in a hit and run

5points

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

#39

First year uni roommate, we get along great. Decided to live together for second year. She bails and goes back home across the country. Never heard from her or saw her again.

She doesn’t have any social media. I move to a new city, get a job, get married, had kids, blah blah. Fifteen years go by, I see her walking her child to the same school my kid goes to. Neither of us are from or have family here.

Turns out, she moved to my city a year beforehand, during Covid. She has two kids the same age as my kids, all go to the same school, she and I married our spouses at summer camps, her husband works in construction, just like mine. Our city is so spread out that people rarely venture out of their neighbourhoods. If she had moved ten minutes further away, I would have likely never seen her.

TLDR: lost touch with college roommate, now we’re besties.

OldGreySweater Report

Final score:

18points

POST

KillerKiwi 8 months ago

Why’d she bail tho

2points

See Also on Bored Panda

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

#40

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People I ran into an old friend from high school, on a study abroad germany, while in college.

We did not go to the same college.

He was not on a study abroad, he was traveling with his girlfriend.

We were not headed to or leaving from the same event, or even in that town in Germany for the same reason.

We hadn't spoken in years, so neither knew the other was even going to be travelling.

I was coming out of a shop onto a street and he was walking down the street facing me. If I wait 15 seconds, I miss him. If I go 30 seconds later I miss him. If I turn the other way I miss him.

Let me reiterate, with ZERO coordination or bias towards Germany (we both independently became interested in Germany) we picked the same town, on the same day, on the same street, at the exact same time, and happened to see eachother. Wild

PM_SHORT_STORY_IDEAS , Mizuno K / pexels Report

Final score:

18points

POST

PandaGoPanda 8 months ago (edited)

The day summer term finished we flew 6,000 miles internationally to visit my parents. Took a walk the first morning back to the local farmer's market. Son decided he didn't want a burger from one stall, so we walked up the other end of the field and joined a queue for a different one. The person ahead of us in the queue turned out to be his school PE teacher, who had also got on the night flight as soon as school ended and was visiting his old university friend who happens to now live in the same small town as my parents.

7points

#41

“The Odds Are A Billion To One”: 30 Statistically Unlikely Things That Happened To People I won the "Balloon Blast-Off" in Kindergarten. The whole school was given a balloon with a small letter attached. To win the contest, whoever's balloon went the farthest when we all let them go, wins. The letter addresses the contest and has the school's address and phone number. I won out of the whole school and my balloon flew from Tennessee all the way to Indiana. I won a check for 5 dollars. This was like in 1988.

CaptainPatterson , Sunbae Legacy / pexels Report

Final score:

17points

POST

Eroe Infinito 8 months ago

About $13.04 in 2024.

12points

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

See Also on Bored Panda

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

#42

I was with my son and my cousin riding our motorcycles out to Sturgis. We stopped for lunch at a drive-in with picnic tables out front. After we ate I saw an ashtray that was more of a spittoon sitting on a bench about 15’ away. I said to my son who was about 12 at the time that I’d give him $40 if he could spit in the container from here. He got a little running start and let it fly and damn if he didn’t hit it right down the hole. I had to pony up $40 because there was a witness.

Tigermike10 Report

Final score:

17points

POST

Howl's sleeping castle 8 months ago

There was a Bomb blast at a restaurant in Bangalore few days back. One guy who is a regular customer stepped out of the place as his mother called and he wasn't able to hear her because of the crowd. The blast happened where he was standing. The call saved him that day

10points

#43

My very first ride on my first motorcycle - i went to a coffee shop and met Kurt Sutter and Katy Segal. no joke. it was literally my very first ride - and there I am waiting for my order and chit-chatting with the creator/writer of Sons of Anarchy.

TheDirtSyndicate Report

Final score:

16points

POST

Katrina Nixon 8 months ago

Gemma❤

2points

#44

Bumping into the same celebrity three times in 20 years at ten year intervals, 1985, 1995, and 2005

itaintme99 Report

Final score:

16points

POST

JB 8 months ago

I'm guessing Bill Murray. No reason, just like him

8points

Hi there, fellow pandas! As a person (over)educated both in social sciences and literature, I'm most interested in how we connect and behave online (and sometimes in real life too.) The human experience is weird, so I try my best to put its peculiarities in writing. As a person who grew up chronically online, I now try to marry two sides of myself: the one who knows too much about MySpace, and the one who can't settle and needs to see every corner of the world.

Read less »

I'm a visual editor here at Bored Panda and I enjoy a good laugh. My work ranges from serious topics related to toxic work environments and relationship difficulties to humorous articles about online shopping fails and introvert memes. When I'm not at my work desk, checking if every single pixel is in the right place, I usually spend my free time playing board games, taking pictures, and watching documentaries

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What do you think ?

POST

The Original Bruno 8 months ago (edited)

I was telling a story about someone a friend high school who had just transferred to the college I was at. He hadn't told me he was transferring there, so I was somewhat astonished when as if on cue, he showed up. So I was a couple hundred miles away from that college, and I was describing his impeccable timing. I said, "and Boom, just like that, in walks Simon LeBon." (Not his actual name, of course.) And sure enough, on cue, he comes walking through the door. So I transferred universities, and was telling the crazy story, and just when I got to the part where I described how insame it was that he walked right in the door exactly when I said, "Boom! In walks Simon LeBon," in comes Simon LeBon. He was visiting his girlfriend who had also transferred. "Wait... that's him?"

13points

Bewitched One 8 months ago

So 3 different times?

5points

Gavin Johnson 8 months ago

Went glacier walking in Switzerland, we are from the U.K., tradition dictated we had a schnapps in the bar at the starting point, one of our party, Phil, walks up to the bar and says to the bar woman ‘Don’t I know you from somewhere?’, cue sniggers from our party at Phil’s lame chat up line, she replies ‘yes, you drink in The Kenilworth don’t you?’, Two pubs 900 miles apart and we meet the bar staff from our local, there working as part of her gap year. He never did get her number though 😀

10points

Garthus Andicus 8 months ago

I once watched my Dad flick a sucker stick accidentally against the window directly back into his fingers the exact same way he was about to flick it. You could hear the clack on the glass. It was amazing! 1 in a million.

7points

Robert T 8 months ago

When I was kid, we holidayed on Cyprus and hired a car. We went to have a look round the capital, Nicosia. Now my Dad didn't much like the idea of trying to find somewhere to park in the city, so we got so far in and turned off the main road into a residential street and parked up there ready to walk into the city. This was before GPS, so I dutifully wrote down the street name in both English and Greek. We spent a pleasant few hours looking round the city and come to return to the car. Being a bit tired and a little unsure of our location, we opted to get a taxi back to the car. We went over to the taxi stand and asked a group of drivers if one would take us to the address. The response from one was a rather surly "why you want to go there?" and after explaining, he said "you park under my tree?" and we said yes, we did park under a tree. Still a bit confused, one of the other drivers said he would take us. When we got there, he said "that is the other guys house!".

5points

Jeevesssssss 8 months ago

I sleepwalked out my bedroom window on the second floor (3rd floor for those in the US) of a high-ceilinged Victorian property. 40ft/15m onto concrete. I needed a cut on my head glueing and had a mild concussion, and stumbling around outside I sprained my ankle. I apparently woke my housemate up yelling and she called an ambulance (head wounds bleed). They only realised I'd gone out the window when my housemate realised the doors were locked from the inside and my low sash window was wide open. I don't have a history of sleepwalking but my housemate had thrown a party and I had had a couple of drinks - the combination of sleep and alcohol must have left me so relaxed I was practically boneless. Definitely got a guardian angel looking out for me though!

5points

Leekun 8 months ago

Nothing as big as these but my mother is going through chemo and still has her hair. The nurses and doctors are all surprised since it's quite rare. She even trimmed it short so it wouldn't be so bad when it fell off and got a wig. Apparently not needed

5points

Star the Furry Therian! 8 months ago

Hope she gets better! All of the luck and health for her!

3points

Ansi 8 months ago

Not totally awesome but I used to sing in a choir in a small town (like 2600 people) and the choir leader and church organist was a very impressive and localy known old man. 30 years later, moved 4h from there, I buy a second hand book and the inscription was to that man from his parents.

4points

John Nelson 8 months ago

My great uncle was a survivor of the sinking of the Hovey in WW2. After surviving for hours in dangerous waters without a life raft, a destroyer came alongside to rescue him. As he struggled his way up the the side of the ship, a hand reached down to help pull him aboard. He looked up, and saw it was a guy he'd gone to highschool with, that he hadn't seen in years.

3points

Luis Hernandez Dauajare 8 months ago

I had had several crazy coincidences, but the strangest one happened during the Mexican Earthquake of 2017. Me and my friends did some volunteer work removing rubble at a collapsed building, and sadly witnessed a body being pulled out of the ruins. About a month later, through some Facebook notification, I found out that the person whose body was recovered was my old elementary school teacher, who had already retired...

3points

Kayleigh Haigh 8 months ago

When i was a teen i used to sit on the field near the local park and often saw cricketers playin on same field never spoke to any of them just watched them on weekends. Whilst at school i did my work placement on a farm for a year a few others did it to in other schools and other years when i turned 24 i was talkin to this lad and we eventually met up got together and been married 10 years now during these 10 years we have spoken about things we did when we were younger he told me he used to play cricket at the same field i was on not all the time just the occasional match as on opposing teams and he did work experience on the same farm but 2 yrs after me as he is slightly younger so i believe we were destined to meet even if it did take a while

3points

CanadianDimes 8 months ago

I was almost someone’s amazing coincidence last year. I grew up in a small city in Canada and moved to the UK. About the same time I moved here, a childhood friend of mine moved to Copenhagen then to Sweden. Last year, we met up in Copenhagen for a beer festival. It was a two day event but I was only there the second day and my friend went both days. I was chatting to the guys running the booth for the one Canadian brewery there and one of them asked where I was from. I said the name of the small city and he looked like I’d blown his mind and said “there was someone here yesterday from that small city!!” I explained it was not, in fact, a massive coincidence and we knew each other and planned to meet, but this guy’s expression was absolutely priceless for a few seconds

3points

Array Index Out of Bounds 8 months ago

When I was hitch-hiking in the early 2000's, me and my traveling buddy got a ride from Eureka, California to Palm Springs, Ca. A good month later and fifty miles away we got a ride from the same man! (His name was Rex). If you are reading this, then thank you again!

2points

FaceTime Audio 8 months ago

Went on a guided tour of Japan (I'm an American) and visited Takeshita St. in Harajuku, Tokyo. It's a very very very busy street. I'm with my grandma, and we go into a small store selling cold drinks because she needed a rest and hydration (it was a humid and hot day). In the small store is an old summer camp friend of mine who I hadn't seen in over two years and hadn't had any sort of regular contact with in over four. We were both an ocean away from home, and somehow managed to end up in the same cafe on the same packed street on the same day at the same time without even knowing that the other was in the same country. A less-exciting time I ran into a different childhood friend while getting lab tests done at a lab facility. We lived fairly close to one another, though, so it wasn't that strange.

2points

kath morgan 8 months ago

During my first visit to the US (before I knew her), one of my now best American friends was taking her first visit to my hometown in the UK.

2points

kath morgan 8 months ago

I was in a pub that had framed reviews on the bathroom walls. The clipping I could see while seated had two bars reviewed; this one, and the one I visited in another city the week before (my only visit to either place).

2points

Justin Tyme 8 months ago

I got stuck in two malfunctioning elevators. I later searched for information on this and figured out that the chance of the same person getting stuck in two elevators is one in ten billion.

2points

PaperinoVB 8 months ago

My wife and me were in honeymoon. Among other things we decided to go for some day of camping in Sardinia, without even knowing where to go. Going around somewhat randomly we ended up in the same camping where I went with my family 20 years before and put the tent in the same place. In the area beside us there was another tent with a newlywed couple in honeymoon, from our same small town, in another part of Italy, 500+ km from there. We found out that they lived in a road alongside our. Never meet them again.

2points

Herringbone 8 months ago

In 2010, my friend and I did a tour of the US Midwest. We ended up in Chicago, and he went out for a smoke in the evening. Down in the hotel lobby, while waiting for the glacially slow elevator, he got into a conversation with a man from Kentucky, and told him that we’d been there last week, a little place called Paducah, which seemed to be well looked-after by its local government – to his astonishment, the guy replied that he came from Paducah, and was on that committee. I can imagine that at their next meeting, he would say ‘You’re not going to believe this, but …’

2points

Rachel Hall 8 months ago

I went Christmas shopping with my ex years ago. We sat in the car as it was raining really hard and he wanted who home. I pointed to the sky and said “it’s going to stop now” and it did - at the exact same time. It freaked me out a bit.

2points

Robin Roper 8 months ago

My church has a large garden in which we grow produce to donate to local food pantries. We've partnered with a large group of Ukrainian refugee families who come once a month to work in the garden and take home the harvest. Two weeks ago, a friend of ours who is Ukrainian by by birth but as lived in the US for years attended a monthly work day of these families. While there he met a guy who grew up right across the street from him in this fairly small city in eastern Uranian.

1point

Chris Landrum 8 months ago

two stories. I am from FL and took a train trip out of Vancouver, people in the seat in front of me also from florida, about 10 miles from me. Another time sitting in a bar in Tampa where I live and met a guy who works for my college roommate. I went to college in Indiana 40 years earlier

1point

Sarah Pryde 8 months ago

I met a guy at a year round resident camp (outdoor education) about 600 miles from where i grew up/lived...we hit it off right away.....turns out he grew up 2 miles away from my house, and if not for the age difference (10 years) we probably would've crossed paths...we've been together 19 years now

1point

Sarah Pryde 8 months ago

okay way less than 600 miles, but still really far away and DEF middle of nowhere camp

1point

digitalin 8 months ago

My husband and I moved halfway across the country to a state where we knew no one. Found out that my dad's best friend from growing up, on the opposite coast, lived there and went to our small church. They hadn't talked in decades.

1point

François Bouzigues 8 months ago

I had all the numbers of a million euro lottery ticket, incremented by one. If the draw was 5 12 28 33 47 3* and 11* i had 6 13 29 34 48 4* and 12* Somehow disappointing

1point

Amalie Jaye 8 months ago

Not as mad as most of these, but there is a large college that I never usually pass, on the way to the orthodontist. I have several friends that go to that college ( 700 pupils). I was speaking about one of them refusing to wear a coat as they walk to college. I drive by the college, and see that one friend, walking into college, without a coat on. In a throng of loads of students.

1point

EmBree 8 months ago

I met a guy at school and told my mom about it. She asked his full name and his parent's name. Turns out we were born at the same hospital, same day and our moms were in the same room afterwards. We had moved twice, his family had moved four times. In the end we ended up in the same small town in the same class.

0points

TennesseeHomesteadUSA 8 months ago

If it happens to you the odds were 100% NOT in your favor...

0points

POST

The Original Bruno 8 months ago (edited)

13points

Bewitched One 8 months ago

So 3 different times?

5points

Gavin Johnson 8 months ago

10points

Garthus Andicus 8 months ago

7points

Robert T 8 months ago

5points

Jeevesssssss 8 months ago

5points

Leekun 8 months ago

5points

Star the Furry Therian! 8 months ago

Hope she gets better! All of the luck and health for her!

3points

Ansi 8 months ago

4points

John Nelson 8 months ago

3points

Luis Hernandez Dauajare 8 months ago

3points

Kayleigh Haigh 8 months ago

3points

CanadianDimes 8 months ago

3points

Array Index Out of Bounds 8 months ago

2points

FaceTime Audio 8 months ago

2points

kath morgan 8 months ago

During my first visit to the US (before I knew her), one of my now best American friends was taking her first visit to my hometown in the UK.

2points

kath morgan 8 months ago

2points

Justin Tyme 8 months ago

I got stuck in two malfunctioning elevators. I later searched for information on this and figured out that the chance of the same person getting stuck in two elevators is one in ten billion.

2points

PaperinoVB 8 months ago

2points

Herringbone 8 months ago

2points

Rachel Hall 8 months ago

2points

Robin Roper 8 months ago

1point

Chris Landrum 8 months ago

1point

Sarah Pryde 8 months ago

1point

Sarah Pryde 8 months ago

okay way less than 600 miles, but still really far away and DEF middle of nowhere camp

1point