Have you ever been told that you look just like that one actor, professional athlete, politician, or random model that’s always on billboards advertising sneakers? As much as we love to believe we’re all unique, special snowflakes, there’s definitely at least one other person roaming the earth that would qualify as your doppelganger. In fact, according to scientists, there could be as many as 80,000 people who bear a striking resemblance to you.

It’s exciting and fun to find our own “twin strangers” out there, but sometimes, we have to be careful when bringing attention to the fact that two other people look alike. We can never predict how our friends will perceive this information, and as one Londoner recently learned, we might even be confusing a doppelganger for someone we actually know if we’re not too careful.

Below, you’ll find a mortifying story that one man recently shared on the Today I [Messed] Up subreddit, detailing exactly why we should mind our own business when it comes to spotting doppelgangers. Try not to cringe too hard while reading about this encounter, pandas, and then if you’re interested in checking out another Bored Panda article featuring people that share an uncanny resemblance, look no further than right here!  

After believing he had spotted a friend’s doppelganger on the tube, this Londoner made the horrible mistake of sending his friend a photo

Image credits: Mediocre Studio (not the actual photo)

Image credits: u/SaltyDrink

Image credits: Alexandre Debiève (not the actual photo)

Finding doppelgangers is usually all in good fun, but in this particular case, I would guess that the man learned to be very careful about pointing out a stranger’s resemblance in the future. It’s obviously mortifying to not recognize an old friend, but the fact that OP also insulted their weight was way over the line. This story is a reminder that it’s never appropriate to comment on anyone’s weight, whether you know them or not, and it might even be too risky to point out an uncanny resemblance between someone you know and a stranger. When it comes to how likely it is that we all encounter a doppelganger of ourselves though, it’s actually pretty common. 

Okay, you might not look exactly like your doppelgangers, as one study suggests there is only a 1 in 135 chance that there are any perfectly identical doppelgangers anywhere on the planet, and the BBC reports that it actually might be closer to 1 in 100,000. But there are definitely people out there who are close enough to pass as your doppelgangers. When trying to find your twin strangers out there, there are certain features that scientists use to try to determine how similar a pair of people actually look.

Scientists in Spain recruited 32 people from the I’m Not a Look-Alike! Project and found out that they actually share strikingly similar genetic patterns. “Our study shows genetic markers that are critical in the development of the shape of the nose, lip, and mouth, plus completely novel determinants of bone structure and skin texture that also provide characteristic features of our face,” said Dr Manel Esteller, lead author of the study.

Apparently, the 16 pairs also shared incredibly similar weights, lifestyles, behaviors, education levels and more. And if you haven’t found your doppelganger yet, it’s becoming more and more likely that you will. “Because the human population is now 8 billion, these look-alike repetitions are increasingly likely to occur,” Dr Esteller says.

If you want to actively search for your own doppelgangers, there are even platforms online to help you do so nowadays. Twin Strangers is one site that allows users to upload a photo of themselves and find a picture of someone else who bears a striking resemblance. And if your doppelganger is interested in getting in contact, you can even arrange a meetup with your twin stranger. However, you might not want to, as traditionally, in European folklore, doppelgangers were believed to represent an “evil twin” and be an omen of bad luck or a harbinger of death.

In this case on Reddit, the “doppelganger spotting” actually was a sign of bad luck, but thankfully, it was just embarrassment, not death. We would love to hear your thoughts on this mortifying encounter in the comments below, and then if you’re ever had an awkward doppelganger experience, feel free to share about those as well. Then, if you’re interested in finding some actual doppelgangers on Bored Panda, we recommend you visit this article next!  

Readers shared their amusement for the story in the replies

Some even suggested ways OP could apologize for his mistake

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