riding the synchronicity highway
May 2, 2007 10:20 PM Subscribe
20 Most Amazing Coincidences, "the noteworthy alignment of two or more events or circumstances without obvious causal connection" and other superlatives. [previously]
It's missing King Tut's "curse." But other than that...
Attempts at the obligatory MeFi Snark(tm) aside, it's pretty spooky.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 10:55 PM on May 2, 2007
Attempts at the obligatory MeFi Snark(tm) aside, it's pretty spooky.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 10:55 PM on May 2, 2007
There is a god. And he's a fucker.
posted by pracowity at 10:56 PM on May 2, 2007 [6 favorites]
posted by pracowity at 10:56 PM on May 2, 2007 [6 favorites]
The two brothers killed by a taxi is too much! Here's something I came across recently - The Girl from Petrovka book.
posted by tellurian at 11:33 PM on May 2, 2007
posted by tellurian at 11:33 PM on May 2, 2007
There's a distinct whiff of urban legend to a lot of this. It'd be nice to have real sources. For example, it is easily provable that the three worst things that ever happened to Louis XVI happened on the 21st of the month, but that in itself is not especially remarkable. But is there any contemporary record (predating these events) that documents his astrological warning or his fear of that date?
Oh, and what are the sources for the different instances of misfortune associated with James Dean's car? I could go on, but this reads more like an email that grows with the forwarding than anything else.
posted by George_Spiggott at 11:42 PM on May 2, 2007
Oh, and what are the sources for the different instances of misfortune associated with James Dean's car? I could go on, but this reads more like an email that grows with the forwarding than anything else.
posted by George_Spiggott at 11:42 PM on May 2, 2007
i call shenanigans on all most all of those! please note that sources such as ripley's believe it or not and mysteries of the unexplained do make reputable sources.
posted by matt_od at 11:46 PM on May 2, 2007
posted by matt_od at 11:46 PM on May 2, 2007
Snopes offers a slimmer variant of the James Dean Porsche saga but takes no formal position on its veracity. Apart from putting the word "information" in quotes.
posted by George_Spiggott at 11:54 PM on May 2, 2007
posted by George_Spiggott at 11:54 PM on May 2, 2007
"Similar people do similar things, often doing those things year after year within a circumscribed geographic area."
posted by orthogonality at 12:05 AM on May 3, 2007
posted by orthogonality at 12:05 AM on May 3, 2007
See also the strange coincidences archives, where you can add your own coincidence stories.
posted by elgilito at 12:58 AM on May 3, 2007
posted by elgilito at 12:58 AM on May 3, 2007
omg! i was just going to post this!
posted by sexyrobot at 1:08 AM on May 3, 2007 [10 favorites]
posted by sexyrobot at 1:08 AM on May 3, 2007 [10 favorites]
One time, I was thinking, 'Boy, I'd sure like a hotdog,' and then this giant hotdog fell out of the sky and killed the guy stood next to me - who turned out to be the twin brother I never knew.
posted by RokkitNite at 2:56 AM on May 3, 2007 [2 favorites]
posted by RokkitNite at 2:56 AM on May 3, 2007 [2 favorites]
It's like RAAAAIIN on your wedding day. Wait, no, it's not.
posted by psmealey at 3:48 AM on May 3, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by psmealey at 3:48 AM on May 3, 2007 [1 favorite]
I wish I lived in a time when an acceptable alternative to chopping down a tree is to blow it up with a few sticks of dynamite.
posted by luser at 3:49 AM on May 3, 2007 [3 favorites]
posted by luser at 3:49 AM on May 3, 2007 [3 favorites]
Three things this post taught me:
1. Random trivia is a lot less interesting if it not merely whiffs of fakeness but stinks like dully rewritten versions of old urban legends.
2. Numbering your random trivia makes it into a List, which implies Exclusivity and Orderliness, meaning it's a magnet to the pocket of twitchy, compulsive Asberger's Syndrome harbored within every community news website poster, so that:
3. The difference between a blog padded entirely by quotes from people you never heard of and a blog full of entries like "Forty Three Insightful Observations By American League Relief Catchers" is the first you can't convince your friends to read, and the latter is the King of Diggnation.
posted by ardgedee at 4:39 AM on May 3, 2007 [1 favorite]
1. Random trivia is a lot less interesting if it not merely whiffs of fakeness but stinks like dully rewritten versions of old urban legends.
2. Numbering your random trivia makes it into a List, which implies Exclusivity and Orderliness, meaning it's a magnet to the pocket of twitchy, compulsive Asberger's Syndrome harbored within every community news website poster, so that:
3. The difference between a blog padded entirely by quotes from people you never heard of and a blog full of entries like "Forty Three Insightful Observations By American League Relief Catchers" is the first you can't convince your friends to read, and the latter is the King of Diggnation.
posted by ardgedee at 4:39 AM on May 3, 2007 [1 favorite]
There is a rule in movies that you're only allowed one coincidence in a film, right at the beginning. However, it's broken to great effect in a number of very good films, including CRASH and MAGNOLIA.
posted by unSane at 4:56 AM on May 3, 2007
posted by unSane at 4:56 AM on May 3, 2007
I'm pretty sure normal people have experienced coincidences far more unusual than some of these stories - I know I have. Also, I believe there is a difference between coincidence and synchronicity... I'm just not the right guy to explain it. Nice post, though.
posted by Acey at 5:01 AM on May 3, 2007
posted by Acey at 5:01 AM on May 3, 2007
Reading that thread about people's coincidences is about 5% ore interesting than reading about people's dreams. As in, not very.
I had a paperback Ripley's book, probably inherited from my brother, as a kid. I liked that it seemed to be all handwritten and that on repeated readings there were little marginal notes on other coincidences. That said, I bet most of it was crap.
When I was a kid, I also loved the TV version of Ripley's. It was on at the same time as 60 Minutes, which was BORING. That having been said, I was young enough that I could barely tell the difference until the breaks, which for Ripley's would be spooky smoke while 60 Minutes had the boring stopwatch.
It was just coming on one Sunday evening and my parents told me it was time to bathe. I made my father promise that we could keep watching Ripley's when I was done with my bath.
I returned and kept watching the television. Of course, when the program went to commercial it was 60 Minutes.
-Da-aad, you promised!
-Well, I guess I lied.
I was probably 6, but I remember exactly what he said, how he said it, where I was, and what was on the fucking TV.
And then I was surprised 5 years later when he cheated me at cards.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 6:03 AM on May 3, 2007 [2 favorites]
I had a paperback Ripley's book, probably inherited from my brother, as a kid. I liked that it seemed to be all handwritten and that on repeated readings there were little marginal notes on other coincidences. That said, I bet most of it was crap.
When I was a kid, I also loved the TV version of Ripley's. It was on at the same time as 60 Minutes, which was BORING. That having been said, I was young enough that I could barely tell the difference until the breaks, which for Ripley's would be spooky smoke while 60 Minutes had the boring stopwatch.
It was just coming on one Sunday evening and my parents told me it was time to bathe. I made my father promise that we could keep watching Ripley's when I was done with my bath.
I returned and kept watching the television. Of course, when the program went to commercial it was 60 Minutes.
-Da-aad, you promised!
-Well, I guess I lied.
I was probably 6, but I remember exactly what he said, how he said it, where I was, and what was on the fucking TV.
And then I was surprised 5 years later when he cheated me at cards.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 6:03 AM on May 3, 2007 [2 favorites]
Abraham Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy.
John F. Kennedy had a secretary named Lincoln.
They all knew about 9/11 before it happened.
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 6:14 AM on May 3, 2007
John F. Kennedy had a secretary named Lincoln.
They all knew about 9/11 before it happened.
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 6:14 AM on May 3, 2007
I have small syncronicities happen to me all the time. The last one? I was at my gym-while I was in the bathroom I started thinking about the song Wicked Games by Chris Isaak...I then walked into the spinning room which was way on the other side of the (very large) gym-and that song was playing on the spinning room cd player. (The instructor leaves music on between classes sometimes.)
posted by konolia at 6:24 AM on May 3, 2007
posted by konolia at 6:24 AM on May 3, 2007
I cry foul on this list, because it completely ignores The Scottish Play which has in its time accumulated more coincidences than that list and many like it.
As for Mark Twain, though this is my favorite coincidence on the list, technically he was born about two weeks after perihelion, and died one day after, but that's just splitting hairs.
posted by ZachsMind at 6:38 AM on May 3, 2007
As for Mark Twain, though this is my favorite coincidence on the list, technically he was born about two weeks after perihelion, and died one day after, but that's just splitting hairs.
posted by ZachsMind at 6:38 AM on May 3, 2007
..and one of my favorite shows, Lost, has this coincidence kinda stuff happening all the time. Like last night, John Locke's dad showed up on the Island, who went by the name Sawyer, and another guy on the Island is also named Sawyer cuz his parents died as a result of a con that John Locke's dad had pulled some thirty years before. Locke wanted his dad murdered but he couldn't do it himself so he found out the connection between Sawyer and Sawyer and convinced Sawyer to kill Sawyer so Sawyer was dead and Sawyer could throw up.
....It made a lot more sense when I was watching it than it does trying to write it out.
posted by ZachsMind at 6:41 AM on May 3, 2007
....It made a lot more sense when I was watching it than it does trying to write it out.
posted by ZachsMind at 6:41 AM on May 3, 2007
Sorry, it's not like RAAAAIIN at all. It's more like, plate of shrimp.
posted by psmealey at 6:41 AM on May 3, 2007
posted by psmealey at 6:41 AM on May 3, 2007
I cry foul on the list because it doesn't mention - what is to me - the most phenomenal coincidence of all.
In the late 1800's, Edwin Booth (brother of John Wilkes, but by all accounts a great guy) bravely saved a stranger from being hit by a train. Dusting themselves off, the stranger turned out to be Robert Todd Lincoln, Abraham's only surviving son.
Robert was also present at not only his father's assassination, but the assassinations of Garfield and McKinley as well.
(I've been reading a lot of Sarah Vowell this week.)
Anyway, did anyone else read the Umberto I bit and not think, "okay, so they were twins and there was something illegitimate about the birth?" Not that that explains away the entire coincidence, but come on.
posted by Navelgazer at 7:50 AM on May 3, 2007
In the late 1800's, Edwin Booth (brother of John Wilkes, but by all accounts a great guy) bravely saved a stranger from being hit by a train. Dusting themselves off, the stranger turned out to be Robert Todd Lincoln, Abraham's only surviving son.
Robert was also present at not only his father's assassination, but the assassinations of Garfield and McKinley as well.
(I've been reading a lot of Sarah Vowell this week.)
Anyway, did anyone else read the Umberto I bit and not think, "okay, so they were twins and there was something illegitimate about the birth?" Not that that explains away the entire coincidence, but come on.
posted by Navelgazer at 7:50 AM on May 3, 2007
The previously, linked to above in my post, is to ember's post about 2 years ago, which was elegantly written. I looked for a beautiful quotation to match that, or perhaps something about the math of coincidences but couldn't find anything. So I'll quote ember now "Incredible -- but true coincidences are fascinating, and pleasing, to the psyche. I tend to agree with John Littlewood (a University of Cambridge mathematician) that "...in the course of any normal person's life, miracles happen at a rate of roughly one per month." In other words, statistically speaking, unusual coincidences are to be expected in a world teeming with billions of humans. Still, I find such coincidences stangely inspiring."
posted by nickyskye at 7:57 AM on May 3, 2007
posted by nickyskye at 7:57 AM on May 3, 2007
Nice. (Especially about King Umberto's double and the assassination.) One of my favorite coincidences involves Wilmer McLean (a rural, not an urban, legend). Fearing for his family's safety after the First Battle of Bull Run, he moved from Northern to Southern Virginia to escape the Civil War. Almost four years later, Lee surrendered to Grant in McLean's parlor in Appomattox Court House.
posted by LeLiLo at 8:57 AM on May 3, 2007
posted by LeLiLo at 8:57 AM on May 3, 2007
...cues Rod Serling music ...that was a fun read, nickyskye - thanks!
XQUZYPHYR, your anecdote sounds just like an O.Henry story.
posted by madamjujujive at 9:14 AM on May 3, 2007
XQUZYPHYR, your anecdote sounds just like an O.Henry story.
posted by madamjujujive at 9:14 AM on May 3, 2007
And then I was surprised 5 years later when he cheated me at cards.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 9:03 AM on May 3
Was your dad Don Rickles by any chance?
posted by Skygazer at 9:21 AM on May 3, 2007
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 9:03 AM on May 3
Was your dad Don Rickles by any chance?
posted by Skygazer at 9:21 AM on May 3, 2007
Was your dad Don Rickles by any chance?
I'm sure I should get this, but I don't. I know he's a comedian... but?
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 9:27 AM on May 3, 2007
I'm sure I should get this, but I don't. I know he's a comedian... but?
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 9:27 AM on May 3, 2007
Having made this post I realize that I'm a bit of an amazing-aholic. Albert Einstein said "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." While I disagree with his "only two ways to live" approach, life seems to be amazing, in a non-theistic kind of way, the so-called ordinary stuff seems pretty miraculous. But then there's the alluring weirdness of coinkidinks. Is it the math that's so interesting, the odds of such a thing happening, the surprise of it or the story? Don't know, but there it is, coincidences are interesting.
posted by nickyskye at 9:32 AM on May 3, 2007
posted by nickyskye at 9:32 AM on May 3, 2007
The Ripleys reference brings back memories. Like These Premises, i had a couple of the old paperbacks. A real hoot to read as a youngster. Cool post, nickyskye.
...and here is the derivation of Littlewood's Law.
posted by storybored at 10:04 AM on May 3, 2007
...and here is the derivation of Littlewood's Law.
posted by storybored at 10:04 AM on May 3, 2007
I'm sure I should get this, but I don't. I know he's a comedian... but?
Wow. Someone check my ticket and grab me my walker, I am obviously ready for the old folks home...
Don Rickles was/is the famously acerbic comedian who since the Sixties has gotten laughs by making other people the butt of his abusive, slightly sadistic jokes. His routine was big in Vegas and he appeared on many hilarious episodes of Johnny Carson. Usually making Carson, Ed McMahon and anyone within hearing range, the targets of his scathing put downs.
Here's something that came up on Youtube. It's a clip from 1983 w/ David Letterman. (In light of what recently happened to Imus it's amazing. But then again Don Rickles is actually funny.)
posted by Skygazer at 11:14 AM on May 3, 2007
Wow. Someone check my ticket and grab me my walker, I am obviously ready for the old folks home...
Don Rickles was/is the famously acerbic comedian who since the Sixties has gotten laughs by making other people the butt of his abusive, slightly sadistic jokes. His routine was big in Vegas and he appeared on many hilarious episodes of Johnny Carson. Usually making Carson, Ed McMahon and anyone within hearing range, the targets of his scathing put downs.
Here's something that came up on Youtube. It's a clip from 1983 w/ David Letterman. (In light of what recently happened to Imus it's amazing. But then again Don Rickles is actually funny.)
posted by Skygazer at 11:14 AM on May 3, 2007
You know, the most amazing thing happened to me tonight. I was coming
here, on the way to the lecture, and I came in through the parking lot.
And you won't believe what happened. I saw a car with the license plate
ARW 357. Can you imagine? Of all the millions of license plates in the
state, what was the chance that I would see that particular one tonight?
Amazing!
-- Richard Feynman
-- From his undergraduate CalTech lectures, 1961
posted by MtDewd at 11:17 AM on May 3, 2007 [3 favorites]
here, on the way to the lecture, and I came in through the parking lot.
And you won't believe what happened. I saw a car with the license plate
ARW 357. Can you imagine? Of all the millions of license plates in the
state, what was the chance that I would see that particular one tonight?
Amazing!
-- Richard Feynman
-- From his undergraduate CalTech lectures, 1961
posted by MtDewd at 11:17 AM on May 3, 2007 [3 favorites]
"It's all part of the cosmic unconsciousness."
I don't know how many of these are true, and it really doesn't matter. Amazing coincidences happen every day which aren't documented, reading about these (real or no) simply highlights for me, the fact that we live in a wacky universe.
posted by quin at 12:54 PM on May 3, 2007
I don't know how many of these are true, and it really doesn't matter. Amazing coincidences happen every day which aren't documented, reading about these (real or no) simply highlights for me, the fact that we live in a wacky universe.
posted by quin at 12:54 PM on May 3, 2007
I love the Feynman bit above, because I'm a scientically-minded guy who doesn't go in for mysticizing stuff, but that story about King Umberto, if true, makes my skin crawl. But, like coincidences, it would probably read a lot better if fictionalized.
posted by chudmonkey at 1:46 PM on May 3, 2007
posted by chudmonkey at 1:46 PM on May 3, 2007
we all know john adams and thomas jefferson died on the same day, only hours apart, july 4, 1826. that day also happened to be the 50th anniversary of the declaration of independence. talk about fantastic coincidences.
posted by brandz at 4:10 PM on May 3, 2007
posted by brandz at 4:10 PM on May 3, 2007
There is a rule in movies that you're only allowed one coincidence in a film, right at the beginning. However, it's broken to great effect in a number of very good films, including CRASH and MAGNOLIA.
Yeah, but Magnolia is actually good.
posted by chlorus at 4:32 PM on May 3, 2007
Yeah, but Magnolia is actually good.
posted by chlorus at 4:32 PM on May 3, 2007
brandz - don't forget that John Adams' last words were "Thomas Jefferson still survives." Pretty cool, all told.
posted by tzikeh at 4:51 PM on May 3, 2007
posted by tzikeh at 4:51 PM on May 3, 2007
I believe there is a difference between coincidence and synchronicity
Coincidence ... acausal concurrence of events without meaning
(A bee strikes the windshield just after you said "pigeon")
Synchronicity ... meaningful concurrence without *discernible* causality.
(A bee strikes the windshield just after you said "bee")
Or something.
posted by Twang at 5:25 PM on May 3, 2007
Coincidence ... acausal concurrence of events without meaning
(A bee strikes the windshield just after you said "pigeon")
Synchronicity ... meaningful concurrence without *discernible* causality.
(A bee strikes the windshield just after you said "bee")
Or something.
posted by Twang at 5:25 PM on May 3, 2007
My theory is that we're immersed in an ocean of coincidence, but usually notice only the most obvious examples.
(Citation:altered states)
posted by Twang at 5:28 PM on May 3, 2007
(Citation:altered states)
posted by Twang at 5:28 PM on May 3, 2007
storybored, thanks so much for the origin of Littlewood's Law.
posted by nickyskye at 5:42 PM on May 3, 2007
posted by nickyskye at 5:42 PM on May 3, 2007
I had a funny feeling reading these stories as today I have an overwhelming feeling of déjà vu. Two years ago I hooked up with a girl, we slept together on two consecutive nights before she travelled to visit her parents down south for a week.
I missed her, so when she returned to work a week later I sent a big bunch of flowers to her work with a card that said “Wellington is a better town with you in it.”
We had dinner and slept together again.
The next day her father was killed in an accident.
We moved in together about eight months later, and three months after that her mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
She fell apart - and so did we.
Earlier this week we met up and it became apparent that we both wanted to give us another go. We have slept together the past two nights.
She has left tonight to visit her mother for a week.
She will get flowers and the same message on Monday week.
posted by Samuel Farrow at 9:51 PM on May 3, 2007
I missed her, so when she returned to work a week later I sent a big bunch of flowers to her work with a card that said “Wellington is a better town with you in it.”
We had dinner and slept together again.
The next day her father was killed in an accident.
We moved in together about eight months later, and three months after that her mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
She fell apart - and so did we.
Earlier this week we met up and it became apparent that we both wanted to give us another go. We have slept together the past two nights.
She has left tonight to visit her mother for a week.
She will get flowers and the same message on Monday week.
posted by Samuel Farrow at 9:51 PM on May 3, 2007
Abraham Lincoln was in Monroe, Maryland a week before he was assassinated.
John F. Kennedy was in Marilyn Monroe the week before he assassinated!
posted by quadog at 12:27 AM on May 4, 2007 [1 favorite]
John F. Kennedy was in Marilyn Monroe the week before he assassinated!
posted by quadog at 12:27 AM on May 4, 2007 [1 favorite]
"omg! i was just going to post this!"
omg! i was just going to comment :"omg! i was just going to post this!"
posted by Captain Crusty's Zeppelin Repair Service at 2:54 AM on May 4, 2007
omg! i was just going to comment :"omg! i was just going to post this!"
posted by Captain Crusty's Zeppelin Repair Service at 2:54 AM on May 4, 2007
Don't know about the other stories, but the story about Finnish twin brothers is true. It was widely reported in Finnish media at the time.
posted by zeikka at 7:53 AM on May 4, 2007
posted by zeikka at 7:53 AM on May 4, 2007
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And — even more incredibly — they were riding a tandem bike!!!
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posted by rob511 at 10:38 PM on May 2, 2007