Even though coincidences happen all the time, people perceive them as spooky mysteries when they have important consequences. Irrespective of whether they are positive (serendipity) or negative (catastrophes), coincidences have been a fascinating topic for skeptics and believers alike.
In other words, when such twists of fate take place, it makes many of us wonder about the purpose of our lives, the ultimate order of the universe and if the world is anything more than a chain of lucky accidents. Here is a top 10 list of the strangest happenstances throughout history that left many people with serious doubts.
1. The Kennedy-Lincoln Quirk
In spite of the fact that the Lincoln-Kennedy similarities are old news, it is still one of the most unusual coincidences in history. For starters, both presidents were elected at precisely 100 years apart and each was the successor of a president named Johnson, also born 100 years apart. Speaking of presidents, while Lincoln was assassinated in Ford's Theater, JFK was shot while riding in a Ford Lincoln. Things become even more awkward when you think that Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy, whereas JKF had a secretary named Evelyn Lincoln.
2. Archduke Franz Ferdinand's death
As far as most people are concerned, WWI started due to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Bosnian peasant though to be part of a band of conspirators. However, little is known about the fact that the assassin, Gavriol Princip gave up his plans to murder the archduke after a failed bombing attack. Apparently, during the archduke's visit Princip was drowning his disappointment in a local café when Franz Ferdinand's car stopped 20 feet away from him. Coincidence or not, the archduke's driver did not only take a bad turn that day, but also managed to kill the engine while he was backing up.
3. John Lennon's assassination
Perhaps one of the most loved artists in the 10th century was shot and killed by a schizophrenic night security guard named March Chapman in 1980. A few years after his death, when a TV station was playing a biographic movie about John Lennon the most peculiar thing was revealed: the actor playing Lennon was also named Mark Chapman. Talk about "you have got to be kidding me" coincidences!
4. Presidents Jefferson and Adams mysterious passing away
Presidents Jefferson and Adams occupy a special place in American history, not only as great leaders who shared their love for the country, both also as founding fathers who were instrumental for the implementation of the Declaration of Independence. The mystery surrounding them resides in their weirdly synchronized deaths days, which were precisely 50 years after the document was ratified (4th of July 1826).
5. The crossword puzzle and the invasion of Normandy
Two weeks before the WWII infamous D-day, London's Daily Telegraph published a crossword puzzle containing the names of the beaches where the Ally forces would land (Omaha and Utah) along with other classified information accessible only to General Eisenhower's staff. While initially everyone considered the author of the puzzle a Nazi spy, it turned out that all words were randomly chosen. It is quite fascinating, considering that the chances for such a thing to happen are less than 1 in a billion.
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