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Finnish twin brothers, aged 71, were killed in identical bicycle accidents along the same road two hours apart, police said. "This is simply a historic coincidence. Although the road is a busy one, accidents don't occur every day," police officer Marja-Leena Huhtala told Reuters. "It made my hair stand on end when I heard the two were brothers, and identical twins at that. It came to mind that perhaps someone from upstairs had a say in this," she said.
Identical twins. Identical accidents. Identical deaths. Two hours apart. This astonishing coincidence was reported in newspapers and on newswires around the world in early March, 2002. The odds of it occurring seem remote in the extreme, and it causes one to wonder, as the woman did above - even for a moment - if there's more at play here than mere coincidence. Is it the hand of fate? Is it true, as author Elizabeth Kubler-Ross wrote, that "there are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings given to us to learn from."
History is full of amazing and sometimes bizarre coincidences that give us pause and keep us scratching our heads in wonder. Here is just a small sampling:
Other
Coincidental Deaths
This is a similar story
of coincidence, not of twins but of two brothers. In 1975, while riding a moped
in Bermuda, a man was accidentally struck and killed by a taxi. One year later,
this man's bother was killed in the very same way. In fact, he was riding the
very same moped. And to stretch the odds even further, he was struck by the very
same taxi driven by the same driver - and even carrying the very same passenger!
(Phenomena: A Book of
Wonders, John Michell and Robert J. M. Rickard)
Mysterious
Monk to the Rescue
Joseph Aigner was a fairlly well-known portrait painter in 19th century Austria
who, apparently, was quite an unhappy fellow: he several times attempted
suicide. His first attempt was at the young age of 18 when he tried to hang
himself, but was interrupted by the mysterious appearance of a Capuchin monk. At
age 22 he again tried to hang himself, but was again saved from the act by the
very same monk. Eight years later, his death was ordained by others who
sentenced him to the gallows for his political activities. Once again, his life
was saved by the intervention of the same monk. At age 68, Aiger finally
succeeded in suicide, a pistol doing the trick. His funeral ceremony was
conducted by the same Capuchin monk - a man whose name Aiger never even knew. (Ripley's
Giant Book of Believe It or Not!)
Winnings'
Rightful Owner
In 1858, Robert Fallon was shot dead, an act of vengeance by those with whom he
was playing poker. Fallon, they claimed, had won the $600 pot through cheating.
With Fallon's seat empty and none of the other players willing to take the
now-unlucky $600, they found a new player to take Fallon's place and staked him
with the dead man's $600. By the time the police had arrived to investigate the
killing, the new player had turned the $600 into $2,200 in winnings. The police
demanded the original $600 to pass on to Fallon's next of kin - only to discover
that the new player turned out to be Fallon's son, who had not seen his father
in seven years! (Ripley's
Giant Book of Believe It or Not!)
Strangers
on a Train Next page > The Vengeful
Bullet and more coincidences > Page
1, 2
In the 1920s, three Englishman were traveling separately by train through Peru.
At the time of their introduction, they were the only three men in the railroad
car. Their introductions were more surprising than they could have imagined. One
man's last name was Bingham, and the second man's last name was Powell. The
third man announced that his last name was Bingham-Powell. None were related in
any way. (Mysteries
of the Unexplained)
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