A strange day of coincidences

In early 1989 we were still living in California. I was miserable as sin and starting to think I should start making moves to get back home to Scotland. I was doing a bit of channel hopping and watched a movie on A&E called The Girl in the Picture, which is set in Glasgow. Then on came Letterman and the Proclaimers were guests. Next was a PBS documentary about silicon glen. Just before going to bed had a few minutes on MTV and up popped the Proclaimers again. I reckoned somebody was trying to tell me something so the next morning my CV was winging its way back to Scotland.

What's so miserable about sin?

I ran into someone I was at school with on the steps of Sydney Opera House once, which was quite weird. But what would be far more wacky is if, of all the billions of things that happen simultaneously in the world, some of them weren't eerily coincidental.

You notice the journeys where all the traffic lights are red, but not the all-green ones, or the mixtures. And you notice them more if you are late or angry. Everything points to Scotland if you want it to, and of all the actors in a film someone is bound to have a name connected to someone else you've just been thinking about, it's just a question of credulity.

But it's great that we notice these things and get befuddled by them. Imagine how boring the alternative would be.

Do you know how many people you need to have in a room for it to be statistically LIKELY that two will share a birthday?
23.

Actually 23 is 50/50. It becomes likely at 24.

Said goodbye to all my classmates on the last day of term, flew away on holiday to Corfu that night, woke up next morning, walked out onto the balcony to find the guy who sat two desks behind me drinking coffee on his balcony on next door villa.

Anyone ever stopped playing a track on a tape or CD whilst driving and switching to radio only to immediately hear the same track being played? I've had that happen a few times.

A few weeks ago I was taking my daily brisk walk singing 'American Pie' to myself. On nearing my home I walked past a homeless chap who tends to hang around the same street corner every evening. He smiled and waved at me and called out 'hey Joe, did you write the book of love, and do you believe in God, above? If the Bible tells you so...' then burst out laughing. Cue theme to the Twighlight Zone.

I believe there are no coincidences and there are no accidents. Perhaps it’s a highly advanced understanding which the human mind cannot fully comprehend at this time...


Regards,
Michel

quote:

Originally posted by Klout10:
I believe there are no coincidences and there are no accidents. Perhaps it’s a highly advanced understanding which the human mind cannot fully comprehend at this time...


Regards,
Michel

I was just about to say the same.....

Many years back we were in Rhodes, walked into a square in Lindos town and met 2 work colleagues entering the square from 2 other directions.
We didn't even meet at work, very often.

quote:

Originally posted by rodwsmith:
Everything points to Scotland if you want it to, and of all the actors in a film someone is bound to have a name connected to someone else you've just been thinking about, it's just a question of credulity.

But it's great that we notice these things and get befuddled by them. Imagine how boring the alternative would be.

Do you know how many people you need to have in a room for it to be statistically LIKELY that two will share a birthday?
23.

You're dead right. I was looking for justification to do something that was not popular as my wife loved California and I knew that at the time. Indeed it's still causing problems twenty years on.

And back when we were close we'd often sit together in silence, reading, listening to music, or whatever, and suddenly we'd both start speaking at the same time, about the same thing. Or if we were apart I'd phone her and find her engaged as she was trying to phone me. And vice versa. Generally it was to say the same thing. I've no problem with two similar people who have lived together intimately for years having similar thought processes.

At 14:40 yesterday, Mrs Ida Johnson of Wigan burned her tongue drinking too-hot tea at EXACTLY the same time as young Freddie Zoot of Melbourne fell out of bed and hurt his elbow.

What are the chances of THAT!!?!!???!?!?!

Bloody nora. Derek Acorah will be logging on here soon.

A good likeness (by coincidence)although my eye stalks are longer than that.

Book from Sniper soon, detailing how these "Cosmic" coincidences occur. All down to his own conciousness making it happen, apparently. Or something.

Extraordinary that Mike is still making the same old joke. That's twice today.

Nah. It's just a coincidence...

How about a book about the remarkable linguistic similarities between religious fundamentalists and the type of unthinking 'scientific' atheists found on Richarddawkins.net? Now that is a coincidence.

'In 1986, Peter Davies was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from
Northwestern University.

On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant
standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed
distressed,
so Peter approached it very carefully.

He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant's foot and found a
large piece of wood deeply embedded in it. As carefully and as gently
as he could, Peter worked the wood out with his hunting knife, after
which
the elephant gingerly put down its foot. The elephant turned to face
the man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for
several tense moments.
Peter stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled.
Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away.
Peter never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.

Twenty years later, Peter was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his
teenaged son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the
creatures turned and walked over to near where Peter and his son
Cameron were standing.

The large bull elephant stared at Peter, lifted its front foot off the
ground, then put it down.
The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the
while staring at the man.

Remembering the encounter in 1986, Peter couldn't help wondering if
this was the same elephant. Peter summoned up his courage, climbed
over the
railing and made his way into the enclosure.

He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder.

The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Peter
legs and
slammed his stupid body against the railing, killing him instantly.

Probably wasn't the same elephant'.

Thank you Adam I had forgotten a lot of those. A great 5 minute or so laugh break, magical.