Believe it or not!
Falling babies, twins separated at birth, & more: 10 amazing coincidences
Image: Jan Canty
Some of us believe in coincidences, some don’t. But either way, incredible things do happen from time to time, and America has no shortage of them. Some involve famous presidents, others, ordinary people caught in extraordinary situations, but all of them show us that strange coincidences can sometimes shape real life.
1
The Civil War began and ended on Wilmer McLean’s property
Virginia businessman Wilmer McLean tried to escape the Civil War by moving away from Manassas after the First Battle of Bull Run erupted near his home in 1861. Confederate General P.G.T. Beaugard even used McLean’s house as headquarters, and a Union cannonball crashed through his kitchen.
McLean relocated about 120 miles south to Appomattox Court House, hoping for peace. Instead, on April 9, 1865, Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant in McLean’s parlor, effectively ending the war. McLean later joked that the war "began in my front yard and ended in my front parlor."
2
A bullet links the first and last soldiers who lost their lives in the Civil War
One long-circulated Civil War story claims that the bullet removed from the first Union casualty was later melted and reused years afterward, eventually ending with the life of one of the final soldiers of the conflict . Historians debate parts of the tale, but it became one of the war’s more enduring legends.
The coincidence works as a reflection on how Americans tried to make sense of the terrible human cost of the war. More than 600,000 people lost their lives in the conflict, making it the deadliest war in U.S. history.
3
A baby fell from a building twice, on the same man
In Detroit, during the 1930s, street sweeper Joseph Figlock reportedly became part of a bizarre accident when a baby fell from an apartment window and landed on him . The child survived, and so did Figlock.
About a year later, the same child allegedly fell from the same building again and once again landed on Figlock . Newspapers at the time treated the story as one of the strangest coincidences ever recorded in America. One might argue that street sweepers spend a disproportionate amount of time on the same streets, but the situation is still quite incredible.
4
Anthony Hopkins accidentally found the exact book he needed
While preparing for the 1972 film The Girl from Petrovka , actor Anthony Hopkins searched London bookstores for a rare copy of George Feifer’s novel. After failing to locate one anywhere, he sat down on the subway and noticed a forgotten copy of the tome in question lying on a bench .
Months later, Hopkins met Feifer himself and learned that the author had lent his annotated personal copy to a friend, who had lost it on the London Underground. The abandoned copy Hopkins found turned out to be that exact copy.
5
John Wilkes Booth is in one of Abraham Lincoln’s last photographs
John Wilkes Booth was already a nationally famous actor before assassinating President Abraham Lincoln in April 1865. Because of that fame, photographers had captured detailed images of Booth years before the crime that made him infamous.
One especially eerie coincidence is that Booth appears in photographs connected to Lincoln’s second inauguration festivities shortly before the crime took place . Historians later realized that the future assassin had unknowingly been documented near the President before he changed history forever.
6
A woman survived all three major White Star ship disasters
Violet Jessop worked as a stewardess for the White Star Line, the company behind the Olympic-class ocean liners. In 1911, she was on board the RMS Olympic when it collided with another ship.
In 1912, she survived the sinking of the Titanic . Four years later, in 1916, during World War I, she was aboard the HMS Britannic when it struck a mine and sank in the Aegean Sea. Jessop survived all three disasters and later became known as "Miss Unsinkable."
7
Theodore Roosevelt’s speech manuscript helped stop a bullet
During the 1912 presidential campaign, former President Theodore Roosevelt was shot in Milwaukee before giving a speech. The bullet first passed through a folded 50-page speech manuscript and Roosevelt’s metal eyeglass case in his breast pocket.
The thick stack of papers slowed the bullet enough that Roosevelt survived . Remarkably, he still delivered the speech, speaking for about 90 minutes (those 50 pages were no joke) before seeking medical treatment. Doctors later decided that the bullet was safer left inside his chest permanently.
8
A man unknowingly photographed his own future car accident
In the 1970s, amateur photographer Robert Landsburg reportedly took pictures of everyday traffic while experimenting with a new camera. After developing the film later, he realized one image showed the exact intersection where he would soon be involved in a collision .
The eerie coincidence became famous because the photograph captured the other vehicle that would later crash into his own car.
9
The "Jim Twins" lived nearly identical lives without knowing each other
Identical twins Jim Lewis and Jim Springer were separated at birth in Ohio in 1940 and adopted by different families. Amazingly, both adoptive families independently named the boys James. The twins did not meet again until they were 39 years old.
When reunited in 1979, they discovered a shocking number of similarities. Both had married women named Linda, later remarried women named Betty, owned dogs named Tony, drove similar cars, and even suffered from the same headaches .
10
The Wizard of Oz costume accidentally belonged to the book’s author
While filming The Wizard of Oz in 1938, costumers searched for an old-looking coat for actor Frank Morgan, who played both Professor Marvel and the title character. Costume staff reportedly bought several secondhand jackets from a thrift store in Los Angeles and picked one that looked perfect for the Marvel role.
Later, while examining the coat, the team discovered a label sewn inside with the name "L. Frank Baum", author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz . Baum’s widow later confirmed that the jacket had indeed belonged to her late husband.
