One in A Million Coincidences - Part 8

There are some events in life that really make you question whether fate itself is at work. Like a guy whose life came full circle when he ended up flying the same aircraft he'd dreamed of 20 years later, or an incredible photobomb that bought two newlyweds together decades before they first met. Let's delve into a whole host of jaw-dropping tales of one in a million coincidences you’ll have a hard time to believe.

Ramon Artagaveytia & The Titanic

Most people are scared of something, like spiders, clowns, or heights, but for Uruguayan businessman Ramon Artagaveytia, that fear was boats. Mr. Artagaveytia wasn’t always so petrified, in fact, he was born into a family steeped in the history of the sea. Just before his grandfather died, he even gave Ramon’s father a special oar which bore the inscription: “know how to use it, you will never be hungry. Your ancestors have always survived thanks to the sea. This is your destiny. Follow it!”.

Flash-forward to 24th December 1871, and Ramon was aboard the ship America, which was racing another ship into Montevideo Harbor, when high boiler pressures led to a freak fire. Ramon jumped into the sea and swam for his life, becoming one of 65 people who survived the horrific accident out of 114 first-class, 20 second-class and 30 “popular” class passengers.

Many suffered terrible burns, and the whole ordeal as enough to scare poor Ramon from setting foot on a boat for the next 41 years. After and avoiding voyages at all costs, Ramon finally prepared to sail again for a special trip from Europe to the United States in 1912.

In a letter, he wrote “at last I will be able to travel, and, above all, I will be able to sleep calm. The sinking of the America was terrible! Nightmares keep tormenting me.” Unfortunately, his bad luck hadn’t quite passed, and on April 10th, 1912 Mr. Artagaveytia boarded the Titanic, soon becoming one of some 1,500 passengers who lost their lives during the historic sinking on 14th April. Turns out conquering your fears isn’t always the right thing to do.

Double Tree Of Casorzo

Somewhere between Grana and Piemonte in Italy grows a tree that is unlike any other. The strange tree is known as the “double tree of Casorzo”, and tourists travel from far-and-wide just to marvel at the seemingly impossible feat of nature.

What’s so strange about it? Well, it isn’t exactly a tree at all, it’s two. The "double tree" is a mulberry tree which somehow boasts a fully-formed cherry tree growing out of the top, without ever threatening to fall. Nobody knows for sure how this miraculous coincidence came to be, but the most popular theory is that a bird dropped a seed on the mulberry tree one day, which then grew roots through the hollow trunk of its host to reach the soil below.

Although trees growing parasitically over another tree, otherwise known as epiphytical trees, are not particularly unusual, it’s extraordinarily rare for one to reach the size and lifespan as the Casorzo specimen, making this one seriously badass tree!

Prince Amadeo of Savoy And The Worst Wedding Ever

Everyone wants their wedding to be the perfect day, but when things don’t quite go to plan just remember this mind-blowing story. In 1867, Prince Amadeo of Savoy, the Duke of Aosta, wished to marry Italian noblewoman Maria Vittoria Dal Pozzo. Although King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, the prince’s father, disapproved initially on account of Maria’s lower standing, he finally agreed to the marriage. The wedding took place on 30th May 1867, but it was a day marred by tragedy.

The first bad omen occurred before the ceremony, when the bride’s wardrobe mistress was found swinging from the rafters in her dressing room. Feeling superstitious, Maria ordered a new dress, and the couple decided to go ahead with the wedding despite the mornings tragic events.

Unfortunately, the ceremony was delayed twice more by freak happenings: first, the officer leading the wedding procession from the palace to the church suffered sunstroke and collapsed. Then, when the palace gates failed to open, the gatekeeper was found also found lifeless on the grounds nearby.

Undeterred, the wedding continued, but the curse was far from finished. Minutes after the ceremony, the best man accidentally shot himself while checking over his ceremonial pistol. On the way to the railway station to leave for their honeymoon, the officer who drew up the marriage contract suffered a stroke, and the anxious station manager fell under the wheels of the approaching bridal locomotive.

By now, the king had decided enough was enough and ordered the bridal carriage to turn around. However, the count of Castiglione, who was riding alongside the carriage, fell from his horse and underneath the carriage wheels, marking the 7th tragedy of the day. If there was ever a sign that maybe two people shouldn’t be together, this cursed wedding would truly be it.

A Near Miss

After seeing one of the Final Destination movies it might take a while to believe that a series of fantastical freak accidents aren’t really out to get you, well, unless you happen to live here, that is. Back in 2004, a rockslide in the small village of Mundheim in Western Norway sent two massive boulders tumbling down the mountainside, where the two largest rocks ground to a sudden halt either side of a picturesque house on the roadside.

The house belonged to an 89-year-old woman named Sigrid Uglehus, who just so happened to be staying with her son across the country at the time, and only heard about the freak event later on local news. Uglehus never returned to her home, but the boulders remained there as a reminder of the remarkable coincidence. Although one of the rocks has been broken down over time for use as a building material, the largest boulder can still be seen in front of the abandoned house today.

Innocence Proved With Baseball Game Footage

Not every police investigation is wrapped up with a perfect bow, and sometimes the authorities manage to get things horribly wrong; just ask Juan Catalan! Although he’d been to several memorable games at Dodger Stadium as a child, none would have such an impact as his outing to see the LA Dodgers on May 12th, 2003. Not only did Catalan snag tickets at the very last minute, but this would also be the game that would save his life.

Three months after the game, Catalan’s world was turned upside down when he was arrested for a crime he didn’t commit, the murder of 16-year-old Martha Puebla, also on May 12th, 2003. Of course, Catalan had an alibi, considering he was 20 miles away at the dodgers game with his daughter Melissa that day, but that wasn’t enough for the no-nonsense prosecutor. All hope wasn’t lost yet though, and Catalan’s defense lawyer vowed to sift through internal camera footage at Dodger Stadium in the hopes of finding a trace of his client, but the search turned up nothing.

That’s when Catalan had a ‘light-bulb moment,’ he suddenly remembered that he’d seen a camera crew filming in his section of the ballpark that night for Comedian Larry David’s TV-show “Curb Your Enthusiasm”. As expected, Catalan in his No. 27 Kevin Brown shirt could be seen walking back to his seats with his young daughter in one of the grainy frames, and he was acquitted of the crime.

Man Proves His Innocence With Baseball Game Footage In New Netflix Documentary | NBC Nightly News by NBC News

What’s even more amazing is that Catalan also recalled how they had initially been stopped by a PA, so they didn’t interrupt filming, but for some reason they had a change of heart and let the father and daughter walk back to their seats. Can you imagine what would’ve happened had Melissa not asked for a snack that day?

Photobomb Fate

Whether you’re a believer in fate or not, this romantic little coincidence is enough to melt even the coldest of hearts. While rifling through old photos in 2018, Reddit user Pcsbor happened upon a photograph of his cousin, the loner on the left, which was taken during a trip to Pão de Açúcar in Rio de Janeiro in 1985. You might be thinking the poor dude just wasn’t in the mood for a photoshoot that day, but he’s not actually a part of the family, or at least, he wasn’t at the time.

Pcsbor’s cousin just so happened to be at Pão de Açúcar on that day, completely unaware that he would end up accidentally photobombing his future wife’s vacation snap. To make things even crazier, this photograph was taken 7 whole years before the pair first met! Can you imagine the loved-up couple’s surprise when they realized their first photo together had existed for so long without them even knowing about it? Now that’s one to show the future kids someday.

Pigeon Photobomb

Here’s another charming photobomb that you wouldn’t be able to recreate if you tried. Sure, this stealthy pigeon may have ruined your well thought-out tourist shot, but how many people can say they’ve snapped a photo with a bird in mid-flight? Poor dude was just passing through.

Pilot Discovers He's Flying the Same Helicopter That Inspired His Army Career

What did you want to be when you grew up? A fireman, or a doctor perhaps? More importantly, did you end up achieving that dream? For most of us, reality sets in and life takes a different path, but not for the guy in this story, who found himself coming full-circle in this next amazing coincidence.

It all started when he visited an air show with his grandpa and uncle as an 8-year-old boy, where he sat for this photograph in the 0H58 Kiowa helicopter. On that very day, he decided he wanted to become an army pilot, and sure enough he realized that dream by joining the air force as an adult.

While sifting through old memories 20 years later, he stumbled upon the photograph and thought to himself how cool it was that he’d been flying a similar helicopter for the past month. When he next arrived at the airfield, he asked his colleagues if they ever had a Kiowa with the same tail number listed on it as the one he’d sat in as a child.

To his surprise, they not only had a similar aircraft, but it was sat out on the ramp, so, naturally, he went to take a photo with it for old times’ sake. But there was one final twist in the tale, when he arrived, he realized he’d actually been flying the exact same Kiowa for the past month that had inspired him to fly 20 years earlier!

Fisherman Finds A Mole Inside A Fish's Mouth

In 2017, 22-year-old fisherman Monroe MacKinney from Fair Grove Missouri was fishing on his parents 8-acre pond when he reeled in a bass and noticed something slightly out of the ordinary about his catch.

When he went to remove his hook, he spotted something poking out of the fish’s mouth which almost made him drop it back into the lake in utter shock. On further inspection he realized that the creature lodged inside was actually a tiny mole, which is like, the last thing you’d expect to see.

How it ended up inside the fish is quite a head-scratcher, although moles are often bought to the surface during flooding and have been known to be good swimmers; so maybe the poor guy just wasn’t looking where he was going. Although it was too late to save the poor mole, the fish was released safely back into the lake.

Doppelgangers

Apparently, there’s about a one in 135 chance that a pair of complete doppelgängers exist somewhere in the world, but the chances of you actually meeting your mirror-image are even slimmer. Still, there are plenty of people in the world who have been dumbstruck after finding their uncanny resemblance in the most unexpected places; just take a look at this guy, for example!

Talk about divine inspiration! could it be that this dude is really the second coming of Christ himself? Those are some big sandals to fill. It isn’t only humans who hope to meet their doppelgänger’s someday; check out this dragonfly who clearly thought he’d stumbled upon his long-lost twin chilling on this woman’s foot. However, considering dragonflies mate using the appendages at the end of their tails, there could be something slightly freakier going on there.

Woodturner Finds Bowl That Inspired Him 31 Years Ago

They say you should never meet your idols, but Reddit user DalbergTheKing took that famous phrase to the next level when they posted about this next amazing coincidence.

Our friend Dalberg is a professional woodturner, who happened upon a lovely hand-made bowl in a vintage store one day. On closer inspection, they noticed the mark of Ray Key, the woodturner who had inspired them to take up the hobby as a kid, and knew they had had to buy it.

But the coincidences didn’t end there. Once they got home, they still couldn’t shake the feeling that this particular bowl still felt eerily familiar. After digging out the book Woodturning and Design, which had fueled their passion as a child 31-years-earlier, they landed on a page which showed the exact same bowl! The chances of this happening must truly be one in a million, so it’s no surprise Dalberg now claims the bowl is their prized possession.

If you were amazed at these incredible coincidences, you might want to check out our entire One In A Million Coincidences series. Thanks for reading!