What's the biggest coincidence that's ever happened to you?

[Anonymous]

My son was born via emergency c-section on 4/20 which my husband later informed me was Hitler’s birthday. It was in a Latin American country, and there were two MDs in the operating room with the first name Adolfo.

[Anonymous]

When I was 19 and in college, I worked as a camp counselor in upstate NY. Most of the campers at this sleepaway camp were from the NYC area. One of the campers that I got to know pretty well had a very unique first name, that has always stuck with me.

Went back to college in a large midwestern city at the end of the summer, met the person that I would later marry. About ten years later after finishing school, started working, got married, had a a kid, went to grad school, we moved to DC for DH’s job. DH is from Maryland and his family still lives here, so when we first arrived, we were all invited to brunch at FIL’s good friend and colleague’s house. We arrive and who opens the door but the camper with the very unique name that I had befriended at sleepaway camp all those years ago.

[Anonymous]

My mom had a summer camp friend for like 6 weeks in the 50s. She was talking about some incident a camp to a friend recently (65 years later). Her husband grew up in the same small town at the friend, went to high school with her and they reconnected.

[Anonymous]

But my grandmother had the best coincidence story. Her parents were medical missionaries, and she grew up in Asia. After she came to the US for college, she started dating my grandfather but didn’t write about him to her parents because she wasn’t sure how serious it was. She did, however, go with him to visit his family.

Meanwhile back in Asia, my great- grandparents went to a meeting with many other missionaries. My great-grandmother struck up a conversation with the man next to her, and it turned out that they were from the same state - what a coincidence! Then he said, “Oh, Mrs. John Smith of Shanghai! You must be the mother of Miss Anne Smith.” It turns out that he was from my grandfather’s hometown and had the town newspaper mailed to him. Like many small town newpapers of the day, it reported on visitors, such as Miss Anne Smith, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. John Smith of Shanghai, in town with David Jones to visit his family.

My grandmother said the next thing she knew, she got a letter from her mother asking who this David was and was it serious. She realized she should never try to keep things from her mother, even from halfway around the world 😄

(It was serious, and they did get married, although my grandfather had to propose 2-3 times because it was during WWII, and there were lots of handsome young men in uniform, and my grandmother wasn’t sure she was ready to settle down 😁)

[Anonymous]

Mine is sad. I was at a summer camp in high school and there was a friendless girl who lived two hours away. I was in a big "save the world" phase and I befriended her. We'll call her Rachel.

That fall, I went on a church youth retreat and there was a girl from Rachel's school there; we'll call her Dawn. I said, "Do you know Rachel?" and Dawn said, oh, I think so? She might be in my art class?

Months later, tragically Dawn was killed in a car accident. Rachel called me crying, saying that her "best friend" had died. What are the odds that I would have run into Dawn and asked her if she knew Rachel before this happened?

Rachel was clearly a serial liar, as she also claimed to be in the special olympics (not clear for what), and she never mentioned a boyfriend until one day I got a boyfriend, and then guess what, so did she! Ultimately I learned an important life lesson that I wasn't equipped to heal someone with serious issues just by offering friendship.

[Anonymous]

My brother moved into his dorm freshman year. The senior who lived in the room 3 years earlier was helping with move in and came by and introduced himself. He was a distant relative.

[Anonymous]

I was in a bar in Key West and started chatting with a stranger. Turned out he was the son of my parents' next door neighbor. We are from New England.

[Anonymous]

I went on a date with an Irish girl I met in a bar.

Halfway through first date at dinner I am telling her about my family as my parents born in Ireland. Her mom knew my mom. Quickly I realize my mom and her mom are related.

We had a good time. I dropped her off and she actually went to kiss me and I ran out of there.

My mom asks what happened to nice Irish girl you went on date with? From what you told me seemed nice. Too bad I won’t get to meet her. I tell don’t worry you might meet her at a family reunion we are related.

[Anonymous]

I randomly rented an apartment in Paris in 1995 from a man who had, it turned out, dated my mom 30 years earlier (in the US).

I went in a few dates with a guy originally from Russia. Turns out our fathers were scientists who worked together in the 1980s and we had the exact same birthday and I had grown up hearing about Alexey my birthday twin and had met his dad when I was young.

[Anonymous]

When I was in high school, I was away at summer camp as a counselor. I would call my parents every Sunday afternoon from a pay phone in the staff lounge. One Tuesday afternoon I had this really strong urge to call my mom, even though it wasn’t our day and long distance was going to be super expensive on a weekday afternoon. I couldn't shake the feeling so I called and it turned out my dad had been hospitalized that morning.

[Anonymous]

I had a dream that my mom died. She passed away later that day.

[Anonymous]

I have two DCs and learned that two of my first cousins (who are siblings) have the same birthdays as my kids, just reversed. So the older cousin shares a birthday with my younger DC and vice versa.

[Anonymous]

Two that both involve my mother.

About 15 years after college, in the early 2000's, a young woman starting working in the office with my best friend from college. I'm an American born Chinese American and grew up in Pittsburgh. This young woman was also an American born Chinese American, but grew up in Detroit. She was about the same age as I was. We were friends for years. About 10 years into our friendship, her husband got a new job and they moved to Orlando, FL, where my parents lived. My mother, a real-estate agent, helped them buy their first house. A couple of years later, my friend's mother came to visit and my friend decided to invite my parents to dinner. While at dinner the two mothers chatted and realized that they knew a lot of the same places and people. It turns out that my friend's mother was the younger sister (2 years younger) of my mother's best friend from elementary school. In Beijing China. In the 1930's.

The other small world incident also involved my mother. As I said, my mother was a real estate agent in Orlando. She's been an agent there since the 1980's. In her first job, she met another agent, G. G was my mother's best work friend and they periodically socialized outside of work. Over the years, various agencies closed, were bought out, or brokers moved. My mother and G always stuck together and they moved agencies together. They helped each other out with clients. When either one went on vacation, the other provided client support until the agent returned. They were friends for about 40 years until G passed during the pandemic (unrelated). I work at a federal agency and have know this one employee for 10 years. I only know him through work, but we're friendly and have seen each other regularly. One day, he went to visit his wife's family in Florida and he came back and asked me if my mother was A who lived in Orlando. I was a little surprised, but confirmed. He said that G was his wife's aunt, someone who had become like a mother to her after her mother (G's sister) passed. He said while they were working, G mentioned my mother, who had a son who worked for our agency and he put 2 and 2 together.

[Anonymous]

I grew up on Long Island.
I was in LA taking a cab from a hotel to UCLA for an event. The cab driver grew up down the block and knew my family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had a dream that my mom died. She passed away later that day.

This reminds me. My father was 93 when he passed. I called the daughter of Dad's best friend from college (in the 1940's) to let her know that "Dad" had passed and she said she was calling me to tell me that. It turns out her dad died about 12 hours after my dad did. Two men in their 90's, friends for over 75 years, died within 12 hours of each other.