Coincidence

[jimmyjazz 45,991]

I'm a big fan of coincidence.  For one thing, I get a charge out of people trying to explain away random events as evidence of some greater power at work, but mostly I just like seeing chaos crossing the streams.

An example:  a HS friend is Chair of the Communications Department at a midwestern university.  Her specialty is President Eisenhower.  She's written very well-received books and journal articles on Ike and his interactions with the public as well as those with political forces in Washington DC.

The other day my friend revealed that she had just learned about a 3rd cousin she never knew existed.  She contacted this lady, and learned that she was (a) chair of an east cost university's Communications department, (b) was also an expert on President Eisenhower, and (c) was author of 7 books, 2 of which my friend had read and 1 of which she had cited in her own PhD dissertation.  Again, this was her cousin, whom she didn't know existed.

Throw me some coincidence.

[Huckleberry 33,036]

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.

Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

The names Lincoln and Kennedy each contain seven letters.

Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.

Both wives lost their children while living in the White House.

Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.

Both were shot in the head.

Lincoln’s secretary, Kennedy, warned him not to go to the theatre.
Kennedy’s secretary, Lincoln, warned him not to go to Dallas.

Both were assassinated by Southerners.

Both were succeeded by Southerners.

Both successors were named Johnson.

Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.

John Wilkes Booth was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald was born in 1939.

Both assassins were known by their three names.
Both names are comprised of fifteen letters.

Booth ran from the theater and was caught in a warehouse.
Oswald ran from a warehouse and was caught in a theater.

Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.

Had to be done.

Edited October 10, 2018 by Huckleberry

[SimonBolivar 10,958]

Are there big coincidences and small coincidences, or just coincidences?

 

 

Edited October 10, 2018 by SimonBolivar

[Fudge Nuggets 19,208]

3 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I'm a big fan of coincidence.  For one thing, I get a charge out of people trying to explain away random events as evidence of some greater power at work, but mostly I just like seeing chaos crossing the streams.

An example:  a HS friend is Chair of the Communications Department at a midwestern university.  Her specialty is President Eisenhower.  She's written very well-received books and journal articles on Ike and his interactions with the public as well as those with political forces in Washington DC.

The other day my friend revealed that she had just learned about a 3rd cousin she never knew existed.  She contacted this lady, and learned that she was (a) chair of an east cost university's Communications department, (b) was also an expert on President Eisenhower, and (c) was author of 7 books, 2 of which my friend had read and 1 of which she had cited in her own PhD dissertation.  Again, this was her cousin, whom she didn't know existed.

Throw me some coincidence.

A 3rd cousin is basically no more than a casual acquaintance. 

[Surly Bevo 25,076]

2 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

Are there big coincidences and small coincidences, or just coincidences?

 

 

 

[Blotto 23,560]

3 minutes ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

A 3rd cousin is basically no more than a casual acquaintance. 

Sounds like something someone who is boning their 3rd cousin would say.

[Huckleberry 33,036]

5 minutes ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

A 3rd cousin is basically no more than a casual acquaintance. 

Basically. If you're third cousins then that means the shared ancestor is a great-great-grandparent.

[jimmyjazz 45,991]

Without getting into an ancestry argument, her claim was "3rd cousin".  She's her father's cousin's daughter.  What  I don't know is if the two men are first cousins.

And yet . . . it's still unusual.  How many people in the US chair Communications departments and focus on Dwight Eisenhower?  It's not like they met at a professional conference.  She literally just learned that this person existed.

Yeesh.  Pedant much?

Edited October 10, 2018 by jimmyjazz

[Fudge Nuggets 19,208]

8 minutes ago, Blotto said:

Sounds like something someone who is boning their 3rd cousin would say.

I have no idea who my third cousin is, so this may hit close to home.

[Js1 85,440]

I missed the first drive where OU scored a TD easily.

I then watched until the end of the 3rd quarter when I left for lunch.

When I turned it back on at the restaurant at lunch time, we hit the winning FG.

Coincidence? NOPE.

[Huckleberry 33,036]

Without getting into an ancestry argument, her claim was "3rd cousin".  She's her father's cousin's daughter.  What  I don't know is if the two men are first cousins.
And yet . . . it's still unusual.  How many people in the US chair Communications departments and focus on Dwight Eisenhower?  It's not like they met at a professional conference.  She literally just learned that this person existed.
Yeesh.  Pedant much?

Father's cousin's daughter would be a second cousin. And yes, very much.

[jimmyjazz 45,991]

1 minute ago, Huckleberry said:

Father's cousin's daughter would be a second cousin. And yes, very much.

Only if the men are first cousins.

Return of serve.

[Huckleberry 33,036]

That is the understood meaning of the colloquial term "cousins," my friend.

[jimmyjazz 45,991]

So we have tightened the noose of surprise randomness.  Thank you for your service.  Please drive through.

[Bash Riprock 1,695]

27 minutes ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

A 3rd cousin is basically no more than a casual acquaintance  encounter.

fixed for arky

[Huckleberry 33,036]

If it helps your thread I was just talking to my wife about my uncle earlier today. Then this afternoon I've received 4 scam calls who apparently got my phone number mixed up with the same uncle's phone number on their list of potential targets.

[Knoxtnhorn 6,061]

Two.  And I absolutely swear to God I'm not making this up.

1)  At home with my then ex circa 1996.  She gets a call.  Person hangs up.  Ex sees a number on Caller ID but doesn't recognize it.  She decides she's going to go through the Knoxville, TN phone book until she finds it.  (See why she's an ex?)  After about 15 minutes, I walk over to her, pick up the phone book, open it about 3/4's of the way, and point right at the number.  To this day I get goosebumps thinking about it.  

2)  I met my current wife in the summer of '97.  When Xmas came around, we were still in that awkward, I'm-not-telling-you-everything stage.  She left for a week or so to go home for the Holidays.  Before she left, she told me she probably wouldn't be able to call me because her parents were getting divorced.  This was before most everyone had cell phones, so I didn't think much about it.  After several days w/o a call, I started getting paranoid.  What if she had a guy back home?  So I'm at work one day thinking about it.  I was using a database of every title (mags, books, toys, etc...) my company had in its distributorship - 15,000+ items.  I told myself I needed a sign, put my finger on the screen, and paged down for about 30 seconds.  Stop.  My finger was pointing to "Clarksville, TN road map", her hometown.  

 

[RDCanecutter 26,454]

2 hours ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

A 3rd cousin is basically no more than a casual acquaintance. 

Boy yew cain't be all timid at them reunions.

[WhatTheBuck 28,791]

I was just about to start the same thread. 

[SquishMitten 10,419]

I have no idea who my third cousin is, so this may hit close to home.

He posted on Landthieves as Nuggets of Fudge

[Steel Shank 9,428]

I like how this migrated to dudes laying pipe.

[Mojo Hand 4,580]

An old man turned 98.  He won the lottery, and died the next day. 

[Judge Roybeanbag 11,819]

I only believe in incidences.  

[Steel Shank 9,428]

Had a steamy incident at OP's momma's house last night.

[Aqua Buddha 14,598]

3 hours ago, Blotto said:

Sounds like something someone who is boning their 3rd cousin would say.

 

3 hours ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

A 3rd cousin is basically no more than a casual acquaintance. 

Pics of 3rd cousin?  That will decide the verdict.

[F250 28,788]

I met a girl that was a student at the University of Madrid and wanted to go into law enforcement and a huge fan of Depeche Mode. She was blown away when I told her I was also studying psychology and planning to go into law enforcement and a huge fan of Depeche Mode. We had sex 24 hours later.

I was actually a computer science major but faking coincidences was part of the game.

 

[qwertyu1234 496]

Don't you think it's a huge coincidence that Lou Gehrig died of Lou Gehrig's disease?

[workswithseed 2,112]

 

[Bevo 13,580]

Years ago after finishing a graduate school summer abroad program, I was standing in line to check into a hostel in Interlaken Switzerland and I heard a familiar voice. I turned around and my best friend from high school was standing in line behind me. I didn't even know he was in Europe.

[jimmyjazz 45,991]

47 minutes ago, Bevo said:

Years ago after finishing a graduate school summer abroad program, I was standing in line to check into a hostel in Interlaken Switzerland and I heard a familiar voice. I turned around and my best friend from high school was standing in line behind me. I didn't even know he was in Europe.

Now that's what I'm talking about . . .

[TornACL 7,721]

6 hours ago, Js1 said:

I missed the first drive where OU scored a TD easily.

I then watched until the end of the 3rd quarter when I left for lunch.

When I turned it back on at the restaurant at lunch time, we hit the winning FG.

Coincidence? NOPE.

If you leave a Texas Football game again for "lunch" I will punch you in the face. 

[Gatorubet 30,256]

4 hours ago, Mojo Hand said:

An old man turned 98.  He won the lottery, and died the next day. 

His new stripper wife inherited all of his money, and declined the autopsy.  Coincidence?

[WhatTheBuck 28,791]

5 hours ago, Mojo Hand said:

An old man turned 98.  He won the lottery, and died the next day. 

In 2006, #1 Ohio State beat #2 Michigan 42-39. The Ohio Lottery's Pick 4 drawing that night came up 4 2 3 9.

[Stinkpalm 687]

It’s like raaaaiiiinnnnnn...

[Your Mom 4,823]

8 hours ago, Knoxtnhorn said:

2)  I met my current wife in the summer of '97.  When Xmas came around, we were still in that awkward, I'm-not-telling-you-everything stage.  She left for a week or so to go home for the Holidays.  Before she left, she told me she probably wouldn't be able to call me because her parents were getting divorced.  This was before most everyone had cell phones, so I didn't think much about it.  After several days w/o a call, I started getting paranoid.  What if she had a guy back home?  So I'm at work one day thinking about it.  I was using a database of every title (mags, books, toys, etc...) my company had in its distributorship - 15,000+ items.  I told myself I needed a sign, put my finger on the screen, and paged down for about 30 seconds.  Stop.  My finger was pointing to "Clarksville, TN road map", her hometown.  

 

So did you find out who she was fucking back in Clarksville?  

[WhatTheBuck 28,791]

In Clarksville? It was probably a train. 

[Bevo 13,580]

2 minutes ago, WhatTheBuck said:

In Clarksville? It was probably a train. 

What is she a monkey?

[Js1 85,440]

[El Diablo 4,232]

Buddy of mine in the Navy was from New Jersey. He got out, bought a house in NJ, the note was eventually bought and sold and ended up in the hands of a bank in Dallas. He called the company in Dallas with a question about his loan. Girl answered the phone and he started smoozing her about her sweet Texas accent. He mentions that he was on a ship in the Navy with a guy from Texas. She mentions that her brothers best friend had been in the Navy. Oh really? What was his name? El Diablo.

I get a call from her later that evening to give me his phone number so we could catch up.

[Beau Vine 54,292]

To me, the most amazing coincidence is that JFK was shot right in front of the Kennedy Memorial.

[F250 28,788]

My family moved prior to me starting the 5th grade. My wife's family moved prior to her starting the 5th grade. I ended up at the elementary school she left and she ended up at the elementary school I left. Had one of us not moved we would have attended elementary school together. It also turns out that her family moved from the street that we moved to. Both of our families moved in August.

Her 5th grade class photo is full of my old friends and mine is of hers. Comparing the two were pretty weird.

We wouldn't meet for another 15 years. My wife believes it was fate keeping us a part until the time was right.

[Huckleberry 33,036]

To me, the most amazing coincidence is that JFK was shot right in front of the Kennedy Memorial.

Still not as crazy as Lou Gehrig getting Lou Gehrig's disease.

[Onboard 2.0 9,083]

1972 my mom and dad sell our house to a family moving in to town.  Flash forward to 1998 and the wife and I are looking to buy a new house. We look at several, and settle on one. Turns out the family we bought it from was the same family who bought our house in 1972.  And we moved in to our first house June 10, 1988. We moved in to the new house June 10, 1998. 

They're both coincidences, not gonna categorize them as large or small.

Edited October 11, 2018 by Onboard 2.0

[El Diablo 4,232]

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Born October 3rd, died August 27th. I got married on his birthday and he died on mine. So I kinda died on his too.

[irishtexan 11,522]

 

[jimmyjazz 45,991]

In a somewhat similar vein to my original post:

After completing her undergraduate degree at Washington University, my Mom was selected to participate in The Danforth Foundation's "Danny Grad" program.  15 young American women were chosen every year, and while at orientation in Michigan, she met a gal from Georgia named Leland.  They soon became fast friends.  Mom was then sent to NC State for a one-year mission.  I don't know where Leland was sent, but they stayed in touch.

My father had met Mom while he was finishing his PhD at Wash U, and like any good red-blooded American male, he managed to swing a post-doc position at NC State so he could horndog his way after Mom.  They began dating and eventually got engaged.  My Mom wrote Leland with the news, who in turn wrote back to reveal that she too had become engaged.  A few letters later, they both figured out that they were engaged to men with the same last name.

It turns out they were engaged to 2nd cousins who didn't know each other existed.  My Dad's father was a drunk who bailed on his family when my Dad was barely 3 years old, and so Dad never got to know that side of his family.  That connection was remade because my Mom and my (now) Aunt Leland met and became friends after college.  I am named after my uncle, and one of my cousins is named after my Dad.  We all became very close because they settled within a short drive in Champaign-Urbana, IL.  And that leads to another odd story I'll tell at another time . . .

[Prepuce of Doom 21,091]

Pics of Aunt Leland? 

[crash_davis 23,114]

On 10/10/2018 at 4:25 PM, Fudge Nuggets said:

A 3rd cousin is basically no more than a casual acquaintance. 

Can you fuck a relative and not have 3 eyed kids?  Yes? Then yes, a casual acquiantance.

[Prepuce of Doom 21,091]

5 hours ago, Prepuce of Doom said:

Pics of Aunt Leland? 

In keeping with the theme of the thread and for the benefit of the rest of the class, JJ and I have PM'ed and it turns out that I know Aunt Leland. 

[jimmyjazz 45,991]

2 hours ago, Prepuce of Doom said:

In keeping with the theme of the thread and for the benefit of the rest of the class, JJ and I have PM'ed and it turns out that I know Aunt Leland. 

Yeah, that came out of left field.

ANOTHER story that really twisted my head, with links to Prepuce of Doom's old stomping grounds as well as one of my Aunt Leland's sons:

 

About 15 years ago, my then-new wife and I were living in Travis Heights, and it so happened that our next door neighbors were high school classmates of hers (Austin High Maroons yep).  One night the neighbors had a party so I wandered over, and being the talkative annoying type, I starting chatting up some folks around the keg, mostly about music, college sports, that kind of thing.  Turns out two of the guys were brothers visiting from . . . Champaign.  I mentioned that I had spent a lot of time there because of family, and brought up a crazy show my cousin took me to on campus that was some kind of 24 hour dance marathon with live bands that culminated with folk superstar Harry Chapin ("Cat's In The Cradle").  What had really stuck with me over time was not Chapin but rather the band prior, a punk-ish local act called The Vertebrats.  They were REALLY good.

The brothers' eyes got wide, one pointed at the other, and said "he was the drummer for The Vertebrats".

Then they asked who was my cousin, so I told them his name.

Eyes got wider.

Said drummer guy pointed at his brother and said "he's currently in a band with your cousin".

 

Edited October 12, 2018 by jimmyjazz