19 coincidences that sound almost too weird to be true

Over the weekend, a set of three coincidence-laden anecdotes went viral, having been tweeted by the wonderful @SixthFormPoet. As is so often the case on Twitter, he was then bombarded with messages saying the coincidences didn’t happen. Artist and author, Moose Allain mused on this, and shared a strange coincidence of his own.

I have a sister called Claire. My dad is called Anthony. I met this Claire Allain the other day. Her dad is also Anthony (Tony). She is not my sister. pic.twitter.com/Qeb8acYxEF

— Moose Allain Ꙭ (@MooseAllain) June 10, 2019

Moose’s followers saw his post and joined in with an array of similar happenings from their own experience, including these amazing examples.

1.

Ordered a coffee in Crystal Palace park a few months ago, where I'd never been before. They asked for my name. I said Tom. They said can we have your surname? the last guy was Tom too. I said Chivers. The "last guy", behind me, said "want to know my surname?" It was @thisisyogic

— Tom Chivers (@TomChivers) June 10, 2019

2.

In the early 70s, 2 suitors asked my mother to go see the band Free with them. She chose my father.

30some years later Queen toured with Paul Rodgers (from Free) and my parents went. Sitting directly in front of them? The other suitor.

My dad beat him up.

(not really)

— James Cook (@jamesecook) June 10, 2019

3.

When I was a teenager my mate and were out shopping and she withdrew a tenner from a cashpoint. Written on it in biro was her own phone number.

— Red Sky At Night (@redskyatnight) June 10, 2019

4.

Booked a home swap holiday in the US with a couple we had never met. At the last minute, the husband couldn't come, as he was a last minute replacement to sail the round the world yacht race, as the original crewman's wife had just had a baby. This man was my brother-in-law.

— David Lloyd (@dave_backwell) June 10, 2019

5.

We had a woman call my home once asking for Liz. My sister said I wasn’t in, so she asked for Dave. That’s my cat’s name, which puzzled my sister. Turns out it was a wrong number.

— Liz Clough (@lizclough86) June 10, 2019

6.

When I was a kid, we had a piano at home, which we left behind when we moved house.

Some 20 years later, drunk at a mate's birthday party at a random sports hall, I wandered over to a lonely looking piano in the corner to have a play.

Lo and behold, it was my childhood piano.

— The Unfinished (@MattBowdler) June 10, 2019

7.

few years ago arriving at the darts at Ally Pally, I went to toilet. When I returned my wife & friends look a bit shocked and said I'd just walked passed them dressed in a chicken suit. We head to our seats and lo and behold sit down next to "Chicken Steve" his mates freaked out pic.twitter.com/vihM9q9uoB

— Pidgy-Back Jack (@Cookiejacked) June 10, 2019

8.

I turned up for my 12-week scan to mass confusion because apparently I wasn't pregnant + records showed I never had been. Turned out my NHS records got confused with a girl with the same full name, DOB and postcode as me. What are the chances?

— Lola Stephenson (@lolapop1) June 10, 2019

9.

Met a woman in a local cafe whose son has the same first name as ours. Turns out he also has the same date of birth and was born in the same hospital. The mother had been ringing round local nurseries to find a place, and they'd been saying "Arthur is already registered here!"

— Max Tundra (@MaxTundra) June 10, 2019

10.

I was reading Michael Palin's Diaries on the tube when the great man himself got on and stood next to me. I got very fanboy and he kindly signed my book before promptly getting off at the next stop, early I presume. (It says 'It's all lies') pic.twitter.com/QOQHVgvyiN

— Rob Cromwell (@RobCromwell) June 10, 2019