# Explanation for weird coincidences keep happing? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 17, 2011, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explanation-for-weird-coincidences-keep-happing/589364 "2011-07-17T19:03:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explanation-for-weird-coincidences-keep-happing/589364/1 "2011-07-17T19:03:20Z")
It’s like every time I start a thread, I see someone else just started one with the same idea. And also, every time I hit the jackpot on that ATM game, money is missing from be back account. But the weirdest one is where I hear this noise, kind of like a rapping or knocking, it sort of changes like you know, but every time this happens somebody is standing outside of my front door. I mean is the some kind of explanation for this? It can’t just be coincidence or anything. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explanation-for-weird-coincidences-keep-happing/589364/2 "2011-07-17T19:10:31Z")
😃 Very funny wise guy. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explanation-for-weird-coincidences-keep-happing/589364/3 "2011-07-17T19:28:50Z")
I was gonna post [this link](http://www.cracked.com/article_18788_the-5-most-mind-blowing-coincidences-all-time.html) in that thread, but I didn’t want to help reinforce that guy’s irrational thought processes. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explanation-for-weird-coincidences-keep-happing/589364/4 "2011-07-17T21:20:21Z")
I was going to post a thread like this! How did you know? -D/a ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explanation-for-weird-coincidences-keep-happing/589364/5 "2011-07-17T21:44:12Z")
“A lot o’ people don’t realize what’s really going on. They view life as a bunch o’ unconnected incidents ‘n things. They don’t realize that there’s this, like, lattice o’ coincidence that lays on top o’ everything. Give you an example, show you what I mean: suppose you’re thinkin’ about a plate o’ shrimp. Suddenly someone’ll say, like, “plate,” or “shrimp,” or “plate o’ shrimp” out of the blue, no explanation. No point in lookin’ for one, either. It’s all part of a cosmic unconsciousness.” Miller from Repo Man ---
**Author:** ![CoolGuy6132891267](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@CoolGuy6132891267](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolGuy6132891267)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explanation-for-weird-coincidences-keep-happing/589364/6 "2011-07-17T21:57:19Z")
Yeah you may thinking that i’m messing around and ‘been full of shit’ as someone said in the actually thread, but i’m contemplating going and seeing a therapist, which would cost me real money. Surely that shows that i’m not ‘messing around’, and i’m not ‘full of shit’. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explanation-for-weird-coincidences-keep-happing/589364/7 "2011-07-17T22:01:49Z")
Great, now he’s really freaked out :rolleyes: > [@Explanation for weird coincidences keep happing?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explanation-for-weird-coincidences-keep-happing/589349/69): > > Yet another coincidence just happened to me. I had my laptop on the ‘in my humble opinion’ homepage page while I went for my shower, and, when I just came back, before refreshing the page, I looked, and this thread had 67 replies, so then I refreshed it, and immediately looked at number of replies, and there was a thread with 68, so I clicked on it, thinking that it was mine, with another post, and it turned out to be a totally new thread. > > This is like one of the first times i’ve looked at the number of posts a thread has before refreshing the page, and plz don’t just say that i’m looking for coincidences, because i’m not, but these stupid things just seem to keep happening. \*\* CoolGuy6132891267\*\* your having a little fun poked at you. This new thread was opened as a joke. ---
**Author:** ![CoolGuy6132891267](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@CoolGuy6132891267](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolGuy6132891267)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explanation-for-weird-coincidences-keep-happing/589364/8 "2011-07-17T22:09:44Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Great, now he’s really freaked out :rolleyes: > \*\* > CoolGuy6132891267\*\* your having a little fun poked at you. This new thread was opened as a joke. I wasn’t on about this thread, I was on about another thread which had exactly one more post than my original thread. Another coincidence just happened. I am on my iPod touch, and when putting more, i put Orr by accidently (I’m not very good at typing on them)which was the name of someone that posted in my original thread. ---
**Author:** ![CoolGuy6132891267](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@CoolGuy6132891267](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolGuy6132891267)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explanation-for-weird-coincidences-keep-happing/589364/9 "2011-07-17T22:14:04Z")
I put the m, then clicked off of the page by accident, then I clicked back on, and put Orr, instead of ore, on the end end of the m, and it changed the whole thing to Orr, who was someone who posted on my last thread. If I would of clicked off of the screen at any other time then it wouldn’t of worked. I’m sorry, but if you don’t call that a coincidence then maybe your the one with the mental problem. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explanation-for-weird-coincidences-keep-happing/589364/10 "2011-07-18T07:52:49Z")
Another coincidence: I was listening to the Cars on my iPhone, and Benjamin Orr was their bass player who died in 2000. Explain that. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explanation-for-weird-coincidences-keep-happing/589364/11 "2011-07-18T12:16:47Z")
And this computer has metal in it, and that metal originally came from ore, which sounds like Orr!! HOLY CRAP! ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explanation-for-weird-coincidences-keep-happing/589364/12 "2011-07-18T13:31:40Z")
> [@CoolGuy6132891267](#): > > I put the m, then clicked off of the page by accident, then I clicked back on, and put Orr, instead of ore, on the end end of the m, and it changed the whole thing to Orr, who was someone who posted on my last thread. > > If I would of clicked off of the screen at any other time then it wouldn’t of worked. I’m sorry, but if you don’t call that a coincidence then maybe your the one with the mental problem. [Moderator Note]If you wish to insult other posters, do so in The BBQ Pit forum, not here.[/Moderator Note] ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explanation-for-weird-coincidences-keep-happing/589364/13 "2011-07-18T17:12:06Z")
Here’s another weird coincidence. Or is it? You be the judge. Arlo Guthrie, who wrote “The Alice’s Restaurant Massacree,” was invited to President Carter’s inaugural ball in 1977. While there, the President’s son, Chip, confided in him that while the Carters were moving into the White House, they found a copy of “Alice’s Restaurant” in Richard Nixon’s record library. Guthrie thought nothing of this for years until, upon Nixon’s death, he came to the realization that “Alice’s Restaurant,” at 18 1/2 minutes long, was the same length as the infamous gap in the Watergate tapes. Coincidence? Or did Nixon create the gap himself by trying to record “Alice’s Restaurant” on top of the tape? ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explanation-for-weird-coincidences-keep-happing/589364/14 "2011-07-18T17:23:43Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > It’s like every time I start a thread, I see someone else just started one with the same idea. And also, every time I hit the jackpot on that ATM game, money is missing from be back account. But the weirdest one is where I hear this noise, kind of like a rapping or knocking, it sort of changes like you know, but every time this happens somebody is standing outside of my front door. I mean is the some kind of explanation for this? It can’t just be coincidence or anything. Gosh, that’s really weird! I was just about to start a thread about how I’m always hearing this rapping or tapping noise, but there’s nobody there! Well, except this freaky black bird. I mean, what’s up with that? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explanation-for-weird-coincidences-keep-happing/589364/15 "2011-07-18T17:56:15Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > Gosh, that’s really weird! I was just about to start a thread about how I’m always hearing this rapping or tapping noise, but there’s nobody there! Well, except this freaky black bird. I mean, what’s up with that? Did it look like a writing desk? ---
**Author:** ![Shark\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explanation-for-weird-coincidences-keep-happing/589364/16 "2011-07-18T18:42:37Z")
You wanna see something really weird? You actually had TWO simulposts in that other thread. Posts 54 and 55 at 4:20pm, and 90 and 91 EXACTLY 20 hours later at 12:20pm. Also, look at the post numbers: 1. 5 + 4 = 9 2. 5 + 5 = 10 3. 9 + 0 = 9 4. 9 + 1 = 10. I just blew your mind. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explanation-for-weird-coincidences-keep-happing/589364/17 "2011-07-18T19:07:04Z")
Note to self: Wedgie for **TriPolar** , next time I see him. ---
**Author:** ![Zyanthia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Zyanthia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyanthia)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explanation-for-weird-coincidences-keep-happing/589364/18 "2011-07-18T19:30:43Z")
> [@Shark\_Sandwich](#): > > You wanna see something really weird? You actually had TWO simulposts in that other thread. Posts 54 and 55 at 4:20pm, and 90 and 91 EXACTLY 20 hours later at 12:20pm. Also, look at the post numbers: > > 1. 5 + 4 = 9 > 2. 5 + 5 = 10 > 3. 9 + 0 = 9 > 4. 9 + 1 = 10. > > I just blew your mind. And if you add up the numbers in\*\* CoolGuy6132891267\*\*'S name (6+1+3+2+8+9+1+2+6+7) you get 45 which is 4+5 = 9! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explanation-for-weird-coincidences-keep-happing/589364/19 "2011-07-18T20:22:09Z")
> [@Shark\_Sandwich](#): > > You wanna see something really weird? You actually had TWO simulposts in that other thread. Posts 54 and 55 at 4:20pm, and 90 and 91 EXACTLY 20 hours later at 12:20pm. Also, look at the post numbers: > > 1. 5 + 4 = 9 > 2. 5 + 5 = 10 > 3. 9 + 0 = 9 > 4. 9 + 1 = 10. > > I just blew your mind. How many fingers did Frodo Baggins end up with? And how many did he start out with? Ooooh… ---
**Author:** ![David42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@David42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David42)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explanation-for-weird-coincidences-keep-happing/589364/20 "2011-07-18T23:54:27Z")
If anybody’s interested in weird stories, this happened to me. Living near Western Missouri in Kansas, in 1982 a friend gave me a copy of the pre-Tolkien fantasy _The Worm Ourobourus_. It had my friend’s initials in it in the funny little way he drew them. I read it about halfway through and then lost possession of it. In 2005, starting the bookstore up, a man who lives in Denver with relatives here brought in a box of books. He said that he had bought them at a garage sale in Denver. I started going through the box, saw _The Worm Ourobourus_ and said, “hey, I can finish reading this.” I looked inside, and there were my friend’s initials. It was the same copy. I have never seen another copy of this book. Thinking about this, I realized it wasn’t really so weird, he was just mistaken to some degree about the garage sale. I told him how this was my book (my friend’s anyway) and how odd it was that it came back to me. Then I said, but you must have gotten this book here, where I lost it, and then thrown it in with garage sale books. He insisted he’d never seen it before last week. His mother, a friend of the family’s had asked him to help bring us stock, so he’d gone garage saling in Denver in order to find books for us. It went straight in his trunk and stayed there, had no chance to have a book accidentally added. This means I lost the book, one person who was at least here for a bit took it to Denver, (or a series of people to different towns) where it wound up in the hands of another person with a connection to my town and brought it back to me, the person who first brought that copy to this town. Now that is freaking weird. I almost wanted to start thinking like CoolGuy. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explanation-for-weird-coincidences-keep-happing/589364.md?page=2)