It seemed like a weird coincidence that I’d run into Harlan Ellison at every Megacon in Orlando but I figured that was simply his way of going on a cheap Florida vacation.
Spike Spiegel VA of Vegeta and Charles Martinet VA of Mario must have lived in my area because I always saw them at the local anime convention.
When I was born, my father was in the Army; he was stationed at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA. We lived in Carmel, and I was born in the Monterey hospital. Flash forward 35 years: I’m living near Washington DC, and start seeing a guy I met via OKCupid. After a few dates we discover that his birthday is two weeks after mine…and when he was born, his dad was in the Navy…and stationed in Monterey…and the military hospital’s nursery was full when his mom went into labor. We were born in the same hospital, on the other side of the country, two weeks apart. 
When I was a boy I was in the car with my father, listening to a Simon and Garfunkel tape while driving to the mountains near Madrid. Suddenly my father had enough of the tape we had listened too often and pushed the button to eject it. The radio station that started automatically played the same song seamlessly on. One of us was meant to listen to this song until the end, evidently. The other one had to endure it too.
I had a similar experience about 20 or 25 years ago. I was driving and listening to WDR1 when “La Isla Bonita” by Madonna came on. I don’t like this song, so after a while I switched to WDR2 (back then the sister station to WDR1 pandering to a different, but slightly overlapping demographic), and the song continued flawlessly. A very bad miscommunication between the program managers of both stations. (or maybe a practical joke? I’ll never know)
I’m pretty sure that almost everyone that lived in the era of FM had that experience. Mine was when Last Kiss came on (I remember because I despise every cover of that song so it’s reflexively muted/changed when it plays) and I hit the next preset button. The song that had just finished was just starting on the new station. Totally different stations with slightly overlapping playlists.
Last year, for our wedding anniversary we booked a weekend at a beachfront inn, about 40 miles from our house. The first morning we had brunch in the inn’s restaurant. I heard someone call my name. It was one of my neighbors!
A friend was throwing herself a birthday party back in the 90s. The map I had was hand drawn, had the least amount of information needed, and was copied on her work copier as was done in those days. I was to take Main Road north, turn left on Her Street and stop at the 3rd house on the right. I did so. The 3rd house was a split level, the garage doors were open, there were a lot of people, black ribbons and balloons were decorating the garage. Definitely a birthday party. I was about halfway up the driveway when I realized I didn’t know anyone there.
It turns out that Her Street came off of Main Road, turned to the north and ran parallel to Main Road for a couple blocks, then turned back onto Main Road. I missed the south end of Her Street and turned in at the north end. Two houses on that street having birthday parties, both the 3rd from the right depending on which end of the street you come in on.
My father did that once with my grandfather’s car. I know there are only so many key combinations possible, but three of us in this thread with that story seems a bit much.
My surname is really rare. Only 1,500 people in the US have it rare. Two of those people are women who also share my first name…
…and a few years ago, long after my family moved away, one of the two moved to the town I grew up in.
During a game of Texas Hold’em, I once got pocket aces* three times in four consecutive hands. My fellow dopers tell me the chance of that happening is 1 in 2.7 million. Although the odds increase the more hands I play.
About 20 years ago I spent 3 months wandering aimlessly around Europe, drifting from city to city, spend a couple of days there before moving on. There was a ferry from Italy to Greece traveling overnight. While waiting I fell in with a bunch of other people doing the same as I was. There was a Mexican couple on their honeymoon, a few Australians, and another Brit or two. We traveled together as a group to Athens, and then to Santorini, before splitting up and going in different directions.
A few weeks later, I was wandering aimlessly through Amsterdam. I heard someone calling my name, and turned around, and there were the Mexican couple. We were all amazed.
Not that much of a coincidence, but was at a liquor store once. I came our and two guys where loading my 4Runner up with cases of beer. They had the same vehicle and had parked next to me.
I came out and said “Hey! Thanks!” Got it straightened out of course.
Almost twenty years ago, in class (actually military classroom training), our instructor came in Monday morning, and he was talking about his weekend. His story was about singing karaoke, and he said he sang this one song that got him a bunch of attention from the girls in the bar. All he said was “It’s that song, you know, that song… from that movie…”, and I blurted out “Total Eclipse of the Heart”, and he said “That’s the one!”
And every head turned, and for a moment I was king of the classroom.
In my first year of college (over 30 years ago) in Pittsburgh, a neighbor in my dorm was a nice guy named Mark. We met the very first day at orientation. We didn’t stay in touch much after that first year, as we were more acquaintances than friends.
In my first year of grad school (over 20 years ago) in Texas, a neighbor in my grad housing was a nice guy named Mark. We also met the very first day at orientation.
It was the same Mark. And we were in completely different majors and grad programs in both schools. When we saw each other, we both had the exact same look on our faces that was basically “I’m stunned. How?”
Back in the day when cars had two keys, I found that the door key for one of our Fords worked in the other Ford door as well. It took me a few minutes to figure out why I couldn’t start the car though.
My favorite coincidence was years ago. I needed recommendation for a new doctor so I called a friend to ask for some suggestions. After I hung up with her and called the doctor to make an appointment, the reception answered but instead of hearing something like “Dr Smith’s office” I heard “Hi, so we’re looking to get a lunch delivery for tomorrow”. Thinking either I got the wrong number or she was confused, I asked her what she was talking about. As it turns out, while I was on the phone with my friend, the doctor’s office had called about getting a lunch delivery the next day. A co-worker saw I was on the phone already so they took a message for me to call the office back. I had no idea they had called, but when I came up on their caller ID, they assumed I was returning their call.
A bit of confusion and 10 years later I still get my allergy shots there and my business still delivers lunches to them. It’s especially convenient when I can get my shots while I’m dropping off lunch (and then hit my favorite burger/frozen custard place on the way back to work).
My aunt and I have sequential social security numbers. While that’s an odd enough coincidence, I think it’s just as odd that we’re aware of it.
On re-reading this, I realize that the coincidence I mentioned isn’t that striking but that’s because I messed up.
So, rewriting the above passage :
My ex-wife’s initials were O.L. and the woman I was in a relationship with immediately after our divorce was called Zelda Te…. Nothing special here, except that my ex-wife had been adopted and only discovered it as an adult. It took her over 15 years to track down her original birth certificate. Her birth name was Zelda Te….
Being in two successive long-term relationships with women whose name was Zelda Te… was definitely a troubling coincidence.
Many moons ago, me and my girlfriend took a trip to a nearby lake in my 1977 VW Golf, my first car. I managed to shut the doors with the keys left inside. After a few minutes of anger and confusion, I asked my girlfriend for the key of her car, a Ford Fiesta, and surely it easily opened the Golf. I later learned that the lock was so worn out that you could open it with any key that fit the keyhole.
30 years ago I was on my honeymoon in Hana, Maui, a tiny town that’s only accessible by a notoriously difficult road, so there is much less tourist traffic than on the west side of the island. My wife and I went out to dinner at one of the few restaurants in town. Sitting at another table was a guy I worked with in California.
I was once driving home from a concert in San Francisco. I wasn’t familiar with the area and was driving around surface streets trying to find the freeway entrace. A Grateful Dead tape I was playing started playing Franklin’s Tower. At the lyric “it can ring like fire when you lose your way”, I kind of sarcastically thought, “sure, this song is going to help me find the way home”. Just at that moment I saw a sign directing me to the freeway, telling me to turn on … Franklin Street.
Guy I was in 3rd grade with chased me relentlessly around at recess.
I got thoroughly pissed about this so, one day I clocked him in the mid-face. Hard. (I had brothers who needed punishment from me occasionally, so I learned how)
Broke his nose, bleeding lip and broken glasses. (Yeah, I got in all manner of trouble)
Move forward 20 years. I’m needing a dentist. I looked around locally, no luck. I cast my net further afield and in a nearish town I found one practice taking new patients, took my insurance and was generally very receptive. I made an appointment.
Got to the appointment and they sat me in an exam room. The dentist came in. Stood behind me while washing his hands and making small talk.
He grabs his tools, adjusts his light. Looks at my face and says “You!!”
It was Stanley from 3rd grade.
I quietly got up and left.
They actually sent me a bill.
In high school, my best friend was Kevin (his real name). Like me, he had a mother, a father, and a younger sister. After some time we discovered that each member of our family knew his/her counterpart independently.
Kevin and I had met in high school because our last names were alphabetically adjacent, so we sat near each other in home room.
Our fathers had been professional acquaintances for many years.
Our mothers met in a community choir.
Our sisters were in the same class in middle school.
None of us knew about any of the others.
Hope you didn’t pay, Beckdawrek.
I bumped into a childhood friend outside Grand Central Station in Manhattan, almost 20 years since we had last seen each other in our small, eastern Ohio hometown.
I didn’t.