People Share The Weirdest Coincidences That Ever Happened To Them

Right Place, Right Crime

Coincidences happen every day. You may show up to work wearing the same outfit as your coworker for a “twinning” moment on Instagram or even run into an old high school friend at the gym after you’ve moved to a new city and thought you would never see them again. Oh, and then there’s the fact that Family Guy has seemingly predicted the future multiple times in its 20-year run, from Caitlyn Jenner’s transformation to Robin William’s tragic death. 

A coincidence is in the eye of the beholder, but there’s no denying that they can have an effect on people’s everyday lives and choices. Maybe the universe is sending that old high school friend back into your life for a reason or you’re not getting that “dream job” because you’re meant for a different path. As always, the internet has a lot of thoughts on the matter, and people took the time to share the weirdest coincidences that have ever happened to them. Read on for the highlights!

Before “Find My iPhone”

I was once mugged by four guys on one of the main shopping streets of Nairobi, Kenya. One of the guys had me in a choke hold, and just before I was about to pass out, they dropped me and ran. At the time I didn’t know why. Nearly a year later, sitting on a beach on an island in Thailand, I met a British couple who did business in Kenya.

We started to talk about how dangerous it was getting for foreigners. They described an incident the year before of turning a corner and seeing a guy being mugged; a shopkeeper rescued him by hitting one of them over the head with a bat. They were on the same street, on the same day, at the exact same time I was there. It was me who they witnessed being mugged. What are the odds of randomly meeting up on a beach in Thailand a year later? Reddit user: magicsonar

Tom and Paul’s Grand Adventure

A few years ago I got into a cab heading out for the evening in downtown Toronto. Shortly after being dropped off, I realized I left my phone in the cab. I tried calling it with no luck. I called the cab company, but because I had flagged the cab and paid cash, they had no real way of knowing which cab I was in. I figured the phone was as good as gone and went about my night.

Many hours later and having moved around the city quite a bit, I’m ready to call it a night, so I flag another cab. Sitting in the back seat, I start to think the driver looks familiar and realize that I’m in the same cab I took earlier. He hasn’t found a phone, but I start looking anyways and sure enough, there it is, jammed in the seat. Reddit user: myrevenge

Together in Dubai

An American friend of mine by the name of Tom took his family on vacation to check out Antarctica. He met an Australian guy named Paul, who was also with his family, on Christmas Day in Antarctica. They talked for a bit and shared a few laughs, but they didn’t exchange contact info. Figured that they would never see each other again.

A year later, Christmas day, they take their vacation to Machu Picchu. He’s looking down at a map when he hears, “Hey Tom, how the heck are you?” It was Paul, taking his family on their annual trip as well. It was a pretty magical moment, but I can also see how people may wonder if one of them was stalking the other. Reddit user: stearman007

Instant Connection

I live in Australia, but I was born in Dubai. Every weekend in Dubai my mum would take me to the Hilton beach club and sit me in front of the pastry chef and eat. We moved away from Dubai really early on, so I don’t even remember much. Fast forward to 17 years of age; a new kid at school had just moved from a nearby town. 

We became friends; we both loved cricket, and we practiced a lot together. My dad and I were giving him a lift home after we were practicing and dad asked, “Where were you born?” And he says “Dubai.” And the conversation continues and I say I was too etc. Then he says, “My parents used to be the pastry chefs at the Hilton beach club.” 

And this blew me away; here we were 16 years later, halfway across the world, and every weekend I sat in front of his parents and ate what they made for me. To this day I still get goosebumps thinking about it. I mean what are the chances? Reddit user: [redacted]

When in Vegas

Never could explain this payphone incident. Saturday night out with friends, we decided to call my friend Al to see if he wants to join us. This was in England long before mobile phones, so we had to use one of the iconic red phone booths. Someone was already using it, so we had to wait a few minutes. The guy leaves, and we cram in the booth. 

Now, in those days, in order to make a call, you would first get a dial tone, then call the number. When the person answered, you would hear a bunch of beeps, at which point you’d insert the coins. So I pick up the phone but hear no dial tone. I hang up the phone and try again. Still no dial tone. Seems to be still connected to the previous call. 

I say “hello” to see if anyone is still on the line. A person answers, “Hello?” It was my friend Al. He had just picked up his phone to make a call, and somehow, miraculously, without even calling his number, we were connected. We all went to the pub after and tried to figure out how this happened, but it remains a mystery. Reddit user: autonicus

No Place Like Home

Back when I was in high school, my friend set me up with her boyfriend’s cousin (let’s call him Jack). Jack and I were walking around an amusement park and started talking about our recent family spring break vacations. Turns out both Jack and I had been in Las Vegas during the same week. We even stayed at the same hotel. 

The conversation changed subjects when Jack stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and said, “I saw you in Las Vegas.” I thought he was full of it, there’s no way he would remember some random girl among the thousands of people there. He told me the exact place he saw me, and that my sister and I were posing for a photo. We got back to my house and found the picture. There were Jack and his brother in the background. Reddit user: girlfromnorthcountri

Two Ships Passing

When I was in grade 2, our family moved from Manitoba to Arizona for a year due to a contract my dad was working on. We rented out the house fully furnished for the year. While in Arizona, we flew to Alberta one weekend. On the flight from Arizona to Alberta, I sat beside a boy my age, and we started talking. It went something like I never would have expected.

Me: What city are you from? Him: Winnipeg. Me: Me too! What school do you go to? Him: School name. Me: Cool, I used to go there too! What street do you live on? Him: Street name. Me: I lived on that street! It turns out his family was renting our house while we were gone. So I was sitting beside the boy who was sleeping in my bed while we were in Arizona. Reddit user: thodan110

 Sharp Encounter

 

When I was 13, I was on a family holiday in Venice. We were on a gondola (Venetian boat) touring the waterways of the city. We got halfway down a long passageway, and another gondola passed us by carrying a man and a woman. The man and my dad locked eyes, exclaimed one another’s name, and had a quick handshake as our gondolas passed.

My family sits quietly, pretty stunned, while the woman on the other boat explodes with “What? Who’s that? How do you know him?” Turns out it was a guy my dad went to university with and hadn’t seen since. They haven’t even contacted one another since. It’s crazy they recognized one another, considering they were both in their late 40s now, passing fleetingly on two gondolas in Venice. Reddit user: speckled_

 Real Friends Break Each Other’s Arms

About ten years ago, I tried to get into Six Flags with a tiny keychain Swiss army knife. It literally had a dull 1″ blade. I get it now, though. They told me I could either throw it away, take it to my car a mile away, or rent a locker for like 10 bucks. So I decided to hide it in the planter.

I looked down and saw a big piece of bark lying in the dirt and figured it would be a good hiding place. I picked it up and found another mini swiss army knife. I placed mine next to the first and went into the park. When I returned, the other knife was gone and a smiley face was etched into the dirt in its place. Reddit user: robinson217

License Plate Twins

My family used to take little summer vacations. One summer (I was about 7 or 8) we stayed at a campground about 4 hours from home. There were a bunch of kids there, and one day we all started playing tag. I was “it” and was chasing another young boy, and when I tagged him, I pushed him too hard and he fell and broke his arm. 

Fast forward to college. I became good friends with my neighbor in the dorm, and we ended up getting a place together our sophomore year. The following year we went out, and the topic of broken bones came up. “I’ve only broken one bone, and it was my arm when I was 7. Some kid at a campground pushed me over while playing tag.” It was me. Still can’t believe it. Reddit user: [redacted]

Long Lost Friends

One time I parked, without even noticing, next to a car with the same license plate as me. I had a MA plate, and she had a NH plate, both with the same 5-digit number. The even weirder thing was that both of us had kept the plate as a novelty plate because the state wasn’t making 5-digit plate numbers anymore.

We both kept the plates because a family member wanted to keep it (in my case, my dad wanted to keep his dad’s plate). It’s weird to think that with literally hundreds of thousands of license plate combinations, I parked next to this woman with the exact same number. We didn’t become best friends or anything, but it was wild. Reddit user: Plewto

Bookshelf Number

My first semester of college, I moved out of state. I was first to move into the apartment and had a few days to myself. After orientation I found my new roommate sitting on his bed. When I introduced myself, he asked where I was from. When I told him, he said, “Oh, I used to have a friend named Simon.”

I told him that I used to have a friend named Will. We were best friends in first and second grade until his family moved. We’re still friends to this day. I guess it’s true, that cliche Instagram quote that everyone posts. “If you love something, set it free…if it comes back, it was meant to be.” Reddit user: simplesimon6262

The City of Love

When I was in high school, I was aimlessly playing around our library one day. Like any large public high school, our library had literally thousands of books quietly tucked away in shelves and rarely, if ever, touched. That day I pulled a book at random from a shelf in the back and sat down to read it. After opening it, a slip of paper fell out.

I quickly recognized the dashed ten digits written on it as a phone number. I hastily read the number, and it was my older sister’s number, who had graduated from my high school several years earlier. Someone wrote her number and tucked it away into a random book in the back until I found it years later. Reddit user: Ima10AlltheTime

Eagle Eye

As a college sophomore, I went on a trip to France by myself. I was sitting in Notre Dame Cathedral, listening to music, when a girl I once dated in high school sat down near me totally at random. We were both speechless when we saw one another there, out of the blue, in a foreign country within a vast cathedral.

Life is seriously really crazy sometimes. After high school, you think you’ll never see these people again…but every once in a while you’ll see one of your exes in Paris. Even in the city of love, it was more awkward than romantic. And this story is actually pretty sad to think about now, after the devastating Notre Dame fire. Reddit user: Back2Bach

Double Trouble

This coincidence is straight up sorcery. I was kayaking with my family along a river when I thought I would pull a fast one on my brother. So I yell, “Hey look, a bald eagle!” to my brother so I can do the whole “made you look” game. But to my surprise, he just goes “Cool!” I’m just like…wait, what?

At this point, I think he’s just messing with me so that I can’t say the whole “made you look” thing. For context, this was a while ago…and I don’t always act like this. So then I look up and a bald eagle swoops down, catches a fish, and flies to the other side of the river. One of the most magical coincidences ever. Reddit user: [redacted]

Across the Universe

I can’t decide which is weirder in these stories. First, I did a summer Shakespeare thing for teenagers. Next summer, one of the directors puts together a trip to London for a group of us. We go to London and while visiting the Globe Theatre, we run into another kid who was in the same Shakespeare thing we all were, except he was in London for separate reasons.

And then there’s the second coincidence. We went out to dinner to celebrate my wife’s birthday. Sat next to a couple. We start talking. The wife is also celebrating her birthday, and it’s on the same day. Ha ha! Crazy. We hit it off and exchanged information to hang out again. Two months later I invite them to my birthday party, and it turns out the husband has the same birthday as me. Reddit user: NikkoE82

Hello from the Other Side

I’m an American who moved to Amsterdam some years ago, and my first year there on a random Saturday, I decided to head out for a drink. Sat down next to a cute German guy who was in town for the first time from six hours away, helping a friend move kind of thing, and it turns out he’s doing a PhD in physics.

I’m doing mine in astronomy and have a physics background, so we spend maybe ten minutes discussing our research topics when he mentions offhand how he used to study in New Zealand. I get a confused look and then get all excited. “Johannes! Prof W’s E&M class in Auckland, first half of 2007!” Freaked him out until I explained….

I was a semester abroad student in Auckland that year, and not only were we in the same class, but we even did homework together and such. But we lost touch once I left the country, with no one having a clue what happened to the other. Only to randomly run into each other five years later in a random bar in a random city on another continent. Reddit user: Andromeda321

Ghosted

My aunt died young on October 3, 2007. On October 2, 2008, I was a senior in high school. I was in my art class one morning sitting at a table of four when the teacher tells one person from each table to go and grab a stack of newspapers for us to sculpt on so that the tables don’t get all messed up with clay. 

Another guy spreads out the newspapers, and then I begin to work. I notice that the paper at my seat is the obituary pages. I casually begin to read it and realize that the paper is a year old and the obituary listing exactly under my right hand is that of my aunt, who had died a full 365 days before. I’d like to think it was her way of saying hello. Reddit user: RaggedJagged

The Letter 

Once when I was about 17 or 18, I was home alone, had the house to myself until the next day, it was nighttime, and I was all freaked out because I thought I had heard something in my house. I somehow made the assumption that it was a ghost and started yelling for it to get out of my house. 

The exact second I was done yelling, the TV, which had been on a quiet channel (with the volume on max for whatever reason) went off the air, and the loudest hissing sound ever erupted out of the living room. I jumped so high I ended up sitting on my kitchen counter. It took me a few minutes for my heart rate to go back into normal human levels. Reddit user: Malicious_Mischief

Pipe Up

This happened to me a few months ago, and it was pretty improbable. I’m walking through BART (bay area rapid transit, it’s the train station that takes you to and from San Francisco and elsewhere), where an average of 375,000 people pass through daily. I walk up the escalator to my train and pass by an envelope lying on the ground. 

At first I didn’t think much of it, but I took a couple steps back to pick it up anyways. The next part freaked me out. I looked at the address, and it was addressed to ME. I instantly looked around to see if it was a practical joke. This was not the case. The sender was a family friend, we’ll call them the Johnsons. 

I knew that Mr. Johnson took the BART daily, but I had never personally run into him. After work, I called him up and asked him about the letter. Turns out, he had about 300 letters with him on the BART and was going to send them out for his daughter’s graduation party. He had dropped mine. What in the world are the chances? Reddit user: wetalkaboutssss

The Other Grandmother

The biggest coincidence I’ve ever heard didn’t happen to me, but to my dad. We have lots of countryside around here, and my dad was walking through a field on a public footpath and tripped over an old water pump. He thought it was pretty cool, and being my dad, he dragged the 5 pound cast iron pump 3 miles home. 

He went to visit my grandad and showed him this huge water pump, since my grandad also liked big lumps of metal. My grandad then told my dad exactly where he had found it, the make of the pump, and specific markings because he had taken the pump off the end of the pipe and left it in the field 25 years earlier. Reddit user: Hamamaha

Irish (Almost) Twins

I’ve written about this before but I still think it’s insane, so here goes. When I was a little kid, my parents would take my sister and me to visit my great grandmother in the nursing home. She was in her mid-90s, blind, and to young me basically terrifying. I actually hated going to see her, to be totally honest.

Every time we went, she would touch our faces (you know, because blind) and talk to us a little. Meanwhile, her roommate somehow knew my name and would always try and grab me. Even though my parents never said more to her than pleasantries. Always freaked me out. Fast forward to my mid-twenties.

My dad mentions that the roommate was HIS grandmother and my OTHER great grandmother. She didn’t know my name. I’m a junior and look like my dad. So she thought I WAS my father. She was senile after all. Apparently there was a falling out when my dad was a kid, and he had no relationship with much of his extended family.

She didn’t recognize my dad because she’d never seen what he looked like as an adult. The messed up thing is they lived in a city nursing home. Pretty big city too. And just by sheer coincidence, my parents’ grandparents were roommates. Reddit user: soomuchcoffee

Go, Dragonite, Go!

I met my now-husband at work. Turns out there are enough coincidences that my mom is seriously wondering whether we are distantly related. We were born in the same hospital two weeks apart. We then both moved about 500 miles away and ended up in the same university together. We moved from there another 100 miles away and worked in the same company.

We both have relatives in the same area in Dublin. We both have a relative that worked in the same hotel in Dublin at about the same time back in the 1930s. My mom and his grandmother have the exact same combination of unusual first and middle names. I have the same birthday as his mom. We don’t live in Ireland. Reddit user: ilythya

Oh, Pooh

This happened when I was about 12 and it was the late ’90s. I was really big into Pokemon cards, just like any other kid my age. My mom took me to a card shop and I REALLY wanted a Dragonite. But it was like 12 bucks or whatever. My mom said, “Why don’t you just get 2 card packs for that money?”

She went on and said, “Oh, but you get way more cards.” Moms just didn’t understand how Pokemon cards worked. Obviously she didn’t understand what a Dragonite was, but clearly she was on to something. She only ended up buying me a pack. First card? Dragonite. It was crazy. Must have been some mom trick or something. Reddit user: badman_laser_mouse

My First Kiss 

When I was eleven, I was in the park like half a mile from my house, and I was flying a Winnie the Pooh kite. I was the only kid around with a kite at the time, and I was pretty zoned into it and didn’t notice when the string came loose. One hundred feet of twine zoomed away and out of reach, and Pooh Bear was gone.

Later that night, my family and I went out to eat, and when we came home, there was a string dangling from the gutter above our front door. My dad grabbed it and started pulling. The string seemed to go all the way up into the night sky, we couldn’t see the end of it. A hundred feet of pulling later, there was my Pooh Bear kite. It came back to me. Reddit user: boyskissinboys

10-Year-Old Mistake

At a school dance in 9th grade, I spotted this insanely hot guy across the dance floor. My friend happened to know him and talked to him for me. She pointed me out to him, asked if he wanted to dance with me…and he did! We’re slow dancing to some ’90s songs and get to talking about how we were kinda new to the school. 

Turns out we’re both army brats. Turns out that we both lived in upstate New York when we were little kids. Turns out we went to the same school. Turns out we were best friends in kindergarten. Fast forward…I shared my first kiss with him and will never forget it. Best coincidence ever. Reddit user: FutureExMrsElonMusk

Fabric of the Universe

When I was a dumb teenager in the ’80s, we would drive around town at night in my friend’s blue ’66 Mustang and spray people with an old water fire extinguisher. Fast forward 10 years and I’m selling a house. Our primary buyer, an older retired lady, backs out last minute. Our realtor drops by to tell my wife and I why. 

She explains that while waiting for our gate to be buzzed in, some teenagers drove by and shot the old lady with an airsoft gun. She then continues,”Yeah, I don’t know what’s wrong with kids. When I first came to America 10 years ago we were sitting at a bus stop when a group of boys in a nice blue car drove up smiling. When they got closer they drenched us with some water spray….” Reddit user: rugdivot

Ash/Ashley/Ashleigh

I lived in eastern PA at the time and was visiting my sister in Seattle. We were at the Alibi Room having drinks, and two dudes sitting near us kept trying to engage us. We were kind of having none of it (sisters before misters that day). We left. Fast forward nine years…I now live in central PA, like 20 minutes from where my mom lives. 

I’m at a bar (recurring theme here, it seems) talking to a friend about going to visit my sister in Seattle. The random dude next to us chimes in and starts talking about where I should go and what I should do. “I used to live there,” he said. It takes us a while to put together, but of course it’s that dude from the Alibi Room. Of course.

And of course, we learned five or six months later, he’s the son of one of my mom’s best friends. My mom has known him since he was a teenager (we’re old now). And of course we’re seeing each other now. I mean, it was practically woven into the fabric of the universe, you know? Reddit user: whatmary

Key to My Heart

I have a unisex name: its Ashleigh. Anyway I was at a nightclub and was talking to this girl. I asked her her name, and she said it was Ash, and I said, “Haha weird, I’m Ash too! But what’s your last name?” She says, “Green.” I just stare at her for like 10 seconds, then reach into my wallet and pull out my ID. 

We have the same first and last name. Currently engaged. It’s even funnier because Ashley Greene is also the name of a pretty famous actress. If we ever have a kid, I’ve made her promise that we won’t also name the kid Ash/Ashleigh/Ashley. It would be too confusing. Fun fact: the novelist Evelyn Waugh married a woman called Evelyn. Friends called them Hevelyn and Shevelyn. Reddit user: [redacted]

Just Call Me Santa

A few years ago I was in a hurry and had to run out in the rain to our shed to get something really quick. On my way, I dropped the key to the shed and couldn’t find it because our grass was pretty long. I had spent several minutes scouring the ground in the rain, and in my annoyance, I thought something along the lines of, “Come on, God, help me out here.” 

It wasn’t really a prayer, as I wasn’t really religious at the time…it was just kind of an irritated plea for help. But suddenly the clouds parted a bit and the rain slowed down. I looked up and kind of laughed, thinking, “Great, now help me find the key.” Not kidding you here, looked down and there the key was, glinting in the sun, right between my feet. Reddit user: ReneeRowBoats

It All Started with Kebab

My work ran a secret Santa the week before Christmas. It was a $10 limit, and the person I was buying for I didn’t know very well. I left my buying to the last minute because I just didn’t know what to get her. So I was in town and walking past some shops when lo and behold, I saw an old copy of Oliver Twist in the window of the second-hand book store. 

It just called to me, so I went in and picked it up. $10…perfect. So come the day of the secret santa, we were all opening our gifts, some 150 people. Out of the corner of my eye, I see some people crowding around a woman who’s crying. I keep listening, and people are calling out for the person who was her Santa. I go over and reveal that it was me.

The lady I had bought for was crying and hugged me. She said 10 years ago her house burned down along with all her possessions. The book that I bought her was her favorite and also the exact same edition and so had the exact same cover she remembered. It was even weathered in the same places she remembered, so it was as if I’d grabbed the book off her shelf before the fire and delivered it to her 10 years later. Reddit user: Ripley2179

Lanky Legend

Here in my little town in northwest England, there’s a good kebab shop from which the lads and I have ordered for years. We’ve been in there after countless nights out and had them deliver to our doors, so we know the guys who work there pretty well. They’re mostly Turkish. Once a few of us got together for a short break in Turkey. 

Having gotten off the plane, we waited in the car park outside for another pal who’d been on a different flight. As we stood, soaking in the ambiance of a new country, none other than the tall guy from our local kebab shop walked across the road right in front of us, two thousand miles from home. That was weird. Reddit user: Superbead

Egg Donor

Seeing Paul McCartney (The Beatles) on TV in 2001 and noticing he was tall. Next day I’m walking down a very quiet street, and walking towards me is a really tall guy…and it was Paul McCartney. He must’ve seen my expression, so he veered my way, stuck his hand out, and said, “Hi mate.” I was shocked. 18 years later I’m still shocked.

In the world of Google, I’ve discovered that he’s actually only about 5’11″, so still shorter than me, but he seemed a lot taller in person. Maybe he’s just lanky. But I couldn’t believe that one of the biggest musicians of all time actually stopped to say hi to me. I’ve heard a lot of really great stories about him and fans…just a really good dude. Reddit user: VampiricBlackMetal

Same Couple, Different Meals

This happened to a friend of mine, and I still think it’s just the funniest thing ever. They were at home, about to cook an egg, when there was a knock at the door. It was their neighbor asking if they could spare an egg for a recipe they were making. They just handed over the egg…you know, the one they already had. 

They had just thoughtlessly carried it in their hand when they went to answer the door and had it all ready to hand over. The neighbor confusedly accepted it, giving them a quizzical look as they left. Everybody always talks about manifestation and believing in what you want, and my friend’s neighbor believed that they deserved an egg…and got it. Reddit user: scifiwoman

So Ex-tra 

Nobody believes me when I tell this story, but one day my husband and I ran into the same couple at 3 different places in 2 different states. So my husband and I have an errand to run out of state. We leave early and stop to get breakfast. The couple is sitting across from us, eating their bacon and eggs. 

The lady has this really funky shirt on, which is why she sticks out in my mind. After breakfast we drive to the next state over to the office we have an appointment at. We’re waiting in the lobby, and the couple from the breakfast joint walks in! So weird.

So we spend the day finishing up our errands, and then we drive back home. I didn’t feel like cooking that night, so we stopped to get some dinner at the pub. We sit down at the table and guess who’s already eating at the table behind us? That same couple. Reddit user: GiveHerTheWorks

Power of Sisterhood

I dated this guy Steven when I was in my late 20s, and we lived together for a year and then broke up. I was devastated. It had been about three or four, maybe even five years since I’d seen him when I was walking in Santa Monica with my best friend, and I said something to her that I’ll never forget. 

I tell her, “You know what’s weird? Steven and I have so many friends in common, and I’ve never seen him in this whole time since we broke up.” Literally about five minutes after that, we walked across the street and walked into a restaurant and who was sitting there but Steven. It was a crazy coincidence, and I got my closure. Reddit user: GeorgiaFilm

Mutual Roommates

In grade 10 English class, the teacher didn’t have anything planned for us to do and it was close to the end of the year I guess, so she goes to the big cupboard in the corner and pulls out a stack of copies. It’s an example of a successful essay written during a final exam, so we can learn what a good one looks like and how to build a narrative, etc. 

The topic of these was “what was the most pivotal moment of your life?” There’s three examples, ranging in proficiency. We read through the first two, and I volunteer to read the last one aloud. I start reading…and I stop. The essay was about…me. My big sister had gotten a really good mark 6 years earlier on her final exam essay, which she wrote about the day I was born. Reddit user: [redacted]

Foreign Friend

One year I got a roommate through Craigslist. The guy was weird for sure, but good-natured and paid rent on time. I mean, what more can you really ask for in a roommate? Anyway, after about two months of living with him, my cousin comes over to hang. I introduce the two, but of course, there was a twist. 

My cousin, in the most chill voice ever, said, “Nah man, we know each other.” Turns out they were college roommates five years earlier in another state. I’m not super close to this cousin, but it would have been nice to know this beforehand so I could get all the details on this guy and what he’s like as a roommate. It’s a small world, I guess. Reddit user: [redacted]

Two years ago I was in Tokyo on holiday. I looked on Instagram and saw an old friend post a story showing he was also in Tokyo. We hadn’t spoken in a few years, but I sent him a message letting him know we were in the same city. Not even 5 minutes later, we walked into a bar and he was standing there.

This past November, I was in Toronto on business. After dinner, we went to a pub downtown. The first person I saw when I walked in was the same friend from Tokyo. We both live in Winnipeg. Is this guy just following me around the world, or is the universe trying to bring us together to be best friends? I may never know. Reddit user: ncolegarcia