- [Narrator] We've all experienced
some weird coincidences in our lives, from sharing
a birthday with a friend, to bumping into someone
you know while on vacation. But I guarantee they're nothing compared to many of the crazy coincidences that have happened
throughout human history. So get ready for your jaw to hit the floor as we investigate some of the most bizarre historical coincidences ever. (energetic music) The Luckiest Unluckiest Man In The World. Tsutomu Yamaguchi was on a
pretty standard business trip in Hiroshima back on August 6th, 1945. But his day took an unexpected,
and almost deadly turn, when out of nowhere the
US dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city. Standing two miles from ground zero, the sky above Tsutomu
erupted in a blaze of light, and he leapt into a ditch to try and avoid the wave of intense heat that seared his body. Miraculously, he survived, but in the immediate aftermath, some 80,000 people didn't. Injured, burned, and
desperate to see his family, Tsutomu traveled home. It took him three days, but he made it. Despite being heavily burned and bandaged, he reported into work on August 9th. His boss demanded to
know what had happened, refusing to believe that a single bomb could have obliterated an entire city. Tsutomu was about to
explain everything when, all of a sudden, the
skyline outside exploded in another blinding white flash. Tsutomu and his colleagues
dropped to the ground as the office windows
shattered all around them. In what might be the worst
stroke of luck in history, his office was located in Nagasaki, the site of the second atomic bomb drop. Once again, Tsutomu survived, immediately rushing from the building to check on his wife and son. Their house was nothing but rubble, but in yet another strange
twist of fate, they'd survived. His wife had been out buying
burn ointment for Tsutomu and when the bomb
dropped, she and the baby managed to take refuge in a nearby tunnel. So, by being injured in Hiroshima, Tsutomu had coincidentally saved his family's life in Nagasaki. While he did suffer
from radiation exposure, he managed to stave
off death a third time, and lived to the grand old age of 93. I'm not sure if that
makes him the luckiest or unluckiest man in the world. The Way of the Dragon. From each corner of the world, stories and myths of
dragons seem to be present in every culture imaginable. From China's tales of
flying wingless serpents dating back more than 5,000 years, to Iran's Azhdaha, giant
serpent like beings that allegedly inhabited
the earth, air, and sea some 1,000 years ago. Over in Central Mexico,
back in the 1200's, the great feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl was depicted similarly. Even European folklore
tells of winged creatures, more lizard than serpent, breathing fire and threatening heroic
knights in shining armor, with depictions dating back to 1260. But here's the thing: these myths emerged at different times in different
cultures around the world that were practically
isolated from one another. So, wait, how can they all
have such similar stories and portrayals of creatures
that don't actually exist? It's got to be an epic coincidence, one that'd almost make more
sense if dragons did exist. While there are theories as to
how this might have happened, there's no straight answer. One explanation is that
ancient people discovered dinosaur fossils and extrapolated wildly as to what these beings
would've looked like. When you look at the size and shapes of some of these skeletal remains today, like that of a T-Rex or diplodocus, you can almost see the similarity to some of those ancient depictions. Another theory is that they're
inspired by actual animals. For example, the Incan Amaru has almost llama like qualities, while Apep, the mythical
Egyptian serpent of the Nile is crocodilian and
eel-like in description. Either way, dragons
continue to be a big part of modern culture across the globe. As recently as 2017, a
group of Chinese pranksters laid out these supposed
dragon bones in a field. The bones, which measured 60 ft long, probably belonged to sheep or cows, but some of the locals were convinced that they were genuine. This willingness, even
eagerness, to believe in dragons isn't uncommon, either. Look online and you'll
find websites claiming to show real dragon sightings, be them buried in Siberian ice or streaking across the skies. Spoiler alert, these are
all, pretty obviously, VFX clips or props used in films. But it'll take more than
that to slay this myth. You know what's definitely real though? Those Like and Subscribe
buttons down below. Go ahead and give them a
click if you don't believe me. All done? Okay then. What crazy coincidence have we got next? (mysterious music)
(graphics whooshing) Heli-Hieroglyph. Ancient Egyptian civilization
is as fascinating as it is mysterious and
structures like the Pyramids have provided constant fuel
for conspiracy theorists. Recently, though, a set of
hieroglyphs was discovered that sent conspiracy nuts wild. Found above Pharaoh Seti
I's temple in Abydos, Egypt, the ancient writing appears
to show a helicopter, a plane, and some sort
of futuristic aircraft. Considering Seti I lived
some 3,000 years ago however, this doesn't make any sense. Did time travelers from the future decide to go back and show off by swagging around
Ancient Egypt in choppers? Or could it be the work of (gasps) aliens? Well, despite the frenzy
the hieroglyphs caused, it turns out they've got
a far simpler explanation. You see, in ancient Egypt,
it was common practice for hieroglyphs to be re-carved, especially when a new
pharaoh came to power. In this case, the
original carving was made during the reign of Seti I, but later, in Ramses II's reign it was covered in plaster and re-carved. However, over time the
plaster eroded in places, revealing the original
inscription beneath. Thus, both inscriptions combined and thanks to a pretty huge coincidence, ended up looking exactly
like modern vehicles. So, still no proof of little
green men, I'm afraid. You can take those tin hats off now. (graphics whooshing)
(mystical music) The Presidents' Curse. I tend not to be superstitious, but sometimes something comes along that's so creepily weird,
it makes me think twice. Like the so-called curse of Tippecanoe. "The curse of what?" you say. Well, hear me out. Between 1840 and 1960, all seven presidents of the United States who were elected in a year ending in zero, died in office. That's a 120 year long pattern. So strange was this phenomenon that people were convinced it was a curse. And the roots of that curse go way back. At the start of the
1800s, the freshly formed United States of America
was expanding westwards. Native Americans, however,
who'd lived in those lands for thousands of years
formed a confederation to resist this expansion. Led by the Chieftain Tecumseh. He and his brother Tenskwatawa,
a renowned prophet, led their people in war
against the invaders. But in 1811, they lost a
great battle at Tippecanoe against the forces of
William Henry Harrison, an American military officer. The confederation never truly recovered and following the death of Tecumseh, Tenskwatawa supposedly
put a curse on Harrison. 29 years later in 1840, Harrison became the ninth US president, but just one month after
being inaugurated, he died. Following this, every
president elected in a year ending in zero, died in office and all at 20 year intervals. So by the time Ronald Reagan
was inaugurated in 1980, 20 years after JFK, he was all too aware
of the so-called curse. His first lady Nancy Reagan was apparently so scared that she
hired a host of psychics and astrologers to try
and protect her husband. And it seems they did their jobs. Despite an assassination attempt, Reagan survived both his terms and the curse's reign was officially over. Of course, it probably
wasn't really a curse, but you can deny it's
one killer coincidence. (mystical music)
(graphics whooshing) Menace Madness If you're familiar with comic book strips, you've probably heard
of Dennis the Menace, the troublesome but good-natured kid, drawn to life by American
illustrator Hank Ketcham. But did you know there's a
British comic book character also called Dennis the Menace? Unsurprisingly, the British Dennis, created by cartoonist David Law, is also a troublemaker. And to add the cherry on top
of this suspicious sundae, both comics were first
released on the exact same day. That's right, both the
US Dennis and UK Dennis first appeared on 12th March 1951 in their respective home countries. Hold on though, this can't
just be coincidence, can it? There must be plagiarism at play, right? Well, wrong. For a start, there was
nothing to be gained from the characters having the same name, if anything, it just
confused potential readers. As well as this, the 1950s
were long before the internet. Separated by a vast ocean,
there's simply no way Ketcham and Law would've known what each other was working on. Spooky. (mysterious music)
(graphics whooshing) Phenomenal Photograph. Looking through old
photos can be nostalgic, embarrassing or in the case of Brits Aimee Maiden and Nick
Wheeler utterly astonishing. Back in 2014, the happy couple
were all set to be married and were enjoying looking
over an old family photo album at Nick's grandparents' house. But when they saw this pic,
both their jaws dropped. That's Nick in the front and over behind him on the left, Aimee. Now this wouldn't be crazy
if it weren't for the fact that the two hadn't met until 11 years after the pic was taken. That's right, by sheer coincidence, the future couple had
both been enjoying a day out at the beach as kids at the same time, just feet away from one another. What's more, although Aimee lived nearby, Nick and his family were on vacation, making the coincidence even less likely. Now, husband and wife, Nick and Aimee live just a minute's walk from the spot where the photo was taken and
say the strange coincidence is proof that they're soulmates. Aww, either that or one of them is a super creepy psycho stalker. (dramatic music)
(graphics whooshing) Shakespeare's Psalm. You're probably familiar
with William Shakespeare, you know, the incredibly
famous British playwright. However did you know, he
also wrote part of the Bible? Okay, so maybe I'm twisting
the truth a little bit here, but there's a bizarre coincidence that some people think proves he did. Bear with me. The word shake and spear have four vowels and six consonants, right? So when written together,
it looks like 46. Well, some very bored person in 1902 decided that was good
enough reason to flick to Psalm 46 of their Bible and see if there was anything
interesting in there. Surprisingly enough, they
actually found something. If you happen to have a King
James Bible lying around, flick over to Psalm 46. Now count the words from beginning until you get to the 46th. The word is shake. Ooh, and if you now count backwards from the last word in the Psalm, you'll find the 46th word
from the end is spear. Damn, even odder, the King
James version of the Bible was translated in around 1610. Take a guess how old
Shakespeare was at that time? That's right, 46. All this adds up to one crazy coincidence, and it's led some people to believe that old Shaky had a hand in writing it. I'm not so sure, but I
can't deny it's weird. What do you reckon? Let me know in the comments below. (buttons clicking)
(mysterious music) Handbags of the Gods. Have you ever wondered how a God carries all their godly possessions? Nope, neither have I,
but I'll tell you anyway. They use handbags just
like regular humans. How do I have this sacred knowledge? Why from ancient carvings made by long dead civilizations of course. Take a look. This is a relief of the
eagle-headed Assyrian god Nisroch from around 880BC. Assyria, by the way, is modern-day Iraq. And this is a relief of
an Assyrian winged genie, beings that weren't gods themselves but had godlike powers. Notice that handbag thing
they're both holding? Ancient cultures from all around the world depicted their gods holding this same bag. There it is again, look, but this carving is from ancient Mexico, the other side of the world to Assyria. Thousands of years ago,
when the ancient Assyrians and Mayans lived, there
was next to no chance they'd have been able to travel the vast distance between
one another's lands. And yet, despite a
complete lack of contact, those handbags still crop up
in both civilizations' reliefs. So, what gives? Well, sadly, it's probably not due to some sort of long forgotten
teleportation device. One theory is that the shape represents a simple portrayal of the cosmos. From Africa to China, ancient
cultures around the world associated circles with spirituality and squares with earthly concepts. So, the semi-circular handle
would be the hemisphere of the sky, while the square
base would be the earth. That would definitely vibe with the god-like figure holding it. However, there's also
another, simpler explanation, that it really is just a
vessel for holding things. I mean, there's no denying
it's an effective shape for a bag, even so,
it's still supremely odd that the depictions of
it would look so alike, when everything else about the carvings is so different. I don't know, I just like the idea of God carrying a handbag
around to look fabulous. (gentle music)
(graphics whooshing) Stars and Time. Come on, everybody's had
the, "What superpower would you most like to
have?" conversation. I'd pick time travel. Not because I have any
mistakes to rectify, I just think it'd be super
cool to visit the past. Unfortunately, I can't, but
it appears some people can. Like the late pop-star Michael Jackson. Here's the man himself and here's a mysterious old painting dating back to 17th century Germany. Uncanny, right? The only explanation must be
that he went back in time. But it appears MJ wasn't satisfied with going just a few
hundred years into the past, his likeness also crops up on this ancient Egyptian statue. Dating back over 3,000 years, the bust is from roughly
the same era as Tutankhamun. So, maybe the king of pop just
wanted to meet the boy king? MJ wasn't having all the fun though, it seems climate activist Greta Thunberg is also partial to time travel. In 2019, a photo of three children working at an old Canadian goldmine went viral. Take a closer look at the
girl on the left, though. Remind you of anyone? Yeah, she's the spitting
image of Thunberg. After noticing the uncanny resemblance, social media went wild. I'm not sure why she'd choose
a 19th century goldmine as the perfect place for
this, but all power to her. Of course, the reality
is these are probably just coincidences, but you never know; maybe time travel is real,
maybe I am a time traveler. Not that you'd ever know
without a face reveal. Busted Busts. Let's take another look
at that weird MJ bust. Specifically, at the
nose, or lack thereof. I know, a 3,000-year-old
statue having a chip in it isn't much of a coincidence, but let's look at a few
more Ancient Egyptian busts and some more and some more. Okay, now it's getting seriously strange. Why do so many of the
heads have broken noses? Is it just one big coincidence? Well, for decades historians
thought it might've been. But many of the statues
were found indoors, where they were otherwise well preserved. So, in a lot of cases the damage couldn't just be
accidental or coincidental. Instead, historians now reckon the noses were broken off on purpose. The Ancient Egyptians believed that when a person passed away,
their spirit was transferred to the statue that represented them. Therefore, to assert dominance, reigning pharaohs would destroy the noses of their past rivals' statues, so their spirits couldn't breathe. Lovely bunch, those pharaohs. That's not the only explanation for the smashed noses though. Some experts think
superstitious grave robbers are also to blame. Supposedly, when the robbers
raided the pharaohs' tombs, they also smashed the
noses of their statues, so the spirits couldn't place a vengeful curse on them. Hmm, with that said, I
wonder if MJ's statue's nose was broken before or after his passing. Love Note. Are you sitting comfortably? Good, because I've gotta tale
that's gonna blow your mind. It all starts with a young
American named Paul Grachan. A few years ago, Paul
was in his local deli paying the cashier, when
something caught his eye. One of the bills he was holding had the name Esther scribbled on it. That was the name of the
girl he'd been seeing for the last few weeks. Finding it funny, he pocketed
it and gave the cashier a different note. Later that night, he
framed and gift-wrapped the dollar bill, thinking it
would make an amusing present. The following week, he
took Esther on a date and handed her the gift. She unwrapped it, but rather
than finding it funny, she seemed shocked, and
even a little disturbed. Awkwardly, she put it away and told Paul to remind her about it later. Paul was confused but let it slide. Two years passed with
no mention of the bill. Paul and Esther's relationship blossomed, and they got married. Then one day when they
were moving apartments, Paul was surprised to find the bill again. Confused, he asked her about it, and what she said next was insane. It turns out, she was the
one who'd written her name on the bill. A few years before, Esther had been stuck in an unhappy relationship,
and in desperation had scrawled her name
across a few dollar bills before spending them. She'd prayed that one day one of the bills would be returned to her, and if it was, it'd be
by the man she'd marry. So, when Paul handed her
that gift-wrapped note, she knew immediately
that he was her soulmate, she just hadn't wanted to
freak him out by telling him. Wow, whether you believe
in soulmates or not, that's pretty nuts. Be right back, I err, need
to take out some cash. Seven-Headed Somethings. Back in 2016, a strange
image began circulating around the internet. It shows a mysterious seven-headed
figure carved into rock and dates all the way back to 5,000 BC. The carving is some form of snake deity and comes from Siberia,
which isn't that weird until you realize that
seven-headed snake deities weren't just a part of
ancient Siberian culture. All the way on the other side of the world in ancient Mexico, they
used to worship a goddess called Chicomecoatl,
which literally translates to Seven Serpents. This ancient Mexican carving, which bears a striking resemblance to the Siberian one,
may be an image of her. And thousands more miles away in India, people still worship the
Hindu serpent goddess Manasa, who's often depicted with, you guessed it, seven snakes. But considering these cultures lived thousands of years
apart and were separated by vast distances, how
can they possibly have had such similar religious symbolism? Is it one massive coincidence? Well, we can't know for sure. What we do know though, is snakes were revered by
ancient peoples around the world. They're deadly, mysterious
and possess the unique ability to shed their skin. The ancient Semites and Mesopotamians believed this made them
immortal, while Hindus saw it as an act of reincarnation. Basically, snakes were widely renowned for being very powerful,
which could explain why they were treated as deities so often. As for the seven heads? That's less clear, but
humanity has always had a weird affinity with the number seven. Whether it's religions,
myths, or superstitions, look for the number seven and
you'll find it everywhere. 7 wonders of the ancient
world, 7 colors in the rainbow, 7 days in the week so
we seem to associate it with important things. Therefore, humanity's respect of snakes and love of the number seven could explain why so many ancient cultures had seven-headed serpent deities. Either that or snake-people are real. Trumpets of War. What if I told you that three different twentieth century wars were all caused by an ancient trumpet that
once belonged to Tutankhamun? You'd probably say I was
crazy, but hear me out. When British archeologist Howard Carter first discovered the tomb
of Tutankhamun back in 1922, he found two trumpets
buried with the pharaoh, one copper, and one silver. Originally, they were used
to call King Tut's troops into battle for him,
but they'd lain unblown for thousands of years
before Carter got to them. And they remained unblown
for 17 years after as well until radio presenter Rex
Keating heard about them. Fascinated, he asked if he could use them in a broadcast to shine light
on the King Tut research, and the answer was yes. In the spring of 1939, a
trumpeter on Keating's show used the trumpets to play
a melody to an audience of 150 million people... a grave mistake. Later that same year,
World War II broke out, and we're all familiar with the horrors that brought with it. Then, the trumpets went
to the Egyptian museum where they lay silent for
28 years, but in 1967, a member of staff blew
into the silver one. As if in response, Egypt
and Israel were plunged into a brutal conflict that
became known as the Six-Day War. Though short, over
20,000 people still died. Following this, the
trumpets lay silent again for 23 more years. But again, their silence was broken, and when one was next played, in 1990, war broke out once more. This time, the Gulf War, which resulted in almost 200,000 casualties. You'd think by now people
would stop picking up the damn trumpets, but
nope, museum staff played the silver trumpet again
in 2011, and guess what? The violent Egyptian Revolution
immediately followed. Jeez, unsurprisingly, all
this has led some people to believe the trumpets
were cursed by Tutankhamun. But really, it's more likely to just be one huge coincidence. I mean, unfortunately, wars and disputes happen all the time. Even so, I really hope
nobody blows either trumpet ever again, just to make sure. Okay, I think that's all the
crazy historical coincidences my brain can handle right now. Which did you find the most bizarre? And have you experienced any coincidences so unimaginable they'd fit in this video? Let me know down in the comments below, and thanks for watching. (upbeat music)
