14 Most Statistically Improbable Things That Ever Happened to People

Life is full of tales where the coincidences are so unbelievable they almost defy reality. A user asked the forum, “What statistically improbable thing happened to you?”. Let’s look at the top responses from the users.

MONO-MONO TWINS

“My friend had two sets of monochorionic-monoamniotic twins–the rarest kind of twins–in back-to-back pregnancies. Identical twins share the same amniotic sac and the same placenta. ‘Mono-Mono’ or ‘MoMo’ twins happen in about 1% of identical twin pregnancies and less than 0.1% of all pregnancies,” says a user.

According to Samtivej Hospitals, MCMA or monochorionic-monoamniotic twins is a condition in which twin babies live in one sac and share one placenta. MCMA is a rare condition, affecting only one percent of all twin pregnancies.

SURVIVING CANCER MORE THAN TWICE

“First got cancer in 1993. In 2003, they told me to get my affairs in order; I had six months. In 2021, they told me it’s spread to my bones and lungs. They gave me five years. In 2023, two years down and feeling about 90% okay,” says a user.

Cancer treatments become less effective with each recurrence as cancer cells adapt and develop resistance. This makes it progressively harder to achieve complete remission and increases the risk of subsequent recurrences. Additionally, the cumulative effects of different treatments can take a toll on the patient’s overall health, potentially reducing their ability to withstand further aggressive therapies. Therefore, surviving cancer more than twice is quite unlikely.

GOT ATTACKED BY ROBIN AND HAWK

“Got attacked by a robin in the morning, then attacked by a hawk 3 hours later. It was a weird day,” says a user.

Robins are generally pretty chill birds. They’re more interested in worms and berries than attacking humans. So the odds of one even going near you, let alone attacking, are small. Even though hawks are predators, they usually go for smaller prey like rodents and other birds. An adult human is way too big for a hawk to mess with.

So, yeah, getting attacked by both a robin and a hawk on the same day is like winning the lottery, getting struck by lightning, and finding a four-leaf clover all at once. It’s just not going to happen very often.

RECEIVED HELP FROM SOMEONE I HELPED

“When I was a teenager, I picked up a hitchhiker, and then a few years later, the same guy picked me up when I was walking after I ran out of gas. Never saw him before or after those two occasions,” says a user.

Think of the billions of people and miles of roads out there. The chances of you and this specific hitchhiker being on the same highway at the same time are astronomical. You could’ve ran out of gas anywhere, but you just had to choose a spot within the hitchhiker’s regular travel route. That’s like randomly picking a grain of sand on a beach and finding a pearl inside.

BACK-TO-BACK INCIDENTS

“Many years ago, I had a terrible day where my then girlfriend broke up with me, then I did terribly in a final exam for a college class, then I lost my wallet, and finally, as I was doing the Charlie Brown sad walk back home some random branch broke off a tree as I was walking on the sidewalk underneath it and the damn thing fell on top of me and hit me square across the shoulder and knocked me to the ground. I just burst out laughing because it was so ridiculous,” says a user.

Imagine life’s like a game of cosmic pinball. You’re the ball bouncing around, and the bumpers are all these little mishaps and obstacles. Most days, you navigate around them pretty smoothly, maybe getting a slight nudge here and there. But then, there are those days when you just can’t catch a break. It’s like the bumpers are suddenly made of magnets, pulling you into one hilarious mishap after another. Spilled coffee on your new shirt? Check. Missed the bus by a hair? Absolutely. 

COMPLETE HEARING LOSS POST STAPEDECTOMY

“I underwent a surgical procedure called a stapedectomy to improve the significant hearing loss in my good ear. Instead, I ended up completely deaf. My surgical ENT said this has only happened to 5 patients IN THE US. (He was doing research to try to help me afterward.) I don’t know how true it is, but hey, lucky me,” says a user.

WINNING IN APPEAL COURT TWICE

“Lost my house in civil court. Represented myself and won in appeals court twice. Since my case was unique in this state, my cases were published both times. Moving back into my old house soon” says a user.

Think of it this way: the first time you win in appeal court, it’s already pretty rare. They only overturn the lower court’s decision if they find a serious error, so it’s already a big deal. But then you do it again? That’s like hitting the jackpot twice in a row.

FOUND HUSBAND’S SCHOOL ID CARD IN A USED BOOK STORE

“My husband and I visited our old hometown and a used book store we frequented. I picked up a familiar title in nostalgia and flipped it open to find a school student’s ID card. The name and photo on the ID? My husband. Turns out his mom had donated books to that store many years before we all moved away from that area. He must have been using it as a bookmark and forgotten. It’s unsurprising, considering we used to live in that area, but the ID was nearly ten years old when we found it. That book had been sitting on the shelf for nearly a decade, untouched, waiting for me to come along and pick it up. Bizarre,” says a user.

You pop into a used bookstore you used to love, and pick up a book that brings back a flood of memories. As you flip through the pages, guess what you find? Your husband’s school ID card, just chilling there like it’s no big deal. Out of all the possible books in the world, you just happened to pick the one your husband used to own. And out of all the places that book could have ended up, it landed in a used bookstore in your old town. And on top of that, your husband used the card as a bookmark and forgot about it years ago!

Even though it’s statistically improbable, it’s a story you’ll definitely tell for years to come, reminding you that sometimes, life throws you curveballs that are more magical than any statistic can predict.

GOT ALMOST MURDERED BUT ESCAPED

“I was almost murdered in a case of mistaken identity. A guy came chasing after my car on the highway, waving his gun out the Window. He eventually got in front of me, blocked my car, stopped his car, and got out. He came right up to my Window, pointed the gun right at my head, looked me in the eyes, and said, ‘Sorry. Wrong chick’, then got back in his car and drove away. I still have no idea who he was or who the ‘right chick’ was,” says a user.

HIT BY LIGHTNING

“Hit by lightning. Sort of indirectly. Lightning hit a tree near the wellhead while I was doing dishes. Exploded the tree, fried the well, and gave me a jolt that made my metal fillings so hot they burned my tongue. Other than that, I was fine,” says a user.

PATTERNED BIRTHDAY DATES

“My dad’s birthday was 3-3, my brother is 6-6, mine is 7-7, and my son is 11-11,” says a user.

There are 365 days in a year. So the chances of someone having a birthday on any particular day are already pretty low, like winning a free coffee kind of low. Having patterned birthdays in the family is, therefore doubly improbable.

LEFT-HANDED KIDS

“My wife and I (both right-handed) had two left-handed kids, which has around a 1% chance of happening twice,” says a user.

While not impossible, having two left-handed children when both parents are right-handed can be considered statistically improbable due to the complex interplay of genetics and environmental factors influencing handedness. Right-handedness appears to be associated with dominant genes, increasing the likelihood of right-handed offspring even if one parent is left-handed.

MET MY TWIN

“I once met a guy who had been born on the same day as me at the same hospital, and we both had similar birth names (his name was the first four of my name). We also weighed the same, and we found out later that we were born within minutes (if it was 12:02, he was 12:00 type close) of each other. Also, we were both born six weeks early—eyes and hair of the same color. Our moms worked at the same Walmart, and that’s how we met. (We lost contact a year or so after his mom quit). Sometimes I remember that kid and wonder how that happened and how we meet. I don’t know the stats on any of that, but it’s got to be pretty low,” says a user.

FAMILIAR CHILDBIRTH SITUATIONS

“My mom gave birth to me after the sudden onset of labor at 37 weeks and six days gestation, had a C-section because I was breech, and was born at 9:48 AM. I gave birth to my child after the sudden onset of labor at 37 weeks and six days gestation and had a C-section because my daughter was breech, born at 9:48 AM. Seems statistically improbable to me, but maybe not super odd,” says a user.

Sharing an EXACTLY similar childbirth situation with your mom can be both weird and unlikely. 

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This article was originally published on Mrs. Daaku Studio.