Five Coincidences: Fact Or Exaggeration?

Some of the older coincidences can blur a little between urban myth and truth. It can often be difficult to distinguish reality from exaggeration. But, with that in mind, here are five such coincidence stories to mull over.

Identical Twins Parallel Lives
Identical twins were born in Ohio in 1939 and they were adopted by different families. In 1979 they were reunited and it was then that they noticed the coincidences in their lives.

They had both been called James but were known as Jim (different surnames, of course: Lewis and Springer) and each of them had law enforcement training. Both twins married a girl called Linda and had a sons' called James - one was James Alan and the other James Allan.

Jim and Jim both likes carpentry as a hobby, favoured St.Petersburg in Florida as a vacation beach and both had a dog called Toy.

Identical Deaths
This is from Phenomena: A Book of Wonders and tells the story of a man who was killed by a Taxi in 1975 when riding his moped. Okay, a dreadful accident but here's the coincidence: Exactly one year before the man's brother was also killed, riding the same moped, and by the same taxi driver, on the same street and the taxi was carrying the same passenger.

The Clock Died Too
On September 1st, 1715 King Louis XIV of France died. At the exact moment of his death, 7.45am, an ornate clock belonging to the king stopped and has, supposedly, never worked again since.

The Same Assassin
An assassin called Claude Volbonne murdered Baron Rodemire de Tarazone of France in 1872. Twenty-one years previous to this the baron's father was also murdered by an assassin called Claude Volbonne. A double coincidence as the two assassins were different people and weren't related.

Catching A Baby
While strolling down a street in Detroit, in the 1930s, a baby fell on Joseph Figlock from a high window. A year later, walking down the same street, the same baby fell on him again and from the same window. Fortunately both baby and Joseph Figlock survived to tell the tale.