Wednesday, September 21

World War 2 Coincidence In Cologne

Cologne 1945

This coincidence story is by joynsonatkinson and is taken from WW2 People's War. This is an online archive of wartime memories contributed by members of the public and gathered by the BBC. The archive can be found here.

In late 1946 I was walking along the embankment of the river Rhine in the much bombed city of Cologne. I was wearing my army uniform for security reasons. I walked along the embankment with the Holenz-Holenz Bridge, now a twisted mass to my rear. The impressive spires of Cologne Cathedral were to my front.

Walking towards me was a German gentleman leading a very beautiful German Shepherd dog. I stooped to pat the dog and its master exclaimed, "Rex".

He then asked me if I was still in the army. I replied saying that I had recently been released after serving seven years.

He then inquired if I had ever served in the Channel Islands. I replied that I had trained in Alderney.

He then looked at me closely and his face broke into a huge smile. Shaking my hand vigorously he exclaimed, "I saw your photograph in the chemist's shop in St Anne's, Alderney."

My photograph, along with my comrade Michael and some other soldiers, had been taken outside St Anne's Church. It had been 'blown up' to half full size and had been exhibited in the chemist's shop window. A truly remarkable coincidence.

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Monday, September 19

The Babies Arrived At The Same Time Again And Again

Photo: © Mike Perry
Synchronicity today from my cuttings by Janet Tonks - quite remarkable!

Several years ago I ended up in hospital after miscarrying my first child.

On the same day another woman in the ward (Mary) lost her first baby. When I was discharged, I said to her on the way out that I was sure I would see her in the maternity ward on a future occasion!

The next year, I was in the maternity ward having given birth to my daughter.

When my husband came to visit me that evening, he entered the ward and told me he had bumped into Mary's husband on the way in and that Mary had given birth to a son that same day!

I sought her out and we had quite a chat, and when I was discharged I jokingly said I would see her again!

Just over two years later I was back in the maternity giving birth to my second child, a son. I think you can guess the rest!

My husband visited that evening and had again bumped into Mary's husband outside the ward and it turned out that she had given birth to her second child, a son, on that very day.!

~ Janet Tonks.

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Friday, September 16

Where And When Did Language Begin?

Psamtik I
Psamtik I
So, how come Adam and Eve could talk to each other or understand the words of God?

Okay, you may say that it's just a story, or perhaps a myth - or you may believe it to be fact - but whatever, language must have started somewhere.

The origin of speech, however, is a bit of a mystery. There are theories, of course, most with strange names such as bow-wow, yo-he-ho, la-la and pooh-pooh - yes, really.

The bow-wow theory claims that the first human language was made up by imitating animal sounds; you-he-ho states that it all began with rhythmic chanting while working together; the la-la theory says that language originated in sounds connected with romance and music and finally pooh-pooh suggests that the first words were instinctive noises brought about by strong emotions such as anger, pain and the like.

We may not know the answer to the beginnings of language but the Basques, in Spain, also have a theory.

Basque has no known relationship with any other language, so it's unique. Their folk lore, however, has the solution: it was what was spoken by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It was brought to the area by Tubal, who was the fifth son of Noah's son, Japheth. Well, it's as good an answer as some of the other theories, and there is sometimes an element of truth in myths and legends, if we can see through the symbolism.

Old fragments of documents show that Basque appears to be unchanged from the 10th Century at least. It's a difficult language for English speakers and Europeans to learn because of unfamiliar pronunciation and grammar. It has a lot of 'z' and 'tz' sounds. The Basque's call their language Euskara which means 'clear-speaking.'

It's said that in the 7th Century Psamtik I, the Egyptian king at the time, took two new born babies and gave them to a shepherd for safe keeping and to be brought up in complete isolation. Psamtik wanted to discover what language the children would speak if they were left to their own devices. He thought that whatever it was, would be the original language of the human race.

After the babies were two years old they were heard to pronounce a word that sounded like becos. This was identified as meaning 'bread' in central Turkey by the Phrygians.

The conclusion was that the Phrygian language must have been the first ever spoken. But it's not really that convincing, is it? But no one has come up with a much better solution, other than the Basques.

Nowadays scientists would probably say that language first started about 40,000 years ago - but with no written proof, it's still a mystery. And I just can't imagine it's pooh-pooh!

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It's A Small World Coincidence

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Tuesday, September 13

Doppelgangers On The Loose!

Guy de Maupassant Doppelganger

The question is: is the following story, from Ann Woodward, about a doppelganger, a ghost or is it just one big coincidence?

One of the partners in our firm died of cancer four years ago. She was dearly loved and sorely missed.

About six months ago I was in a department store and walking towards me was a lady who was the absolute double of her. In fact, so much so that it stopped me in my tracks, and made me take a deep breath.

I just wanted to run up to her and hug her.

When I related this to my work colleague the next day, she told me that it had been the late partner's birthday that day.

Coincidence or what?

~ Ann Woodward

The photo at the top of the post is Guy de Maupassant who claimed that towards the end of his life he often saw his own doppelganger and started to interact with 'him'. So much so, it is said the doppelganger dictated a short story to him, which was then published.

I have also written previously of how I was mistaken for someone else a couple of times while travelling see The Advantage Of Being Mistaken For Someone Else.

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The Meaning Of White Feathers As Messages From The Dead
The Immigration Coincidence Story

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Saturday, September 10

Home Of The Whopper Coincidence


Today's story from a 67 Not Out reader, Howard.

Near to where I live there is a McDonald's and a Burger King and I made my way to McD for a coffee. Once inside I had a strange feeling that I should go to Burger King instead. I followed my instincts and made my way there.

I bought a coffee, sat at a table and was about to read my newspaper when I saw a familiar face from my past. I felt sure it was an old friend from my Uni days. I went across to him and said, "Hello Dave."

Dave looked at me a little puzzled and couldn't place my face. "I'm Howard from our Uni days."

He then realised who I was. It had been the best part of twenty years, and we started talking about the 'good old days.'

Dave was passing through town so we exchanged email addresses and mobile numbers and I didn't think I would see him again.

Two days later I had to go to the local supermarket with my wife and parked next to a smart BMW. Sitting in the car was Dave and his partner!

They had decided to stay in town for an extra couple of days. That evening the four of us went out for a meal - definitely not Burger King or McDonald's!

Since then we have been regularly in touch. I'm still not sure why we were drawn together again after twenty years. Maybe the reason will become clear in the future.

~ Howard

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The Immigration Coincidence Story

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Thursday, September 8

It's A Small World Coincidence

Cairns, Australia

I came across today's coincidence story in the Daily Mail newspaper on their letters page, it was from a Kat Martin from England. The world seems to be getting smaller!

I was in Cairns, Australia, backpacking with my daughter and we went into an internet cafe.

A young man behind the counter asked me: "Where are you from in England?"

Me: "Portsmouth, you?"

Him: "Portsmouth."

Me: "I live in North End, you?"

Him: "North End."

Me: "My daughter-in-law Jenny [married to Luke, my son and they have a little girl] is about your age, she went to Mayfield School."

Him: "I know Jenny, I went to Mayfield too. She's one of my best friends."

Later that day Jenny emailed me to say, "I hear you've been talking to my friend."

~ Kat Martin

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White Feathers Following The Loss Of a Loved One

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Tuesday, September 6

White Feathers Following The Loss Of a Loved One

White feathers

It's a while since I published any white feather stories so here are three I have received recently. These are experiences where white feathers are seen following a loved ones death.

Today would have been my mother's 97th birthday. Just before the family were leaving to go and put flowers on her grave a lovely wee white feather floated down among us - mum letting us know she was there.

I like the stories about the white feathers, possibly looking for comforting signs - but something proved it for me...

I was going for a big operation [surgery] and was a bit nervous of course. My mum had passed away two years before this. I was sitting waiting for the trolley to take me to the theatre when the orderly walked in then said, "I guess that's for you". On the empty chair beside me was a beautiful white feather. This was a closed room with no windows. I felt so good.

When I was recovering, following the operation, a nurse said you have a gift in your drawer. The orderly had put the feather in a plastic case and handed it to the ward ... a sure sign it was from a loved one.

~ Rose Mcloughlin

My father, 94, passed in January. I found a white feather by my car door, I found one on a bush at my house and another on a shirt in a clothing store.

I bought a new car and there was one in the lobby. My cat is dying and I asked my dad to show a sign. I was sitting outside and looked up in the sky and a white feather was floating over my house in the wind. The white feathers appear when I really need my dad with me.

~ Laurie

My mum passed away last night and a large white feather fluttered over the family as we were leaving the hospital. I'd never heard of this before but my sister knew and pointed it out. It's too much of a coincidence and seen by too many people not to be true ... I love you mum.

~ Anonymous

Okay they may not be the best white feather examples (though they are important to the people concerned) but over the years I have had a flood of such stores. It all started when I lost three very close people in a short period of time: my mother, daughter and my best friend of thirty years. After each of their deaths my wife and I started seeing white feathers wherever we went. If we started talking about one of them a feather would appear. I remember once going to visit our daughter's grave and a feather did a complete circle and landed where we were standing.

I know many will say this was all imagination or coincidence but it was meaningful and comforting to us at that difficult time. I wrote about this on my blog and it seems many, many others have had similar experiences.

Anyway here are ten random white feather posts:
White Feather Stories: Messages From The Deceased
White Feathers From The Spirit World Stories
White Feathers As Messages From the Deceased.
White Feathers As Messages From Her Baby Girl
Receiving White Feathers From The Dead
A Big Clump Of Feathers From The Spirit World
White Feathers As Messages From The Deceased
White Feathers After Someone Dies
Meaningful White Feathers As Messages From The Dead
Watching Over Us With White Feathers

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Sunday, September 4

The Ghost Or Spirit Of St Bernadette And Her Incorrupt Body

Saint Bernadette

While looking through some photos, I came across the picture above, purported to be Saint Bernadette - after she had died. There are five images said to show her as spirit, gradually fading into a wall.

It's not known who the photographer was but is generally referred to as The Ghost of Bernadette Soubirous and was taken in 1890, eleven years following her death. And, yes, I realise there were many fake ghost and spirit photos in that era.

Bernadette Soubirous is the French farm girl from rural Lourdes who was canonised as a saint on December 13th 1933. Lourdes has since become a centre of healing for believers, mostly of the Catholic faith. Her full story can be found on Wikipedia, where it is says:

"In the 150 years since Bernadette dug up the spring (at Lourdes), 67 cures have been verified by the Lourdes Medical Bureau as 'inexplicable', but only after what the Church claims are 'extremely rigorous scientific and medical examinations' that failed to find any other explanation."

No doubt most people have probably heard of the Lourdes story but I didn't realise that Bernadette's body had been exhumed three times with bizarre results:

On the first occasion, in September 1909, witnesses claimed that, though a crucifix in her hand had oxidised, her body was declared 'incorrupt.' In other words there was no sign of decomposition.

On the second exhumation in April 1919 the doctor, who examined the body stated: "The body is practically mummified, covered with patches of mildew and quite a notable layer of salts, which appear to be calcium salts. The skin has disappeared in some places, but it is still present on most parts of the body."

Following a third exhumation in 1925 Doctor Comte published a report in the Bulletin de I'Association medicale de Notre-Dame de Lourdes:

"What struck me during this examination, of course, was the state of perfect preservation of the skeleton, the fibrous tissues of the muscles (still supple and firm), of the ligaments, and of the skin, and above all the totally unexpected state of the liver after 46 years. One would have thought that this organ, which is basically soft and inclined to crumble, would have decomposed very rapidly or would have hardened to a chalky consistency. Yet, when it was cut it was soft and almost normal in consistency. I pointed this out to those present, remarking that this did not seem to be a natural phenomenon."

As to whether Lourdes has supernatural powers of healing is a matter of opinion. What can be said is that belief can do many wondrous things - including returning people to health. Belief is at the centre of most miracles.

Other Random Posts:
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10 Coincidence And Synchronicity Stories

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Friday, September 2

Was This The Sixth Sense Or A Coincidence?

Winchelsea Churcg
Winchelsea Church
Is there a so called Sixth Sense? In this experience from my cuttings Colin Polhill acted on an impulse, but why? A coincidence or synchronicty, some sort of message from someone dying, telepathy perhaps ... who knows for sure.

I went to Winchelsea Primary School, on the South Coast [of England], in about 1949. The headmistress at the time was Miss Lilah Christina Smith, who encouraged me in my studies.

I last met Miss Smith in Rye High Street in 1953. I never saw her again. I eventually left the area and moved to Kent.

On June 30, 1983, I suddenly thought of Miss Smith and could not get her out of my mind.

On impulse I drove to Winchelsea, determined to see her. On arrival, I realised that I didn't know where Miss Smith lived and so I went to the Post Office to ask for directions.

The Postmaster asked me if the woman I was seeking was a retired teacher.

When I told him that Miss Smith used to teach me, he explained that she had died that very same day in Hill House Hospital in Rye, East Sussex.

~ Colin Polhill

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12 Ghostly Ghost Story Experiences
The Secret Told To Samuel Wilberforce By A Ghost!

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