Unbelievable -- What Are the Odds of This Happening?

[Xanadu]

Life can sometimes produce fascinating, extraordinary coincidences. Here are a few of the most amazing ones:

* In 1975, a man riding a moped in Bermuda was accidentally struck and killed by a taxi. One year later, the man?s brother, riding the very same moped, was killed in the very same way by the very same taxi driven by the very same driver -- and carrying the very same passenger.

* Twin brothers Jim Lewis and Jim Springer were separated at birth and adopted by different families. Unknown to each other, both were named James, both owned a dog named Toy, both married women named Linda, both had a son they names James Alan, and both eventually divorced and got remarried to a woman named Betty.

* Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, and John Adams helped to edit and hone it. The Continental Congress approved the document on July 4, 1776. Both Jefferson and Adams died on July 4, 1826 -- exactly 50 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

* A German mother who photographed her infant son in 1914 left the film to be developed at a store in Strasbourg, but was unable to collect the film picture when World War I broke out. Two years later she bought a film plate in Frankfurt, over 100 miles away, and took a picture of her newborn daughter -- only to find, when developed, the picture of her daughter superimposed on the earlier picture of her son. The original film, never developed, had been mistakenly labeled as unused and resold.

* In 1858, Robert Fallon was shot dead by fellow poker players who accused him of cheating to win a $600 pot. None of the other players were willing to take the now unlucky $600, so they found a new player to take Fallon?s place, who turned the $600 into $2,200 in winnings. At that point, the police arrived and demanded that the original $600 be given to Fallon?s next of kin -- only to discover that the new player was Fallon?s son, who had not seen his father in seven years.

* In the 19th century, the famous horror writer Egdar Allan Poe wrote a book called ?The narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym.? It was about four survivors of a shipwreck who were in an open boat for many days before they decided to kill and eat the cabin boy whose name was Richard Parker. Some years later, in 1884, the yawl, Mignonette, foundered, with only four survivors, who were in an open boat for many days. Eventually the three senior members of the crew killed and ate the cabin boy. The name of the cabin boy was Richard Parker.

* In 1930s Detroit, a man named Joseph Figlock was to become an amazing figure in a young (and, apparently, incredibly careless) mother?s life. As Figlock was walking down the street, the mother?s baby fell from a high window onto Figlock. The baby?s fall was broken and Figlock and the baby were unharmed. A year later, the same baby fell from the same window, again falling onto Mr. Figlock as he was passing beneath. Once again, both of them survived the event.

* In 1973, actor Anthony Hopkins agreed to appear in ?The Girl From Petrovka?, based on a novel by George Feifer. Unable to find a copy of the book anywhere in London, Hopkins was surprised to discover one lying on a bench in a train station. It turned out to be George Feifer?s own annotated (personal) copy, which Feifer had lent to a friend, and which had been stolen from his friend?s car.

* In Monza, Italy, King Umberto I went to a small restaurant for dinner, accompanied by his aide-de-camp, General Emilio Ponzia-Vaglia. When the owner took King Umberto?s order, the King noticed that he and the restaurant owner were virtual doubles, in face and in build. Both men began discussing the striking resemblance between each other and found many more similarities.

1. Both men were born on the same day, of the same year (March 14, 1844).
2. Both men had been born in the same town.
3. Both men married a woman with same name, Margherita.
4. The restaurateur opened his restaurant on the same day that King Umberto was crowned King of Italy.
5. On the 29th July 1900, King Umberto was informed that the restaurateur had died that day in a mysterious shooting accident, and as he expressed his regret, an anarchist in the crowd then assassinated him.

* While American novelist Anne Parrish was browsing bookstores in Paris in the 1920s, she came upon a book that was one of her childhood favorites -- Jack Frost and Other Stories. She picked up the old book and showed it to her husband, telling him of the book she fondly remembered as a child. Her husband took the book, opened it, and on the flyleaf found the inscription: ?Anne Parrish, 209 N. Weber Street, Colorado Springs.? It was Anne?s very own book.

Are these instances merely coincidence, or are they something more? It all depends on how you look at it.

As the famous words of Albert Einstein sum up quite nicely: ?There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.?

[Walkinghairball]

oddly cool as hell.

[Mr. Potatoe Head]

Was it just mere coincidence when a pure while dove landed at my feet the moment my mom died? I had many things happen to me in my life I just can't explain?

[CygnusX1]

Was it just mere coincidence when a pure while dove landed at my feet the moment my mom died? I had many things happen to me in my life I just can't explain?

I've heard of birds and butterflies doing that Spuds. Cool.

Yeah Xan, that stuff is wild....for most it SUCKED TO BE THEM though...hahaha

[awip2062]

In honor of the Doberman showings at the Westminster Dog Show today, here's a weird one for you.

This is some crazy trivia about ancestors of the bitch shown here, Champion Hurrah's Queen Gretel.

The first Doberman to go Best-in-Show at Westminster was the German import, Ch. Ferry von Rauhfelsen in 1939. Exactly 13 years to the day after that, Ferry's grandson Ch. Rancho Dobe's Storm went Best-in-Show at Westminster in 1952. Interestingly enough, he had come from a litter of 13 and was the 13th homebred champion for his breeders. He was the 13th Doberman finished by his handler Peter Knoop and his catalog number was 13 and it was the 13th time he had ever been shown. Although he was born on the 13th, the date was registered as the 12th so as not to jinx the litter. Storm was again Best-in-Show at Westminster the following year in 1953.

[Xanadu]

Wow, that's a nice looking bitch...I haven't seen a dobe ear job that looked so good in a while. (not saying I would ever have that done to a dog of mine but) Got more pix? How old was she in that pic?

[ElfDude]

As the famous words of Albert Einstein sum up quite nicely: ?There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.?

That reminded me a lot of the movie "Signs".

[awip2062]

She was 3 then and had gotten her championship.

Her ears were done by Dr. Robert (Bob) La Bounty who is still practicing in the LA area. He works a lot with Dobermans. He has over 40 years experience doing crops and is well known for his skill.

I don't have any other pics of Gretel that are online, but we have tons in albums of her alone or with her offspring and I may scan a few someday.

Someday...lol

[CygnusX1]

AMERICAN BEAGLE TAKES BEST-OF-SHOW FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 1939

Westminster has presented its best-in-show award 100 times.....

Not only has a Beagle never won Westminster, none had ever made it into the
final ring of seven since 1939 ....before "Uno" that is...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/13/sport ... er.html?hp

[awip2062]

I watched the last two group judgings and the BIS judging, too. That Beagle was the crowd favorite and even got a standing ovation when he won. He was so cute jumping about and braying after he took the big prize, it was fun to watch.