The two Richters

In 1915, two soldiers were admitted independently to a military hospital in the city of Katowice, Bohemia. Both were 19 years of age, had pneumonia, were born in Silesia, were volunteers in troop transport and both were named Franz Richter.

Jung's scarab

During her treatment, one of Jung's patients was telling him about a dream she had in which she received a golden scarab. At the same moment, he heard a noise at the window made by an insect. He captured the insect and noted that it was a scarab belonging to the lamellicorn family, the nearest relative to the tropical scarab one encounters at these northern latitudes. 

The dog

In 1955, Emile M. decided to put his sick dog out of his misery. He tied the dog to a tree in his garden and shot. The bullet went through the hedge and killed a woman who was passing by. Her name was Miss Dog). Le Chien.

The help of the "encyclopedic angels"

You are in the library looking for information in a book whose title you do not remember. When looking through a row of books you inadvertently drop several, one of which opens. To your great surprise the information you are looking for is on one of the open pages of the open book. Arthur Koestler called this the "help of the encyclopedic angels".

Camille Flammarion's balloon voyage

Camille Flammarion decided to take his honeymoon trip in a hot air balloon and invited the parish priest to accompany him. The priest accepted but notified him several hours before departure that he was obliged to pay a visit to his relatives in the Marne valley. The next morning Camille Flammarion and his new bride took off at noon. By an extraordinary combination of circumstances, the wind carried them just over the garden where the priest was having lunch.

Faster than the post office

In 1984, a member of the European parliament was given the task of mailing 42 letters from London. Just before boarding his plane at the Heathrow airport, he stuffed the letters into a mail box. One of the letters fell to the ground. A Canadian, also in transit and standing next to him, kindly picked up the letter for the nervous member. The letter was addressed to him !

Mister de Fontgibu's plum pudding

In his book "Les Huguenots", Emile Deschamps recounts a strange series of events which happened to him. When he was a small boy attending a boarding school in Orl*ans, he was invited, along with several other students, to the home of Mister de Fontgibou where he served the boys a plum pudding. Ten years latter, when dining in a restaurant near the Paris Opera, he noticed a plum pudding on the dessert table which brought back memories of his visit in Orl*ans. So, for dessert he asked for a serving of plum pudding, but the waiter informed him that it was reserved for another client. What a surprise when he learned that it was for mister Fontgibu, who then offered to share it with him. One day, many years later Emile Deschamps was invited to dinner by a lady friend who notified him that they would be having plum pudding for dessert. 

Just before diner was to be served the maid announced the arrival of Mister Fontgibu. Emile Deschamps though his friends were joking until he saw an old man enter the room. It was indeed Mister Fontgibu. He had been invited for diner by another person in the building and had made a mistake concerning the floor.

The twins Fritz and Emma Meinert

Fritz Meinert, a retired painter, was seriously injured in an automobile accident which they had not announced to his twin sister. At the same moment of the accident, his sister felt terrible pains and was put to bed. The condition of her brother worsened and so did her's. Five hours later Fritz died. Emma was unaware of his death. A few hours later she died. Born on the same day, they died on the same day at the age of 84. (Revue de Métapsychique).

Five shipwrecks and destiny

In 1820, on his fifth consecutive shipwreck, Peter Richley was rescued by the liner "City of Leeds" on its way to Australia. On board was an old lady traveling in search of her son who had disappeared almost ten years earlier. She was very ill and in her delirium kept asking for her son. Fearing that the poor woman was dying, the ship's doctor asked Peter Richley, who resembled the description of the son which the old lady had given him a few days earlier, to visit her and pretend that he was her son.

What an unexpected surprise for Mr. Richley when he entered the room and recognized his mother, Sarah Richley, who recovered soon after.

 

A strange meeting so connected to the past

Mr. Michel Mosse, a well known archetect who had designed many well known works, including the General Charles de Gaulle memorial at Colombey Les Duex Eglise, France, sent us this surprising example of synchronicity.

"In the month of December 1943, I escaped from Alsace, which had been annexed by the Germans, in order to avoid being forced to serve in the German army. The network which had helped me escape had its headquarters in the city of Metz. My contacts were two ladies, whose name at that time I did not know (the Haas sisters). I remained in hiding for several days. My hiding place was under a pile of dirty laundry in the laundry room.

Forty five years later, I invited Paul Haas, a veterinairian, (no relation of the Haas sisters) for dinner in celebration of his recent marriage.I was seated next to his mother-in-law and, of course, our conversation was oriented toward my adventures in the eastern provinces. I soon learned that she was living in the city of Metz and naturally I began to tell her of my adventure there in 1943. To my great astonishment, she interrupted me and began filling in many details of my adventure which I had forgotten. It became obvious to me that it was in their home that she and her sister had hidden me.

A strange encounter (21 April 1988)

Although I now reside in the city of Nice, when I have a medical problem I prefer going to a hospital in Paris, the city where most of the members of my family reside. After having experienced some urinary problems, I consulted my family doctor who arranged for an x-ray to be taken at the Necker hospital in Paris.

My appointment was for 8:45. I arrived a half hour early, that is, at 8:15. The receptionist told me that I was a half hour late since my appointment was set for 7:45. I showed her my appointment paper which did indeed indicate 8:45. Just as we were discussing the error, a man of about the same age as mine approached the desk. He said that his name was Jean Moisset and that he was sorry he was late for his appointment which was set for 7:45 and was for an examination similar to mine.

The name Moisset is not a very common name. Moreover, having the same first name, having arrived at about the same time at the same desk and for the same type of examination make it highly improbable that it was by pure chance. To me it was obviously another good example of coincidence (which I call synchronicity) several of which I have experienced over the past few months.

 

It's really a small world

I  received the following report of an extraordinary coincidence from my neighbor, Mr. Freytag :

"One day I saw a for sale sign on a small store on rue Gioffredo in Nice which interested me. I wrote down the telephone number to be called, which happened to be a Paris number.

Several days later I went to Paris to deliver some merchandise to several stores. One of my visits was to a store on avenue Gambetta in the 20th arrondissement. Upon leaving the store, I saw a telephone booth and decided to call the number concerning the store in Nice. A woman answered. After a short conversation I hung up and was about to make another call when I saw a woman knocking on the window. I opened the door of the booth and the woman immediately asked me if I was Mr. Freytag. I answered yes and to my great astonishment she told me that a Mr. Freytag had just talked to her on the phone concerning a store for rent in Nice.

An unbelievable coincidence. She was the woman in the store with her son and had talked to me concerning the store in Nice. She explained that she could see the booth from the store and when she saw me hang up the phone at the end of our conversation, she intuitively felt that I was the person with whom she had just spoken and she could not resist the idea of verifying her intuition. The owners of the store in Nice had asked her to find a buyer for their store on rue Gioffredo".

 

An announcement of a visit

Irv Kupcinet, a Chicago TV commentator recounts the following :

"I had just registered at the hotel Savoy in London and upon entering my room I opened a drawer in the dressing table in order to place a few objects. To my great surprise I discovered several items belonging to my good friend Harry Hannin, manager of the Harlem Globe Trotters. Two days later, I received a letter from Harry mailed from the hotel Meurice in Paris in which he stated: you won't believe me but I found one of your ties in a drawer in my room. Yes, I had been in the same room a few days earlier!"

(From the monograph: "Incredible Phenomena", edited by Peter Brookesmith, Orbis.)

  An automobile registration number
 

My automobile was stolen in Paris. The culprit changed the plates and took off for the south of France. In the city of Avignon, he stopped at a gas station. Another automobile was parked next to his. A few minutes later he was arrested. The owner of the gas station had noticed that the two automobiles had the same tag number and had immediately called the police.

 

A lost and found wallet

Antoine Blondin, a well known novelist and a lover of good wines, told us of the difficulties he encountered one day upon his arrival at the London airport on a flight from Paris. Upon arrival at the customs check point he was unable to find his passport, yet he knew he had presented it to the French customs upon boarding the plane in Paris. Blondin waited in the VIP lounge while a customs agent returned to the aircraft in search of the lost document. The bar in the lounge was well stocked with all sorts of drinks. Being a connaisseur of good wines, our intrepid traveler ordered a glass of wine then another... Some time later the telephone rang and the barman answered, wrote the name "Antoine Blondin" on a board and asked his caller to wait. The frenchman, rather surprised to receive a call, answered the call. It was from a certain Dr. Cartier who was visiting London. He had found Antoine's wallet containing his passport and other personal papers, as well as his Paris telephone number. By what strange magic did the call ring the number of the lounge where Antoine was waiting? Another surprising coincidence, Dr. Cartier had called Antoine Blondin from a phone just outside the room where Blondin was waiting and thus he was able to personally return the lost wallet.   (Marc Schweizer - Science et Magie)

 

The 6 holdens
 

In 1928, at Blankburn, England, an automobile accident resulted in the strange encounter of six persons with the same family name of Holden. The family name of the owner of the fist automobile was Holden, the driver was a Holden and the man seated next to him was also a Holden. The owner of the second automible and the driver were also named Holden. And the policeman preparing the accident report was also a Holden !

 

The extraordinary case of the two Jims

Jim Lewis and Jim Springer, twin brothers born in 1939 and separated at birth, were surprised at the similitude of their two lives when they were reunited 40 years later for the first time :

- they were both named Jim by their respective adopted parents;

- the first name of their adopted brothers was Larry;

- each had a first wife named Betty;

- each had a son named James Allen and each smoked the same brand of cigarettes;

- both shared the same hobbies and spent their vacations in a Florida resort.

(Daily mirror, 1978; cited in "La chance et le hasard - collection: l'Univers de l'Etrange-Editions Time Life Magazine, 1992.)

 

The king and his double

On the 28th of July 1900, the King of Italy was on his way to Monza, Italy where he was scheduled to present the prizes in an athletic competition. In the evening when dining in the hotel restaurant he noticed that the hotel manager resembled him both physically and in geneal comportment. In a conversation with him, the king was astounded upon learning the fantastic series of coincidences existing between himself and the manager :

- both were born on the 14th of March 1844 in the same town;

- They were both named Umberto;

- both married on 22 April 1880 with brides named Margherita;

- Each had a son named Umberto;

- the manager had opened his restaurant on the same day that the king had been crowned as Umberto the first;

- both had received decorations for acts of courage.

Both died under an utimate and strange coincidence. The day after learning of the death of his new friend in a hunting accident, the King was assassinated by an anarchist named Bresci.   (According to Ripley Ghost Stories and Plays.)

The engagement ring

Peter Richardson wanted to offer his fiancée Agness an engagement ring. One day while visiting Birmingham he happened to pass before a jewelry shop and decided to enter. What a surprise to find his fiancée in the same store attentively examining a lovely diamond ring which obviously pleased her. He bought it immediately. Soon after, upon carefully examining the ring he observed the tiny initials A23P, that is, an A for Agnes, 23 corresponding to the date set for the marriage and P for Peter.

 

A post card

During the second world war, while serving in the army, Arthur Butterworth of Skipton, Yorkshire, ordered a book from a London antique dealer. The book was delivered to his camp at Taverham near Norwich, England. When he opened the book, a post card, probably used by the previous owner as a page marker, fell to the floor. He picked up the card and was astonished upon seeing that it was an exact picture of the scene he had before hie window... Taverhal Hall...

(Peter Brookesmith, Incredible Phenomena, Orbis, London, 1984.)

The two Mr. Payets and the two Mr. Camelins

Several years ago my friend Joseph Camelin, an editor with the "Progäs de Lyon", was doing some research in the Rhìne department archives. One day when consulting the 1750/1752 church registers, opened on pages 11 and 12, on page 11 he noticed the name "Louis Payet de Saint-Priest" in capital letters. Following the name was an inscription indicated a certain dispense authorised by the church authorities. At this point my friend remembered that his neighbor across the hall from his apartment was a Louis Payet, originally from the town of Saint-Priest. Imagine his astonishment when he glanced at page 12 and saw on the same line, the name of Josheph Camelin followed by the same indication of a dispense authorised by the church authorities. Thus a Louis Payet and a Joseph Camelin were neighbors in a 1750/1752 church register just as their homonymes were in an buiding in Lyons in 1943. Indeed a curious coincidence especially when we consider that my friend Joseph Camelin had moved to Lyons from his home in La Creuse because of exceptionnal circumstances. 

(By Dr. E. Osty - Revue Métaphysique de janvier-Février 1937, pages 56 & 57.)

The steamboat victim of the law of series

The construction of the steamboat "Achille Lauro under the number 214 in Holland was interrupted by the outbreak of world war 2 in 1941. 

The ship was finally launched in 1946 and baptised the Willem Ruys. The name originally was to be "Ardjoena". There exists a superstition according to which changing a name of a ship before it has been to sea is bound to bring it bad luck. An Italian ship owner named Achille Lauro bought the ship in 1966 and gave it his name. Originally used in the transport of immigrants, in 1970 it was transformed into a luxury cruise liner. It was the beginning of a long series of accidents and incidents. The following is a brief summary.

In 1971 the ship hit a fishing boat near Naples resulting in the death of the fisherman. In 1972 when anchored in the bay of Genoa a fire due to negligence damaged the ship. Later, in 1975 on a cruise in the Dardanelles the Achille Lauro struck a Libanese cargo ship resulting in the death of six sailors.

In 1975 the Italian customs seized a cargo of slot machines which had been installed illegally.

All went fairly well until 1981. In that year a fire broke out on a cruise to the Canary Islands. Two passangers paniqued, jumped overboard and drowned. In 1982 the authorities of the Canary Islands seized the ship at the request of the German banks. In 1985, a commando of Palestinian terrorists captured the ship and 

held the crew and passangers as hostages. One of the hostages, an American invalid, was thrown into the sea in his wheelchair.

The following year, on a cruise to Egypt, the ship ran agound on a sand bank near Alexandria and had a bomb alert.

In 1987, five years after the death of the owner, Achille Lauro and the failure of his company, all his ships including the Achille Lauro where sold. The ship continued its career under a South African flag until 1991, then left for Australia.

The Achille Lauro played its own role in a television film featuring an attack by palestinian terrorists. The filming was terminated without any real problems. However, an actrice featured in the film, Rebecca Schaeffer, was assassinated shortly after her return to the USA. The odyssey of the Achille Lauro ended in 1994.  On the 30 th of November when the ship was sailing of the coast of South Africa, a fire occurred on board. The passangers were transfered to Djibouti. However, 2 passangers died of heart attacks and 8 were wounded. The ship sank on 2 December 1994. 

The wellknown pianist Huguette Agederian
before the S/S Achille Lauro, on board which she played often.

Adaptation anglaise par Ed Maykut
Texte original

 

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