Reality is stranger than we think

Discussion in 'UFOs, Ghosts and Monsters' started by Magical Realist, Jun 5, 2014.

  1. Magical Realist Valued Senior Member

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    I devote this thread to amazing coincidences/strange events.


    Take the case of one Mr. Roy Sullivan, humble park ranger of Shenandoah National Park:


    "Sullivan was born in Greene County, Virginia on February 7, 1912. He started working as a ranger in Shenandoah National Park in 1936.[7] Sullivan was described as a brawny man with a broad, rugged face, who resembled the actor Gene Hackman. He was avoided by people later in life because of their fear of being hit by lightning, and this saddened him. He once recalled "For instance, I was walking with the Chief Ranger one day when lightning struck way off. The Chief said, 'I'll see you later.'" On September 28, 1983, Sullivan died at the age of 71 from self-inflicted gunshot wound in the stomach. Two of his ranger hats are on display at two Guinness World Exhibit Halls in New York City and South Carolina.[2]

    Seven strikes

    1.The first documented lightning strike of Sullivan occurred in April 1942. He was hiding from a thunderstorm in a fire lookout tower. The tower was newly built and had no lightning rod at the time; it was hit seven or eight times. Inside the tower, "fire was jumping all over the place". Sullivan ran out and just a few feet away received what he considered to be his worst lightning strike. It burned a half-inch strip all along his right leg, hit his toe, and left a hole in his shoe.[7]

    2.He was hit again in July 1969. Unusually, he was hit while in his truck, driving on a mountain road—the metal body of a vehicle normally protects people in cases such as this by acting as a Faraday cage. The lightning first hit nearby trees and was deflected into the open window of the truck. The strike knocked Sullivan unconscious and burned off his eyebrows, eyelashes, and most of his hair. The uncontrolled truck kept moving until it stopped near a cliff edge.[6][7]

    3.In 1970, Sullivan was struck while in his front yard. The lightning hit a nearby power transformer and from there jumped to his left shoulder, searing it.[6][7]

    4.In 1972, Sullivan was working inside a ranger station in Shenandoah National Park when another strike occurred. It set his hair on fire; he tried to smother the flames with his jacket. He then rushed to the restroom, but couldn't fit under the water tap and so used a wet towel instead.[7] Although he never was a fearful man, after the fourth strike he began to believe that some force was trying to destroy him and he acquired a fear of death. For months, whenever he was caught in a storm while driving his truck, he would pull over and lie down on the front seat until the storm passed. He also began to carry a can of water with him and believed that he would somehow attract lightning even if he stood in a crowd of people.[2][8]

    5.On August 7, 1973, while he was out on patrol in the park, Sullivan saw a storm cloud forming and drove away quickly. But the cloud, he said later, seemed to be following him. When he finally thought he had outrun it, he decided it was safe to leave his truck. Soon after, he was struck by a lightning bolt. Sullivan stated that he actually saw the bolt that hit him. The lightning set his hair on fire, moved down his left arm and left leg and knocked off his shoe. It then crossed over to his right leg just below the knee. Still conscious, Sullivan crawled to his truck and poured the can of water, which he always kept there, over his head.[2][8]

    6.The next strike, on June 5, 1976, injured his ankle. It was reported that he saw a cloud, thought that it was following him, tried to run away, but was struck anyway.[6]

    7.On Saturday morning, June 25, 1977, Sullivan was struck while fishing in a freshwater pool. The lightning hit the top of his head, singed his hair, traveled down, and burnt his chest and stomach. Sullivan turned to his car when something unexpected occurred — a bear approached the pond and tried to steal trout from his fishing line. Sullivan had the strength and courage to strike the bear with a tree branch. He claimed that this was the twenty-second time he hit a bear with a stick in his lifetime.[2]
     
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  3. Magical Realist Valued Senior Member

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    "Dr. Lawrence LeShan was researching a book he was in the process of writing on mysticism. When consulting with colleague Dr. Nina Ridenour on the subject, she offered several points of advice to him, including understanding the differences between Western and Eastern mysticism. To help in this understanding, she recommended to LeShan a book entitled The Vision of Asia by Crammer-Bing.

    Not long after, LeShan began to search for this book, but was unable to find it at two specialized libraries. Then, while walking home, he felt compelled to take a somewhat different route. As he was standing at a corner waiting for the traffic light to change, he looked to the ground and saw a book laying there. He picked it up. It was The Vision of Asia!

    This story has one last, strange twist. LeShan called Dr. Ridenour to tell her of the remarkable coincidence regarding this book she had recommended so highly. Her puzzling response was that she had never heard of the book."
     
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  5. origin Heading towards oblivion Valued Senior Member

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    It just sounds like a couple of alzheimer patients had a conversation to me.

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
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  7. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    Neither of those is particularly strange.
     
  8. origin Heading towards oblivion Valued Senior Member

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    The poor bastard that is a human lightning rod is a crazy statistic. I bet he did think the thunderstorms were following him!
     
  9. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    He's a park ranger.


    One time as a kid I was looking in my closet for something, and I saw our phone book. So I took it into the kitchen and handed it to my Mom, she looked at me in amazement, because she was just then looking for the phone book.
     
  10. Magical Realist Valued Senior Member

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    Last edited: Jun 5, 2014
  11. Magical Realist Valued Senior Member

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    How many other park rangers have been struck by lightning numerous times? You have the stats on that?
     
  12. Magical Realist Valued Senior Member

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    "This is a similar story of coincidence, not of twins but of two brothers. In 1975, while riding a moped in Bermuda, a man was accidentally struck and killed by a taxi. One year later, this man's brother was killed in the very same way. In fact, he was riding the very same moped. And to stretch the odds even further, he was struck by the very same taxi driven by the same driver - and even carrying the very same passenger!"--- (Phenomena: A Book of Wonders, John Michell and Robert J. M. Rickard)
     
  13. Magical Realist Valued Senior Member

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    "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 selfsame baby fell from the selfsame window, again falling onto Mr. Figlock as he was passing beneath. Once again, both of them survived the event."
     
  14. Magical Realist Valued Senior Member

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    "The British actor Anthony Hopkins [who shot to fame as Hannibal Lecter] was delighted to hear that he had landed a leading role in a film based on the book The Girl From Petrovka by George Feifer. A few days after signing the contract, Hopkins travelled to London to buy a copy of the book. He tried several bookshops, but there wasn't one to be had. Waiting at Leicester Square underground for his train home, he noticed a book apparently discarded on a bench.

    Incredibly, it was The Girl From Petrovka. That in itself would have been coincidence enough but in fact it was merely the beginning of an extraordinary chain of events. Two years later, in the middle of filming in Vienna, Hopkins was visited by George Feifer, the author. Feifer mentioned that he did not have a copy of his own book.

    He had lent the last one - containing his own annotations - to a friend who had lost it somewhere in London. With mounting astonishment, Hopkins handed Feifer the book he had found. 'Is this the one?' he asked, 'with the notes scribbled in the margins?' It was the same book."
     
  15. Boris2 Valued Senior Member

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  16. Magical Realist Valued Senior Member

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    So how does that relate to ANY of the amazing coincidences listed below? Are you saying these coincidences are just hallucinated patterns, like seeing a horse in a cloud or something? That doesn't even make sense.
     
  17. Boris2 Valued Senior Member

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    ermmmm do you even add odds like that?

    and yes i am saying we are hardwired to see patterns. and they are just coincidences. nothing else.
     
  18. Magical Realist Valued Senior Member

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    Seeing patterns has nothing to do with a man getting struck by lightning 7 times and you know it. Nor with any of the other coincidences for that matter. You're attacking a strawman.

    "British cavalry officer Major Summerford was fighting in the fields of Flanders in the last year of WW1, a flash of lightning knocked him off his horse and paralysed him from his waist down.

    He moved to Vancouver, Canada, six years later, whilst out fishing, Major Summerfield was struck by lightning again and the right side of his body became paralysed.

    After two years of recovery, it was a summers day and he was out in a local park, a summer storm blew up and Major Summerfield was struck by lightning again - permanently paralysing him.

    He died two years after this incident.

    However, four years after his death, his stone tomb was destroyed - it was struck by lightning!
     
  19. Balerion Banned Banned

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    Reality certainly isn't stranger than you think, MR. Lol
     
  20. billvon Valued Senior Member

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    If the odds are independent. They most surely are not.
    For example, let's say a skydiver falls 13,000 feet, and has a parachute malfunction - but survives. He returns to the sport. Are his odds of falling 13,000 feet and surviving again higher than, lower than or the same than a person who has never skydived (and never will?)
     
  21. Magical Realist Valued Senior Member

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    What ARE the odds of the same man being struck by lightning 7 times then?
     
  22. Boris2 Valued Senior Member

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    each event is taken as a single event. just like the roll of a die. each time you roll it the odds are reset to a single roll.

    http://wizardofodds.com/gambling/dice/

    shows the odds for two dice. the odds stay the same no matter how many times you roll the same numbers consecutively.
     
  23. Magical Realist Valued Senior Member

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    So what are the odds of the same man getting struck by lightning 7 times over an 80 year period?
     

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