Day 220 - Coincidence? You Make the Call

March 16th, 2010

A plane leaves O’Hare airport at 11:47 am at 170 miles per hour. At the exact same time, a man in Little Rock, Arkansas buys a pound of ground beef. Coincidence? You make the call.

I’ve always been intrigued by these people, places and things that seem to have some uncanny and accidental connection. Then there are mathematicians named Ludwig that attempt to take away the mystique of a solid coinkidink by spewing out words like probability, index and statistics. Why Ludwig? Why? Can’t we just believe that the universe can inexplicably connect two things in a nonsensical way, shape or form? Explain this Lud-dog.

The Lincoln and John F. Kennedy Connection

• Both presidents were shot in the head, on a Friday.
• Both were seated beside their wives when shot. Neither Mrs. Lincoln nor Mrs. Kennedy was injured. Both wives held the bullet-torn heads of their husbands.
• Lincoln was shot at Ford's Theatre. Kennedy was shot in a Ford product, a Lincoln limousine.
• Booth shot Lincoln at a theatre and was cornered in a warehouse. Oswald shot Kennedy from a warehouse and was cornered in a theatre.
• Lincoln and JFK had four children, two of whom died before becoming a teen.
• Both presidents were elected to the House of Representatives in '46, runners-up for the party's nomination for vice-president in '56 and elected to the presidency in '60.
• The Vice Presidents: Andrew Johnson was born in 1808, and Lyndon Johnson was born in 1908.
• Both Johnsons chose not to run for reelection in '68.

Along with the Lincoln and JFK connection, there is another comparison that has stumped coincidence nonbelievers.

My connection to Janice from the Muppets

This is going to blow your mind.

•Janice is the lead guitar player in the Electric Mayhem on “The Muppet Show.” I took guitar for 5 minutes in college.
•Janice has a very close relationship with the Electric Mayhem's bass player, Floyd Pepper. I went to a bar named Floyd on Saturday.
•We both bear a smidge of resemblance to Janice Joplin.
•She’s orange and I’m prone to sunburn.
•We’re both blonde, long-lashed and big-lipped.
•Janice is laid back and easygoing with a relaxed disposition. I’m like that. Sometimes.
• In “The Muppets Take Manhattan," Janice said, “Look buddy, I don't take my clothes off for anyone, I don't care if it IS 'artistic'..." In Manhattan, I said, “Look buddy, I take my clothes off for everyone… because it’s 'artistic'..."