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By definition, odds provide a measure of the likelihood of a particular outcome. Sometimes odds are very likely, like the fact that nothing good will come out of 2020 (and thankfully, we are almost past it!), and sometimes not so much.

But on very rare occasions, odds-defying things happen against all possible likelihood, proving that after all, this world of ours is inherently random. So this time, we’re taking the ride of a lifetime featuring this selection of nearly impossible odds as presented by the r/nevertellmetheodds subreddit.

Created in 2015, the online community has a whopping 1.7m members who are all in for bizarre and wonderful chances that shouldn’t have happened. The subreddit’s description says it’s all about “Nearly impossible feats of achievement, those with a great degree of difficulty or incredible odds,” so let’s find out what exactly all this fuss is about.

#2

Many Of You Might Have Seen This . But For Those Who Haven't

Many Of You Might Have Seen This . But For Those Who Haven't

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Joyce Melton
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Later that same day, he was elected president of Australia and married Gal Godot.

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#3

Small World

Small World

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AzKhaleesi
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thats crazy I wonder if the Coach / Dad ever looked at him and thought hmmm he looks a lot like me.

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No matter what we think we know about odds-defying things, the truth is they do happen and they happen more often than we think. British statistician David J. Hand claims that even “extremely improbable events are commonplace.”

This is due to the improbability principle that’s comprised of five laws “analogous to the four laws of thermodynamics or Newton’s three laws of motion.” David insists that “These laws, the law of inevitability, the law of truly large numbers, the law of selection, the law of the probability lever, and the law of near enough, explain exactly why we should expect to encounter highly unlikely events, and indeed why we should expect to do so on a regular, even frequent, basis.”

#5

In 1990, A Panel Of The Windscreen On British Airways Flight 5390 Fell Out At 17k Feet, Causing The Cockpit To Decompress & Its Captain To Be Sucked Halfway Out Of The Aircraft. The Crew Held Onto Him For More Than 20 Minutes As The Copilot Made An Emergency Landing. The Pilot Made A Full Recovery

In 1990, A Panel Of The Windscreen On British Airways Flight 5390 Fell Out At 17k Feet, Causing The Cockpit To Decompress & Its Captain To Be Sucked Halfway Out Of The Aircraft. The Crew Held Onto Him For More Than 20 Minutes As The Copilot Made An Emergency Landing. The Pilot Made A Full Recovery

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This is where mathematics comes into play to define these principles and calculate what effect they have on each other. For example, the law of near enough “says that events that are sufficiently similar may be regarded as identical,” David explains.

In fact, this similarity is what precisely makes a dramatic difference. David adds the law of truly large numbers and the result is that “given enough opportunities, the probabilities of even very unlikely events can mount up to be almost certain.”

Those laws raise the number of opportunities for any unlikely happening to actually happen. Read more about David’s philosophy of probability in his book “The Improbability Principle.”

#8

Unexpected Reunion

Unexpected Reunion

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Martha Meyer
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What a lucky coincidence for them! They probably would have never found out otherwise.

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#10

Two Strangers Sit Next To Each Other On A Flight And Meet Their Doppelganger

Two Strangers Sit Next To Each Other On A Flight And Meet Their Doppelganger

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#13

Lucky Nurse

Lucky Nurse

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#15

“And I Took That Personally” - Tsutomu Yamaguchi (Probably)

“And I Took That Personally” - Tsutomu Yamaguchi (Probably)

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#16

Neighbor Brings Owner Identical Cat

Neighbor Brings Owner Identical Cat

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Dave In MD
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As everyone should have a cat it just makes sense to have a spare as well.

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Sheila Weila
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Once my Aunt Betty was cat sitting while we were on vacation. She saw our tuxedo cat Silly in the yard and thought she had escaped, so she caught her and put her back inside the house. When we got home, we had two Sillies.

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Cip IESAN
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The neighbour has a secret cloning device in his basement.

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Anne Sim
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Had a friend found his 'dead cat' which they presumed had been hit by a car. He was digging the grave, all the family were crying. Then he looked up from his labours to see his cat sitting on the fence watching!

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Jay Dresser
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wonder if this Facebook Cat Duplication Device will work for me.

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Claire Armstrong
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Lol, the 'heir' and the 'spare'! But seriously, were you able to identify which was which? Shopping in Tesco one day, in the pet aisle and I happen to notice their own brand cat litter, which has a picture of a black and white tuxedo cat on it! Stopped dead in my tracks - it was the spitting image of my cat!! I'm thinking, 'how did they get a picture of Neelyx', and 'WTF'. Took a photo of it and showed my man when I came home, he said "that's my boy" lol! I swear, the only difference between the 2 cats is that my Neelyx has white whiskers and ONE white eyebrow, the other eyebrow is black! It's his most defining feature, most cats like him, that I've saw anyway, their whiskers and eyebrows are all the same colour! And Ziggy, our Bengal, it'd be easy to identify him because of his markings! He's a marbled Bengal and his markings have a smiley face :) in them lol! Also, his mother and his sister (who is a lighter colour than him and their mother) both have the same markings!

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Patricia Murray
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This actually happened to my Dad when I was a small sprite in the 70s. We had a pug. Someone found an identical pug and put it in my Dads car late at night thinking it was our dog. (Small town. Nobody locked their car or house ). We found the dog the next day and the neighbor told us what he did. This dog looked exactly like ours (our dog was in the inside house). We ended up with identical pugs.

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June
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We had a cat. One day I was out of and my cat came to me but weird, I was pretty sure he was inside the house. I caught him, handed him to my bf and asked: "That's Capsule, isn't it?" He looked very confused and handed me my cat: "no, THIS is Capsule". The only one to not look confused was the fake Capsule.

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June Galloway
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

reunited twins, I hope they like on another. OR... maybe the man saw his chance to get rid of his cat lol

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Brian McNeil
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We have a cat named Max and our neighbour has the identical looking cat. I can’t tell them apart and took to calling their cat “Fake Max”.

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Mary Peace
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's the only way the cats can get their quota of naps...not sure about getting enough food, though!

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#17

Saw This Photo Posted Here.. Noticed I Have The Photo The Grandmother Took That Day. (Bought At An Antique Shop Years Ago In Phx)

Saw This Photo Posted Here.. Noticed I Have The Photo The Grandmother Took That Day. (Bought At An Antique Shop Years Ago In Phx)

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#18

Lightning Striking Simultaneously On Chicago's Three Tallest Buildings

Lightning Striking Simultaneously On Chicago's Three Tallest Buildings

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#19

None Of Their Feet Are Touching The Floor

None Of Their Feet Are Touching The Floor

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#20

The First Time My Friend Visited My Apartment She Was Mind-Blown That My Shower Curtain Looked “Exactly” Like One Of Her Shirts. I Half-Seriously Said That Her Story Sounded Made Up And Promptly Forgot About It Until She Returned The Following Week To Demonstrate. I Forever Stand Corrected

The First Time My Friend Visited My Apartment She Was Mind-Blown That My Shower Curtain Looked “Exactly” Like One Of Her Shirts. I Half-Seriously Said That Her Story Sounded Made Up And Promptly Forgot About It Until She Returned The Following Week To Demonstrate. I Forever Stand Corrected

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#21

This Mother Deer Has Two Albino Fawns...

This Mother Deer Has Two Albino Fawns...

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#22

My Grandma Died On My Grandpa’s Birthday. My Grandpa Died On My Grandma’s Birthday

My Grandma Died On My Grandpa’s Birthday. My Grandpa Died On My Grandma’s Birthday

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Daria B
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What a sad birthday for the one who passed away afterwards. I'd be devastated.

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#23

This Is A Tomato That Accidently Grew Inside Of The Fence

This Is A Tomato That Accidently Grew Inside Of The Fence

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#26

Twins Married Twins To Give Birth To Another Twins

Twins Married Twins To Give Birth To Another Twins

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#27

Landslide Splits Just Before Hitting A Farm In Iceland. Happened This Morning. No One Got Hurt

Landslide Splits Just Before Hitting A Farm In Iceland. Happened This Morning. No One Got Hurt

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#28

Went To Take A Picture Of The Rainbow And Lightning Struck At The Same Time!

Went To Take A Picture Of The Rainbow And Lightning Struck At The Same Time!

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#32

This Is How The Newspapers Were Stacked Up At My Job

This Is How The Newspapers Were Stacked Up At My Job

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#33

Beluga Whale Saves An iPhone!

Beluga Whale Saves An iPhone!

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#34

We Were Seconds Away From Losing Our Home To The California Fire. Thank You To All The Firefighters That Saved Our Community!

We Were Seconds Away From Losing Our Home To The California Fire. Thank You To All The Firefighters That Saved Our Community!

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#36

The Cat Knocked My Daughter’s Fish Bowl Off The Dresser

The Cat Knocked My Daughter’s Fish Bowl Off The Dresser

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Pan Narrans
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The perfect opportunity to get a decent size aquarium for the fish. A bowl is too small.

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#38

It's Gotta Be Weird To Go To The Mall One Day And Run Into... Yourself

It's Gotta Be Weird To Go To The Mall One Day And Run Into... Yourself

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#40

Two Drunk Guys Imitate Connor Mcgregor As He Drives Past

Two Drunk Guys Imitate Connor Mcgregor As He Drives Past

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Note: this post originally had 75 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.

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