The origins of the universe are still one of life’s greatest unsolved puzzles. Some say it started with science, others believe in something divine—but every so often, reality glitches just enough to make you think we’re all part of a simulation.

Because how else do you explain the Matrix-level weirdness these people went through? We’ve got no good answers. Scroll down and see if you do.

More info: TikTok | X

Image credits: hindsight_travel
#1

50 Strange And Unbelievable Events That Felt Like We Are Living In A Simulation Developed a rapidly growing mass in my left eye socket. Multiple doctors said it was an infection and would go away on its own. Left my last doctor's appointment to get dinner and happened to sit next to a retired orbital surgeon visiting from another country who told me I would need surgery ASAP. She connected me with the best surgeon in my country and I’m recovering now ❤️

cath3rine.pearl , David Mosquera Report

Add photo comments
POST
superfluous
Community Member
2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I, a lay person, hear the term 'mass in eye' and definitely do not think infection! Mass = tumor, right? Why would a doctor think a growth in an eye was an infection????

View more commentsArrow down menu
RELATED:
    #2

    Backpack with numbers resembling a glitch in the Matrix, casting long shadows on the floor. I was in an airport once and I had this book in my bag and as I was going through security I realized that the lady in front of me was the author and then she signed the book for me :)

    glasses_r_hot , Roman Skrypnyk Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    #3

    Person exploring rocky cave, flashlight illuminating surroundings, representing a glitch in the matrix moment. I found my mom's library card in a cave when I went on a spelunking tour in Australia last year (I’m from Sweden btw smh).

    amerikasondastefar , ArtHouse Studio Report

    #4

    Cluttered room resembling a glitch in the matrix, with boxes and clothes piled beside a bed. The night I met my BF we were talking and figured out we lived in TWO of the same childhood homes, and had the same rooms. My family moved in right after he moved out each time.

    madalynfulton0 , Dyana Wing So Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Glen Ellyn
    Community Member
    Premium
    2 weeks ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is almost creepy. I wonder if he thought he was being stalked? Just kidding, but what a coincidence!

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #5

    50 Strange And Unbelievable Events That Felt Like We Are Living In A Simulation Met a guy at a bar in a different state than I lived in. Started talking & realized not only were we from the same state, we lived at the same apartment, same floor, and in fact were next door neighbors. We are now in a relationship lol.

    idontcarolineeeeee , Quan Pham Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    #6

    50 Strange And Unbelievable Events That Felt Like We Are Living In A Simulation You know how when you're little, your parents take you to a park where you make a friend and never see them again after that? My husband is that friend I made all those years ago.

    valeser07 , Kelly Sikkema Report

    #7

    Mannequin in a cluttered antique shop, surrounded by various vintage items, creating a glitch-like scene. I went to Istanbul and found used written postcards from the 50s in an antique shop, one was written by my great aunt to my great grandmother back in Berlin. She never send it from Istanbul.

    jenseitsvondir , Damla Özkan Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Richard Graham
    Community Member
    2 weeks ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You know why she never sent the postcard from Istanbul? Istanbul was Constantinople - Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople - Been a long time gone, Constantinople - Now it's Turkish delight on a moonlit night - So take me back to Constantinople - No, you can't go back to Constantinople - Been a long time gone, Constantinople - Why did Constantinople get the works? - That's nobody's business but the Turks

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    #8

    50 Strange And Unbelievable Events That Felt Like We Are Living In A Simulation I travelled to Italy in 2017. I ordered a cab to get from my airport to my hotel. The driver was really nice. We had a great convo the whole way there. I got laid off in 2023, so I signed up to drive uber. My friends told me to go to the airport for guaranteed money. My first customer was that cab driver from Italy.

    213TapTap , Ahmed Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #9

    Two people at a train station, one holding a camera, possibly noticing a real-life glitch in the matrix. I'm from America. I had a pen pal from the UK. Went on a class trip to Spain and just randomly ran into her.

    maffie_paige , Cihat Hıdır Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Sathe Wesker
    Community Member
    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    What’s really cool about this they randomly met in neither of their respective countries

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    #10

    50 Strange And Unbelievable Events That Felt Like We Are Living In A Simulation I used to run a comedy show in San Francisco with a few friends. One of them did a 10 min bit about how bad Third Eye Blind was. Then she was like “ok I feel mean. But it’s not like Stephen Jenkins is here.” From the audience a man goes “yes he is.” And it’s Stephen Jenkins.

    katewillett , Samuel Regan-Asante Report

    #11

    Person reaching for a book on a shelf, wearing a denim jacket, illustrating a real-life matrix glitch moment. I checked out a book at my high school library, the old library card fell out of it with my mom’s signature on it. She had checked it out in the 80’s.

    thekilpats , Yunus Tuğ Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    GlitterPanda
    Community Member
    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Apparently literary preferences can be genetic? That is a really cool find though, especially if it had an old pic of your mom on it!

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #12

    People loading identical black boxes into a moving truck, resembling a glitch in the Matrix. I had this childhood bestie Leslie, we lived in the same apartment complex, she moved & I was so sad, my fam also moved a week later, we unexpectedly moved across the street from Leslie.

    Erika , HiveBoxx Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Glen Ellyn
    Community Member
    Premium
    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Lucky you! My daughter was crushed when her best friend, who lived just across the way (shortcut to her house through two backyards) moved away. The two of them were about 8 years old at the time.

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #13

    Gas station at night with vibrant reflections in a puddle, resembling a real life glitch in the matrix. I ran into someone from my school at a gas station in New Jersey. We grew up in a New Zealand town of 31,000 people.

    stellabethh , Deva Darshan Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Glen Ellyn
    Community Member
    Premium
    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's a small world after all. It's a small world after all...🎶🎵🎶

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    #14

    50 Strange And Unbelievable Events That Felt Like We Are Living In A Simulation My girlfriend and I, 12 years before we met each other on hinge, were in the same tap dancing class and performed on stage together less than a metre apart.

    It’s on tape and everything.

    And the song were performing to is
    “It’s a small world”.

    Nimo_Clancy , Anita Austvika Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Debby Keir
    Community Member
    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Had my tonsils out age 5, but the whole ward came down with chickenpox. Met a guy 15 years later - turns out he was on the same ward (for tonsils) and was the one that gave everyone chickenpox.

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #15

    50 Strange And Unbelievable Events That Felt Like We Are Living In A Simulation In high school, my great—uncle passed away…told my classmates. A friend said hers had died too. Turns out, we were talking about the same funeral — we found out we were cousins after that.

    thesamybi , Pablo Merchán Montes Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Riley Quinn
    Community Member
    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I dated someone in high school... right up until we found out we had the same grandfather.

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    #16

    Red and white truck appears elevated above the street, creating a glitch in the Matrix illusion. My neighbor bought a used car and found a picture of me as a child in the glovebox.

    pintobeaans , Selvin Esteban Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    superfluous
    Community Member
    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Need more details! Did OP (or family member) used to own the car or was it an unknown car? How did the neighbor recognize the child in the picture as OP? Do people keep pictures in gloveboxes (I didn't)? Wouldn't it have been odder to buy a NEW car with OP's picture as a child in the glovebox?

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #17

    A couple sitting on the floor unpacking boxes, resembling a real-life glitch in the matrix moment. I moved into the same apartment as my mom’s first apartment without knowing that she ever lived there.

    peachjammies , Yunus Tuğ Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    #18

    Three people standing in a room, each looking in different directions, resembling a glitch in the matrix. My mom had decided on my name (Phoebe) before she gave birth and the nurses who helped deliver me were Monica and Rachel.

    phoeb3zz Report

    #19

    50 Strange And Unbelievable Events That Felt Like We Are Living In A Simulation When I was a kid I used to sell earings and they were little flowers i made with my signature on it (I live in Quebec). Ten years later I was in Croatia and the lady sit next to me on the bus was wearing the earings I made.

    learningfrenc.h , Tamara Bellis Report

    #20

    Collection of vintage items on display, showcasing a real-life glitch in the matrix scene. I traveled several states away, went to a flea market and found a one of a kind post card OF MY GRANDPARENT’s HOUSE from 1911.

    alyss_on_the_fritz Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #21

    50 Strange And Unbelievable Events That Felt Like We Are Living In A Simulation One day I was walking through the city when I saw my doppelgänger across the street. That’s not the weird part. Although seeing one’s doppelgänger is uncommon, it does happen sometimes. Where it got into “glitch in the matrix” territory was that she was wearing the exact same dress that I was and her hair was styled in the exact same way.

    Philosophi_Cat , Yoav Aziz Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Luke Branwen
    Community Member
    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If I saw my doppelgänger, the only thing I'd think would be "poor guy".

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    #22

    A cake with tall blue candles and small soccer ball decorations resembles a glitch. It’s not that juicy but I ended up at a new friends house and three out of four of us had the exact same birthday. October 31st, 1995.

    kellygphi , Waldemar Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Upstaged75
    Community Member
    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    At my last job my boss and I basically got hired at the same time. (She was a few weeks before me) And we turned out to have the same birthday.

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    #23

    People crossing a busy street with reflections creating a glitch-like effect, highlighting a real-life Matrix moment. My mom died when I was 8 and the exact same day she died three years later I saw her doppelgänger and she said I looked familiar.

    Ry<3 , Dominic Kurniawan Suryaputra Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    StrangeOne
    Community Member
    2 weeks ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I had to read that a few times to get it. "My mom died when I was 8. On her deathday, three years later, I saw her doppelganger, and she said I looked familiar."

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #24

    Two people standing close in a tight space, one wearing white sneakers, capturing an unusual real-life glitch moment. My mom’s first love was the dad of my first love.

    amy4lifey , cottonbro studio Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    #25

    Rustic street with church, featuring an oddly positioned lamppost, suggesting a glitch in the matrix. My dad ran into his boss on vacation in a random small town in France.

    fairyonaberry , Paul Bill Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Debby Keir
    Community Member
    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    In the 1960's our family (UK) were camping in Italy, and ran into a boy from our school, who was also camping there with his family.

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    #26

    50 Strange And Unbelievable Events That Felt Like We Are Living In A Simulation My friend found her cat on the side of the road in Washington. She moved to Spain and met a girl from New York who found her cat on the side of the road in Washington. Their cats are siblings.

    summonme4juryduty , Nina Zeynep Güler Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #27

    Medical professional in teal scrubs and mask, using a tablet, highlighting a real-life glitch in the matrix moment. My finance’s mom was one of the nurses who took care of my mom after she gave birth to me.

    kinzeesanders00 , Laura James Report

    #28

    50 Strange And Unbelievable Events That Felt Like We Are Living In A Simulation My parents (Ray and Karen), bought my childhood home from a couple named Ray and Karen…. Then sold our house to a Ray and Karen.

    mayceeleslie , Binyamin Mellish Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    KnightOwl86
    Community Member
    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    When my aunty Linda got married, her and her husband Tam (short for Thomas) moved into an apartment where they had their son Mark. About 6 months later their elderly neighbours moved out and a young family moved in. My aunt went over to introduce herself and welcome them and was stunned to find out they were also called Tam and Linda and had a 6 month old son called Mark. The funny thing is the dad's didn't make any effort to get to know each other, the mum's became best friends and the 2 sons were friends as kids but grew up to hate each other (they're now in their 40s and still can't stand each other.)

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #29

    50 Strange And Unbelievable Events That Felt Like We Are Living In A Simulation I moved to the Detroit from Congo at 8yrs old in 3rd grade. We briefly moved to NC in 8th grade and the boy who used to bully me IN AFRICA was in one of my classes in Cary, North Carolina!!!

    mrsvtfs08 , Yunus Tuğ Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #30

    50 Strange And Unbelievable Events That Felt Like We Are Living In A Simulation I took a trip to Ireland and met a wonderful local couple at a pub.

    Completely different trip, this time to the UK, stopped somewhere for some dinner in London and was sat down at a table right next to the same exact couple.

    RyanJFurlong , ELEVATE Report

    #31

    50 Strange And Unbelievable Events That Felt Like We Are Living In A Simulation One of my students moved half way through her 8th grade year and moved across the state. I moved over the summer and she walked into my classroom for the first day of her 9th grade year.

    daniliftsdonuts , Pixabay Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #32

    Got a walkie talkie in 4th grade, flipped to one of the 256 channels and asked hello? A voice came through, my crush at school decided to use her dad's walkie talkie that night on the same channel.

    isaacflowermusic Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #33

    50 Strange And Unbelievable Events That Felt Like We Are Living In A Simulation Me and a classmate of mine were born on the same day, my mom said she remembers congratulating my classmate's mom cuz she was born before me. We later found out our moms have the same bday as well.

    sxnkii , Jimmy Conover Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Debby Keir
    Community Member
    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My mother in law (now 100 years old) married on April 21st, which happenes to be the birthday of the late Queen Elizabeth. She lives in Edinburgh, and every year, there would be a 21 gun salute to mark the occasion. One year she was in hospital, and gaily told the wifey in the next bed to her that if she listened carefully she'd hear the salute to her wedding anniversary.....

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #34

    Aerial view of a tropical beach, ocean meeting sand, capturing a real-life glitch in the matrix vibe. My family went on vacation in PuntaCana this year and ran into a group of girls we met 5 years prior on another family vacation in Mexico.

    claireb3an , Rodrigo Castro Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Debby Keir
    Community Member
    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Went on holiday to Turkey, early 80's and met an English girl who'd just started working at the hotel Went to a totally different part of Turkey 5 or so years later, and the same girl was working at the 'new' hotel.

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    #35

    I moved states a lot as a kid, i moved to a new middle school and developed a best friend. we were inseparable. 5 yrs later discovered she was my 1st cousin, given up for adoption by my mom's sister.

    whatneish Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    #36

    Vacationing in Switzerland I asked some random guy to take a photo of me & my girlfriends. He agreed, held up the camera then paused & said “…Abbey?” turns out he & my friend went to kindergarten together & were childhood friends who hadn’t seen each other in 18 years.

    AmberScholl Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #37

    I had a nightmare about a particular house that I’ve never seen before. The house had a ton of rooms and was kind of a maze. In the dream I was running from something.

    Cut to weeks later I saw the same exact house on Tik Tok. I freaked out and closed my phone.

    2 days after that my wife showed me the video and explained the dream she had about the house. My stomach sank and I told her I had the same dream and saw that video days ago.

    She said “did you read the comments”? I did not so she showed me the comments.

    Hundreds of people had the same dream about the same house in the same video and it made me feel very anxious and a little sick.

    TIL this day I have no idea what or why but it was definitely a weird moment in my life.

    _KhalDavis Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    GlitterPanda
    Community Member
    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    this sounds like creepy pasta to me... made up urban legend in the tech age

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #38

    Person standing in a cave with sunbeams creating a matrix-like illusion. Turned down a spelunking date in 9th grade. 15 years later the rejected boy was my tour guide. On an 8 hour spelunking tour. My husband and I were the only 2 that signed up.

    olliemae199 , Intricate Explorer Report

    #39

    50 Strange And Unbelievable Events That Felt Like We Are Living In A Simulation Classmate dies in 5th grade, I attended visitation, saw him in his casket. Later on 2 summers later, I swim to the bottom of the pool to find a necklace…same necklace he wore in his casket, he drowned.

    happiestcamper1 , Kateryna Hliznitsova Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    StrangeOne
    Community Member
    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If it was a popular type of necklace, this could have been a coincidence. But still unnerving.

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    #40

    I had a friend, we are both half-japanese, our mums both had the same name. After 5 years of friendship she asked me whether I wanted to fly across the country with her to go to her grandparents house. We discovered when we got there that her great uncle and my great uncle were both physicists who worked together and gone to the same highschool. Our families knew each other years 60 years before and we had never connected the dots. her great uncle had been running the research centre named after my uncle (who died 30 years ago) for 20 years. Kinda crazy

    katiehawken_ Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #41

    My cousin found a single earring she had never seen before at her house. We found the second one in the sand on a beach we had never been to before. Perfect match.

    sarah!! Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    superfluous
    Community Member
    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Hmm, what do the earrings have in common? (Hint, it's not the OP)

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    #42

    I was hacked in Roblox in 2020, 3 years later, a boy from Brazil comes to my class and in one class we decided to play roblox, HE WAS THE HACKER.
    He moved from Brazil and ended up in the same class as me (in Portugal) we were in “computer” class and I told him to play roblox w me as a joke, that’s when I recognized the username!
    We started laughing because WHAT ARE THE ODDS, he said he used to do it for fun and gave me my account back!!! (happy ending)

    ines.trigo_ Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    #43

    My ex before I knew him went to a concert and when we met we found out we went to the same concert and he showed me the videos he took and I’m in the videos.

    fruitnjello Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Portentia9
    Community Member
    2 weeks ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I attended the 1991 New Year's Eve Cowboy's From Hell release show at this place called After Dark in Houston. Fast-forward about a year or so later, a friend of mine took me to a house to pick up some herbs. As I was sitting in the front room waiting, I picked up a foto album and began thumbing through it. There were several fotos of me at that concert in this stranger's album. I was 16 at the time and this dude was in his 30s. I did not like that at all and removed my fotos.

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    #44

    My childhood dog passed in 2015. In 2021 my mom was volunteering at a charity event in a different state, organizing clothes and found her collar and leash in a bag of clothes.

    betsygentryy Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Jennifer Drake
    Community Member
    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I think if my bubba’s collars were gone after I lost them, I’d burn down a village, throwing up, till I found them again.

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #45

    50 Strange And Unbelievable Events That Felt Like We Are Living In A Simulation Once went to a museum in Ottawa when I was 7, met a kid there from Toronto and played with him for a few hours. Went back to the same museum 2 years later and met the same kid. Was wild.

    nicksaber_11 , Ethan Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    superfluous
    Community Member
    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Well there's an explanation for this one - the kid never left. They want to play forever and ever.

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #46

    I had a best friend as a child she would always talk about going to Mexico with her cousins every year . Every year she’d mention about him . Fast forward to when I graduated high school we drifted apart . A year later I met my husband at a college party . I went to his house for the first time and my childhood best friend was sitting on the couch . I was like wth are you doing here ??? She said Joseph’s my first cousins ! turns out it’s the cousin she’s always been talking about ! it’s been 8 years now but talk about the invisible string theory.

    riahashley Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Zaach
    Community Member
    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    There is a mathematical/astronomical thing called 'strange attracters'

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    #47

    Wavy reflections creating an illusion in a blue swimming pool, resembling a glitch in the matrix. Lost my contact lense in my friend’s swimming pool one summer. The next summer after coming to the surface, my friend found it stuck to my cheek!

    kitkatmac437 , Matthias Cooper Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    StrangeOne
    Community Member
    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Finding a contact lens in a swimming pool is the new finding a needle in a haystack.

    View more commentsArrow down menu
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #48

    My friend got hurt in a hit and run and some guy she never knew held her head while waiting for the ambulance. 2 years later I was seeing a guy, he was the one who held her head.

    fionabrowne_ Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    #49

    Got drunk at chilis, saw a cat get stuck in a manhole, formed a cat rescue team w some randos outside the chilis, then ran into the same group of people 2 days later at the grocery store in a completely different city.

    hottiemchotpants Report

    #50

    My mom got her purse stolen from her car, she drove 4 miles in the way home and saw a backpack outside a school, she stopped thinking a kid got robbed, her purse was there in the bag.

    movilidad.ecoeficiente Report

    Add photo comments
    POST
    Lily bloom
    Community Member
    2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Saw a backpack outside a school, where one would suspect many backpacks traverse the property on a spectacularly regular basis (assuming school is in session), and her first thought was.. someone got robbed? Say what now?

    Note: this post originally had 92 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.

    ADVERTISEMENT