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My grandma often used to repeat the saying, "Man plans, God laughs." Whether or not you're religious, I think we can agree that life can be stranger than fiction. Just when we think we have it all figured out, the universe plays a trick, reminding us that nothing is guaranteed.

Interested in these strange occurrences, Twitter user Naomi (@AMythicWitch) asked other people on the platform to share their personal stories that sound too wild to be true. The request immediately went viral, and everyone started describing the weirdest experiences they've had.

We collected the most memorable ones and even managed to get in touch with Naomi, so continue scrolling to read about those crazy moments, and don't miss out on the talk we had with the author of the thread — you can find it between the pictures.

"I made the tweet because I just launched a new hotline for people to tell their strange and unexplainable stories," Naomi told Bored Panda.

"I did not expect famous people like Monica Lewinsky to answer! I think once it got picked up by a few high-profile people, it just snowballed."

"I actually asked this exact same question a year ago with not even half the amount of engagement. I'm nosy. I love stories! This is how I operate in real life, too. I ask nosy questions and will listen to almost anybody who wants to share their weird life stories," Naomi explained.

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Anna Te
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Obviously I don't know the circumstances, but for me it's sad to hear that the family didn't have contact with the uncle after the death of the wife/aunt/sister.

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"High strangeness" is something Naomi is especially interested in. In fact, this week, they will be scheduling a Twitter space to explore more stories that made it into their inbox via the Sleepy House Hotline.

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"A lot of the wildest ones are not statements people want to have attached to their name and public profiles. This is where the juiciest, scariest, most interesting narratives have come through," Naomi explained. "I'm excited to explore some of the anonymous messages with my followers via Twitter spaces! We already have over 200 anonymous texts and voicemails to work with on top of the massive response to the tweet."

"The number is 678-321-7962 and the Twitter spaces event will be hosted on my page @amythicwitch," Naomi added.

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During unexpected hardships, clear and concise thoughts rarely enter our awareness and front-of-mind thinking. Proper and effective planning, however, mandates taking into consideration the what-ifs that happen when we don't see them coming.

"Like so many other human traits, resilience can be woven into the fabric of one's being (nature) and/or it can be learned (nurture)," career and business coach Marjie Terry said. "One's natural disposition may lead them to always look on the bright side or to look for the silver lining. For others, with an accumulation of life experience, they develop a resilience perspective and realize that, as the old saying goes, what doesn’t break you makes you stronger. They develop an ability to recognize that it’s important to keep going even when life hands you challenge after challenge—they develop perspective."

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Deborah Harris
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Case was dropped? After being abducted by a cop? Did I read this right? 😳

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$cagsy
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That must have been unfathomably hard to bear, I am so sorry. But an actual broken heart? That's something else.

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According to Terry, resilience is characterized by positivity and productivity. "A resilient person will maintain a positive outlook on life and continue to believe that. Even when life hands you lemons, there is lemonade to be made. They will continue to present to the world with a positive attitude," she said.

"You are much more likely to be accepted and welcomed by every community with which you interact when you present in this way. When people view you favorably, they are more likely to like you and present you with opportunities. Opportunity leads to more positive experiences, which further reinforces one’s belief in resilience and their commitment to it."

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Lauren Compton
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

At 18 months old, how were you so articulate and how did you get up the ladder to the top of the slide?

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For those of us who are not naturally resilient, there are three tactics Terry suggests that can help us build this trait.

To begin with, there's something she calls a leap of faith or faking it till you make it. "Studies have shown that smiling can make you happier. Being happier will help you feel more positive about your life. This increased positivity is the beginning of resilience."

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Psycho Cat
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How did you manage to take his place in detention? I don't get this one. Surely someone noticed that his mom was there and not him.

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Mohsie Supposie
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

He was probably praying, "O Lord, give us our daily bread (pizza, wink wink)".

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The second tactic we can apply is to approach a trying situation from a different perspective. "If you try to view a difficult experience from a different perspective (e.g. spend a few minutes deeply visualizing your favorite childhood experience and then approach your current crisis with the energy and creativity that characterized you in that earlier time in life), you will approach your current predicament with an altered, stronger sense of hope and energy," Terry said.

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KittyGotClaws
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I live in Ireland now... I married an irish man I met on an online dating site, and the rest, as they say, is history.

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Andy Frobig
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My maternal grandparents' fathers grew up on the same street in Manhattan and their kids met decades later in Brooklyn. My parents were baptized in the same church in Brooklyn, Mom's father knew Dad's mother but my parents didn't meet until they were in the same school in Maine in their 20s. My dad and my ex-wife were born in the same hospital in Brooklyn, and my mother knew my ex's aunt's cousins in Brooklyn, but my ex grew up in Florida and we met in Minnesota.

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Finally, there's using our own power. "Try approaching a challenging situation as if you are the only person in the world who can make it better," Terry said.

To do so, ask yourself: if anything is possible right now (divine intervention and magic aside), what three things can I do to improve my circumstances? "You may not be able to take every step at this very moment, but you can start to create a plan that you can execute over time until you have started to create positive change in your life circumstances."

As you can see from the tweets, we can't control what happens to us. But we can decide how to respond to it.

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Uncanny
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Hello, beets. It's me.....Spidey. Do you want to play a game?"

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DuchessDegu
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wow I've watched a documentary about Andrew Cunanan, he was a very sick individual

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Deux
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well his restaurants have shut down all over the country.

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