What are the odds? Unlikely things you have seen or done

I'm sort of a numbers guy so when something unusual happens, I'm quickly trying to calculate the odds of it happening.

Something happened yesterday that got me thinking that a thread might be in order to have other forum members share their one-in-a-million moments.

I'll start with 2 examples:

1) (I may have shared this even before. I honestly cannot remember) Years ago I was at an Oakland A's game. A batter hit a foul ball the second deck and a guy in the first row caught it with his glove. No big deal so far, right? What happens next: On the next pitch, the batter hit a foul ball again to the same location. The same guy caught that foul ball. The guy caught two foul balls in a row!! I'm not even sure how to calculate the probability.

2) I witnessed this unlikely event yesterday. I was out mowing the back of my property which sits on a hill overlooking the green on 160 yard par 3 hole. I'm looking down at the green to make sure there are no golfers putting because I don't want to make noise while they are putting. Nobody on the green so I start mowing. Then, out of the corner of my eye I see the first tee shot hit the green and the ball ends up maybe 5 feet from the cup. I'm thinking, Nice Shot. I continue mowing. Then the second tee shot hits the green and the ball rolls up within 2 feet of the first one. I'm thinking, these players are good! Now they have my attention. I stopped my mower and watched the 3rd and 4th tee shots. Both the 3rd and the 4th tee shots landed within 10 feet of the cup and all 4 balls were sitting there in a cluster behind the pin with no more than 10 feet separating them. As they walked up to the green I stood there clapping my hands loudly. They looked up and took a bow.


What's your story? Please share

Many moons ago, I was down in Florida at our family's winter place for spring break. My grandmother was staying there for a few months at the time, and the Florida Lotto jackpot was at the time a record $105 million.

When I got there, the first thing that I noticed was that there was no food whatsoever in the refrigerator. When I asked my grandmother why she didn't go grocery shopping, she said that she spent all of her grocery money on lotto tickets and would buy groceries in two days after she won the $105 million.

For some background, her luck had always been soooooo bad that Ed McMahon would probably show up at her door and tell her that she's already a Publisher's Clearing House contest loser! Knowing what numbers *not* to pick, I took all of her lotto tickets and did a frequency chart of every number on every ticket. There were four numbers that she didn't have on any of her tickets, and two that were only on one ticket. I risked a buck of my own money, and bought one ticket with those six numbers (along with two day's worth of groceries). I also called my boss from work who always has psychic flashes, and asked him for six numbers for a second ticket.

Long story short, my ticket hit for 4/6 numbers...as did the one that my boss picked...and between our two tickets we had all six winning numbers! The winnings were enough to cover her grocery money loss, plus pay for my week of spring breaking.....

Another defying the odds story of mine was at one of the annual holiday parties at work. There was a long-standing tradition of holding a 50/50 raffle, with half of the proceeds going to a local charity. The ongoing tradition started long before I worked there, and was that whoever won the raffle would donate their half of the winnings to the same charity.

One year, a minimum-wage custodian won the raffle...and didn't donate her half of the winnings. Nobody was going to push the issue, because a few hundred bucks was a lot of money for someone making minimum wage. The bigger damage was that for the next two decades, nobody else felt compelled to donate their winnings back.

I was sitting at a table with a newer director one year as the raffle ticket salespeople came by. The director bought $20 of tickets, saying that she could use the extra cash for gifts. As I bought my $5 in tickets, I told her and the ticket salespeople about the old tradition and said that someone at her pay grade would have been expected to give their winnings back to the charity if they won. She was shocked that I would suggest that, and said that she'd bet that I'd keep the money if I won.

Come drawing time, I had the opportunity to stand on stage and explain the old tradition to a whole new audience...as I collected my $520 winnings and donated them back. Habitat for Humanity was that year's charity beneficiary, and I still have the thank-you card from them for the gift.

The next year, I weaseled my way onto the stage before the drawing and gave a short speech about the tradition. A VP won, and gave their half back. The third year, one of my IT colleagues won and did likewise. From that point on, the tradition was re-established...and all because everyone was shocked when I won and gave it back to set the example.....

Defying the odds? I had a 100% blockage in my left main artery. The cardiologist said there was no medical reason I was alive.

My 5-man radar team were ordered to the big base camp near Tay Ninh
after spending months in the field, eating C-Rations and living in bunkers.
We thought, wow, hot food and showers for the next two weeks. Our
bunker was deluxe compared to the field bunkers; wood floors, a commons
area, a bar of sorts.

Looking forward to a hot breakfast the next morning, I pulled on my
jungle fatigues and boots and headed out. Just as I reached for the
screen door, a rocket hit next to the dirt road out front. I suddenly
lost my appetite. My ears were ringing.

After picking myself up off the floor, I ventured outside to check for
damage. Our two trucks were out front. I located the point of impact.
It was about 40 feet from our bunker and just on the other side of a
trailer-mounted 10 KW generator. It was soon apparent that the engine
block had stopped any schrapnel headed in my direction. Even more
interesting is that the trailer towbar was in the dirt. The extendable
front wheel was retracted. Had it been properly extended, the schrapnel
would’ve gone under the trailer, unimpeded.

Never did find out who put that generator there or why the tow bar
was in the dirt. In any case, I think it saved my ass.