Unbelievable Stories of the Unluckiest People in History
Feeling lucky already?
Life sometimes throws curveballs at us, but for some people, it seems to have taken up juggling lessons using grenades.
Despite the seemingly ceaseless torrent of bad luck, these people have often demonstrated remarkable resilience, finding silver linings in even the most challenging circumstances. Here, we spotlight several individuals who have faced a staggering sequence of unlucky events, yet have managed to find a way to thrive, or at least survive, painting a vivid portrait of human resilience.
Let us traverse through the lives of some astonishingly unfortunate people.
Ronald Wayne
Sold his 10% Stake in Apple for $800 only 12 days after the company was founded
In the embryonic stage of what would become a technology behemoth, Ronald Wayne was rubbing shoulders with the soon-to-be legends, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Then, as if struck with a bizarre premonition, he stepped back just 12 days later, settling for a now-meager $800 for his stake. Today, he lives a life free from billionaire woes, asserting that his decision was the best, given the circumstances at the time.
Apple’s market value hit $3 trillion in January 2022, but Wayne doesn't care. In a 2017 interview with Vice, he said he never regretted his decision as he wasn’t passionate about computers. He has never owned an Apple product and doesn’t even have a cellphone.
Jason and Jenny Cairns-Lawrence
Witnessed three major terrorist attacks in different cities
It seems like wherever the British couple Jason and Jenny Cairns-Lawrence decide to vacation, calamity follows. Their knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time saw them bear witness to the horrifying events of 9/11 in New York, the 7/7 bombings in London, and the terror strikes in Mumbai in 2008. Despite these harrowing coincidences, they have thankfully remained physically unharmed, living to tell the tale of their peculiar coincidence.
Ann Hodges
Hit by a meteorite while napping on her couch
There's 'missed the last bus home' kind of bad luck, and then there's 'become the only known human to be smacked by a meteorite' bad luck. Ann Hodges had the latter kind of luck. Hodges had a literal out-of-this-world experience when a meteorite crashed into her living room in 1954.
In the sleepy town of Sylacauga, Alabama, where the most exciting part of your day might be a midday nap, the universe decided to shake things up for one unsuspecting resident. On November 30, 1954, Ann Hodges, who was just trying to get her beauty sleep when a 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite, in a truly dramatic entrance, pierced her ceiling, gave her radio a nudge for good measure, and greeted her with an 8.5-pound cosmic "hello" on her left side. And people say nothing ever happens in small towns. What are the odds? Well, according to Astronomer Michael Reynolds “You have a better chance of getting hit by a tornado and a bolt of lightning and a hurricane all at the same time.”
Hodges became a sensation post the incident, and remains the only human hit by a meteoritte. Her meteorite finds a home now at the Alabama Museum of Natural History.
Roy Sullivan
Struck by lightning seven times
Roy Sullivan, a park ranger in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, seemed to have an uncanny knack for, how do we put it, angering the universe. Holding a page in the Guinness Book of Records, he was struck by lightning seven times between 1942 and 1977, an occurrence with staggering odds of 1 in 15.3 trillion. Sullivan's story is not just one of statistical anomaly. His encounters with the electrifying phenomenon earned him the nicknames "The Human Lightning Rod" and "The Spark Ranger."
Tsutomu Yamaguchi
Survived two atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Tsutomu Yamaguchi, a dedicated employee at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, found himself at the epicenter of two of the most devastating events in human history, within a span of just three days.
During the summer of 1945, the Nagasaki born, Yamaguchi was wrapping up a business trip in Hiroshima when the city experienced the first atomic bombing on the morning of August 6th. Despite sustaining injuries and witnessing unimaginable horrors, Yamaguchi managed to survive. With a determined spirit, he embarked on a journey home, eager to reunite with his family who resided in Nagasaki. The universe, it seemed, had other plans.
As Yamaguchi stepped into Nagasaki, the clocks were ticking towards another date with destiny. Merely three days later, on August 9th, a second atomic bomb ravaged through Nagasaki. In an uncanny and almost surreal twist of fate, Yamaguchi once again found himself amidst the chaos and destruction, fighting for survival. Despite the scars and traumas that marked his life, he lived to the remarkable age of 93, passing away in 2010.
Steve Bartman
Interfered with a foul ball, possibly costing the Cubs a critical out during a playoff game
Life threw Steve Bartman a curveball during a pivotal 2003 playoff game between the Chicago Cubs and the Florida Marlins. A momentary lapse saw him interfere with a foul ball, triggering a series of unfortunate events that many believe cost the Cubs their victory. Despite facing severe backlash, Bartman's story found redemption when the Cubs extended an olive branch in the form of a World Series ring in 2016, marking an end to a long-standing scapegoat narrative.
Costis Mitsotakis
The only villager not to win the lottery in 2011
In 2011, the small Spanish village of Sodeto buzzed with excitement as nearly every inhabitant won a share of the Spanish Christmas Lottery, a stroke of good luck that turned many villagers into millionaires overnight. Everyone, that is, except for one man, Costis Mitsotakis.
In an unfortunate twist of fate, Mitsotakis missed out on the golden opportunity that befell his neighbors. The homemakers' association, responsible for selling the lottery tickets door-to-door, had simply skipped his house, leaving him as the only person in the village without a winning ticket.
Frane Selak
Barely escaped death seven times
In a bewildering series of events that spanned decades, Croatian music teacher Frane Selak seemed to court death and fortune with equal propensity, earning him the moniker "the world's luckiest unluckiest man". Selak's surreal journey began in 1962, when he narrowly escaped death in a chilling train crash, only to later be thrown out of a plane in 1963, miraculously landing safely in a haystack. The relentless series of accidents did not end there; he endured a bus crash in 1966, two car fires in the 1970s, and a near-fatal vehicle plunge down a ravine in 1996.
In a twist of fate that seemed to finally tilt the scales of luck in his favor, Selak won a lottery jackpot of £600,000 in 2003 at the ripe age of 73, turning his narrative from a series of spine-chilling escapes from death to a tale bathed in unexpected fortune. This unique blend of seemingly cursed events followed by a stroke of luck paints Selak's life as a living embodiment of the interplay between fate and fortune, showcasing an astonishing resilience and a remarkable dance with Lady Luck herself.
Robert Todd Lincoln
Present at the assassinations of three different presidents
Swirling amidst the currents of history, Robert Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's eldest son, found himself at the epicenter of American tragedies, earning him a reluctant tag as the "presidential jinx". Robert's proximity to the dark chapters in U.S history began when he was nearby during the assassination of his father, President Abraham Lincoln. The dark shroud seemed to linger, as he was also present at the assassinations of Presidents James A. Garfield and William McKinley.
These eerie coincidences seemingly painted a grim tapestry of Lincoln's encounters with fate. But, the son of the legendary president managed to carve out a name for himself in the world of politics, proving that he was more than just a harbinger of ill omens.
Violet Jessop
Survived three major ship disasters, including the Titanic
In a tale that seems borrowed from the most imaginative fiction, Violet Jessop's life was marked by three incredible ship disasters, each escalating in notoriety. With the heart of an adventurer, she navigated through the colliding narratives of the RMS Olympic, the Titanic, and the HMHS Britannic, emerging each time with stories that defied all odds. Jessop penned her astonishing journey in a memoir, providing a first-hand account of some of the most infamous maritime disasters of the 20th century.
This article was produced and syndicated by MediaFeed.
