Tag: economics

Toulouse rally in support of the victims of the 2015 Charlie Hebdo shooting. Pierre-Selim (2015)

Aftermath Of The 11 September Terror Attacks

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Pim Fortuyn and Theo Van Gogh assassinations

There were exactly 911 days between two recent political killings in the Netherlands. That is remarkable as both incidents relate to the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. On 6 May 2002, a left-wing loner shot the Dutch populist politician Pim Fortuyn. Fortuyn died shortly afterwards. It became the first political killing in the Netherlands in over 350 years. Fortuyn had suddenly gained immense popularity after the attacks of 11 September 2001 because of his strong stance against Islam and immigration.1

On 2 November 2004, an Islamic extremist slit the throat of the Dutch film producer Theo Van Gogh for insulting the prophet Muhammad, an act that proved to be fatal for Van Gogh. The last film Van Gogh completed before his death, 06/05, was about the assassination of Fortuyn.2 The date 2 November can be rewritten as 11/2 (American notation), while 112 is the European emergency telephone number. This is remarkable in combination with the 911 days between both assassinations.

On 2 November 2011, so again on 11/2, the Islamic terrorists attacked the French satirical paper Charlie Hebdo in Paris, shortly after the prophet Mohammed featured on its cover.3 This date, being the same as the date of the assassination of Theo Van Gogh, made the Dutch website Geenstijl.nl declare 2 November to be ‘the most humourless date in the history of Islam.’4

On that same day, on 2 November 2011, photographs of Umar Patek and his wife appeared in the news. The mastermind behind the attacks in Bali in 2002 posed with his wife for the camera during a reconstruction of his actions in Jakarta.5 The other perpetrators of the Bali bombings had already been executed on 9 November 2008.6 The date 9 November can be rewritten to 9/11 (European notation).

Madrid train bombings of 2004

On 11 March 2004, the Madrid train bombings took place. It was the deadliest terrorist attack after 11 September 2001. There were 912 calendar days between 11 September 2001 and 11 March 2004. Due to the different time zones between Spain and the United States, there were 911 full days between the events. For a long time, the death toll assessment had been 191,7 a number that has the same digits as 911. The figure currently stands at 193.

7 July 2005 London suicide bombings

The number seven appears to be behind the London suicide bombings of 7 July 2005. 7 July can be rewritten as 7/7, while the numbers of 2005 add up to make 7, making three sevens or 7-7-7. The number of people killed, including the four suicide bombers, was 56,8 also a multiple of seven. Two weeks later (which is 2 times 7 days) on 21 July 2005, another attack on London was staged,9 while 21 is three times seven or three sevens.

During the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, 343 FNDY personnel died while 7 * 7 * 7 = 343. On 11 September 2001, the North American Aerospace Defense Command conducted a military exercise, Global Guardian. One of the simulated scenarios was the hijacking of planes.10 The London Police completed a terror training exercise that envisaged an attack on London’s transport network days before the 7/7 terrorist attacks.11

Benghazi attack and China riots

On 11 September 2012, exactly 11 years after 11 September 2001, an angry mob attacked the US consulate in Benghazi and murdered the ambassador and three others.12 On that same day, a territorial dispute between China and Japan over a group of islands in the East China Sea intensified. Anti-Japanese riots broke out in China, and protesters gathered outside the Japanese embassy in Beijing.13 Japan’s ambassador-designate to China then fell ill and ran into the Grim Reaper at a Tokyo hospital a few days later.14

Also on that same day, President Obama was 18,666 days old. And 18 = 6 + 6 + 6. He was born on 4 August 1961, and 4 August is the 216th day of the year, while 216 = 6 * 6 * 6, which is curious, as many conservative Christians in the United States believed President Obama was the Antichrist.15 That makes it noteworthy that Satan’s character in the History Channel’s Bible series looked like President Obama.16

11 September 2012 was eleven years after 11 September 2001, making it an 11:11-related scheme. Both incidents featured violence near embassies. In both instances, an embassy employee died. The relationship between Obama and 666 is remarkable, as he was born on the 216th day of the year. Even more happened on the eleventh anniversary of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, so that it became a focal point of peculiar coincidences.

The Hague and Eindhoven public transport accidents

Also, on 11 September 2012, thus eleven years after 9/11, trams 9 and 11 collided near the Holland Spoor Station in The Hague, causing 36 people to be wounded.17 The Dutch news website RTL Nieuws noted, ‘Pure coincidence?’18 A few days earlier, a report had come into the news that Al-Qaeda had recruited two Somali men to carry out a suicide attack in The Hague.19 That makes another link with the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks and The Hague

On the same day, a major bus accident took place in Eindhoven, causing 27 injuries,20 while 27 = 9 + 9 + 9 and 999 is the emergency telephone number in Great Britain and Ireland. The bus accident in Eindhoven happened 11 years after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, while two emergency landings happened in one day on Eindhoven Airport on 11 September 2010, exactly 9 years after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001.21 That is a 9:11 related coincidence. As 36 = 9 + 9 + 9 + 9 and 27 = 9 + 9 + 9, the number of wounded people in both accidents is also remarkable.

Some other tidbits

Exactly ten years after the attacks, on 11 September 2011, a blogger using undisclosed sources noted that the estimated death toll in Iraq and Afghanistan amounted to 911,911. An interesting number, he added.22 His wording suggests he didn’t make it up, as he didn’t seem to think more of it. He only found the number interesting.

On 29 November 2011, American Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. 29 November 2011 can be read as 29/11/11 or 29/11/2011, while 2 + 9 = 11 and 20 = 9 + 11. Filing for Chapter 11 on this date is notable because the terrorists used American Airlines flights, and the flight code AA translates to 11.

On 8 August 2012, about 100 firemen responded to what the FDNY called an equipment fire likely sparked by welding on the 88th floor of 1 World Trade Center, which was still under construction.24 The date, 8 August (8/8) and 88th floor make an 11:11 related coincidence. The incident also features the World Trade Center and emergency services. The number 88 also has significance to Nazis as it refers to a salute dedicated to Eva Braun’s husband.

The French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo’s New Year’s edition of 2015 featured a cartoon that eerily foreshadowed the terrorist attack that was to happen a few days later, and in which most of its editors died. That happened after a previous attack on ‘the most humourless date in the history of Islam.’ Stéphane Charbonnier, the editorial director who also died in the attacks, drew a cartoon pointing at the possibility of a terrorist attack in January 2015. Its title reads: ‘No attacks yet in France.’ The terrorist in the cartoon then says, ‘Wait! We have until the end of January to send you New Year wishes.’25

On 11 September 2015, a powerful storm toppled a construction crane at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Islam’s holiest site, killing 111 people. It is remarkable that the crane fell over on 11 September and that it was operated by the Saudi Binladin Group, founded by the father of Osama Bin Laden, while most hijackers of the 11 September 2001 attacks came from Saudi Arabia. An engineer for the Binladin Group said the accident was an act of God.26

The 22 March 2016 Brussels bombings consisted of two suicide attacks. The first bombing targeted the desk of American Airlines at Brussels Airport. American Airlines was one of the airlines used in the attacks of 11 September 2001. The second bombing occurred precisely at 9:11 AM.27 The perpetrators probably didn’t plan this particular timing as the bombings have been hastily executed after the Belgian police had apprehended the mastermind of the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks, who was part of the same terrorist cell, a few days earlier. During these attacks, which took place on Friday, 13 November 2015, ISIL terrorists murdered 137 people, including 90 in the Bataclan theatre. In the weeks leading up to the Paris attacks, ISIL had claimed responsibility for several other attacks, including the downing of Metrojet Flight 9268 thirteen days earlier. That flight number is indeed most peculiar, as it refers to 9 February 1968.

Latest revision: 23 July 2025

Featured image: Toulouse rally in support of the victims of the 2015 Charlie Hebdo shooting. Pierre-Selim (2015). CC BY-SA 2.0. Wikimedia Commons.

1. Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn assassinated. The Guardian (2002). [link]
2. Life of slain Dutch film-maker. BBC (2004). [link]
3. French satirical paper Charlie Hebdo attacked in Paris. BBC (2011). [link]
4. Tijdschrift Charlie Hebdo vangt Moslim-molotov. Van Rossem. Geenstijl (2011). [link]
5. The bomber and his bride: Chilling smile of Al Qaeda mastermind behind Bali bombings as he is paraded with his wife. Wil Longbottom. Mail Online (2011). [link]
6. 2002 Bali bombings. Wikipedia. [link]
7. 2004 Madrid train bombings. Wikipedia. [link]
8. 7 July 2005 London bombings. Wikipedia. [link]
9. 21 July 2005 London bombings. Wikipedia. [link]
10. Global Guardian. Wikipedia. [link]
11. Counter-terrorist training exercise days before 7/7 was ‘entirely a coincidence’. Mail Online (2011). [link]
12. 2012 Benghazi attack. Wikipedia. [link]
13. Senkaku islands dispute escalates as China sends out patrol ships. Associated Press (2012). [link]
14. Japan’s ambassador-designate to China dies in Tokyo – ministry. Reuters (2012). [link]
15. Poll: 13% think Obama is the anti-Christ; 29% believe in aliens. Ruth Brown. USA Today (2013). [link]
16. ‘The Bible’ producers: Satan/Obama? ‘Utter nonsense’. Ann Oldenburg. USA Today (2013). [link]
17. Tientallen gewonden door aanrijding trams in Den Haag. Nu.nl (2012). [link]
18. Tram 9 botst op lijn 11 op 9/11. RTL Nieuws (2012). [link]
19. ‘Den Haag doelwit van al-Qaeda’. Nu.nl (2012). [link]
20. Gewonden door aanrijding passagiersbus in Eindhoven. Nu.nl (2012). [link]
21. Twee noodlandingen in korte tijd op Eindhoven Airport. Ronald. Travel.blog.nl (2010). [link]
22. Humbug. Dan Dailey. Wandervogel Diary (2011). [link]
23. American Airlines files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The Guardian (2011). [link]
24. FDNY Responds to Fire Report at WTC. Katherine Creag. NBC New York (2012). [link]
25. Murdered French Cartoonist Charb Predicted Attack In Chilling Cartoon. Huffington Post Canada (2015). [link]
26. Mecca crane collapse. Wikipedia. [link]
27. Strikes Claimed by ISIS Shut Brussels and Shake European Security. Alissa J. Rubin, Aurelien Breeden and Anita Raghavan. New York Times (2016). [link]

World Trade Center on 11 September 2001

11 September Coincidences

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An obscure fact

The terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 (9/11) were the first major geopolitical event in the Internet era. The Internet made it easier for conspiracy theories to spread. And 9/11 proved a real treasure trove for those with a suspicious mind. The collapse of WTC Building Seven is one of the incidents that leaves people wondering. No plane had flown into it. So, how could that building collapse? And how could the BBC predict its collapse in advance? Nowadays, 9/11 conspiracy theories are a bit outdated, like those regarding the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Most people moved on, and crazier theories emerged.

That obscured a remarkable fact. No other event in history came with so many peculiar coincidences. The perpetrators were a secret group within the deep state, maybe Jews, the conspiracy theorists claim. They weren’t paranoid enough. Osama Bin Laden and the terrorists believed they were executing the will of God. And they were right. What might strike you about these coincidences is that many of them seem inconsequential. However, the combination of these incidents is mind-boggling and beyond the capabilities of even the most sophisticated deep-state conspirators to pull off.

The Berlin Wall fell on 9 November 1989. The hallmark events of the end of the Cold War and the start of the War on Terror occurred on dates marked as 9/11 and 11/9. Remarkable incidents surrounding the terrorist attacks, such as the collapse of WTC Building Seven, have kept conspiracy theorists on edge. They are part of a secret scheme to undermine confidence in the US authorities that includes incidents like the Epstein suicide and the Kirk assassination, of which confounding footage appeared. Conspiracy theorists unwittingly play their part in the plot they suspect exists by questioning the official explanations.

Emergency

The US emergency services telephone number is 911, while 11 September is more commonly known as 9/11. Emergency services played a central role on that fateful day. Starting with 11 September, the remainder of the year lasts 112 days. And 112 is the emergency telephone number of the European Union.

On 11 September 2002, exactly one year after the 9/11 attacks, the winning numbers in the New York State Lottery were 9-1-1.1 There were two draws, so the chance of drawing these numbers in this order on that day was about one in 500.

The total number of FDNY personnel killed was 343.2 That is 7 x 7 x 7. On 7 July 2005 (7/7/7 considering that 2+0+0+5=7), the terrorist attacks in London took place.

The flight number that has the most accidents is 191. Four commercial flights with that flight number have crashed. Another had a serious incident. The best-known accident was the crash of American Airlines Flight 191 on 25 May 1979.3 The Flight 191 Curse has led several airlines to discontinue scheduling flights with number 191. The digits of 191 are the same as those of 911..

Popular culture

In popular culture, references to the destruction of the World Trade Centre appeared before they happened. That may seem remarkable, but there is a less conspicuous explanation. The building was an iconic symbol representing capitalism, and for that reason, it was an obvious target. Terrorists had already attacked the World Trade Center in 1993, so it was not far-fetched to think it could happen again. Despite that, some incidents are noteworthy.

On 23 December 1998, an artist formerly known as Prince was on stage in the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Later that night, he did an extra performance in Tivoli. A local journalist noted that the artist spontaneously started rapping, but not about his usual themes, love, sex, and the Second Coming of Jesus. Instead, he began repeating the words, ‘Get ready to bomb Osama bin Laden,’ and ‘America, watch out in 2001.’4

Nosebleed, a Jackie Chan action-comedy scheduled for release in 2001, was cancelled because it featured an attack on the World Trade Center. The original script likely included the lines, ‘It represents capitalism. It represents freedom. It represents everything America is about. And to bring those two buildings down would bring America to its knees.5

The 2000 computer game Deus Ex did not feature the Twin Towers in the New York skyline. In the game’s fiction, terrorists had destroyed them. Deus Ex refers to God coming out of nowhere to interfere with the plot (Deus Ex Machina). The main character’s initials are JC, the same as Jesus Christ. Somewhere in the game, JC wakes up in a secret mansion of the Illuminati. JC can discover the code to a blast door if he makes the right choices. Behind it is an artificial intelligence called Morpheus.6

In July 2001, the band I Am the World Trade Center released the album Out of the Loop. The 11th track on the album is titled September, which makes an advance reference to 11 September combined with the World Trade Center in 2001.7

The rap duo The Coup had published an advance graphic of their late 2001 album Party Music months before 9/11. It depicted explosions in the Twin Towers near the points hit by the planes. The detonation device held by MC Boots Riley is labelled Covert Labs. Pam, the Funkstress, was holding the conductor’s batons.8

Live Scenes From New York was an album of rock group Dream Theater released on 11 September 2001. The cover artwork depicted the skyline of New York, including the twin towers of the World Trade Center, in flames. The album was recalled and re-released with a different cover.9 Issuing an album named Live Scenes From New York featuring a burning apple representing New York on 11 September 2001 is an eerie coincidence.

A 1997 episode of The Simpsons about a trip to New York showed a guidebook with the number nine, followed by the Twin Towers, seemingly referring to 9/11.10

In March 2001, Fox TV network aired a pilot episode of The Lone Gunmen in the United States. It is about a plan by rogue elements in the United States government to hijack a jet aircraft by remote control and crash it into the World Trade Center to justify an increase in military spending and a war on terror.11

In early 2001, the simulator game Trade Center Defender came out. Players had to gun down planes that were heading towards the Twin Towers.12

The 1999 film The Matrix features a reference to 11 September 2001. About 17 minutes into the film, a file folder appears, containing an image of the main character’s passport, Neo. The expiry date is 11 September 2001. That is remarkable because the coincidences surrounding the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 suggest that this universe is a virtual reality like The Matrix.8

Predictions

Linda and Terry Jamison, known as The Psychic Twins, predicted in 1999 that there would be terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and federal buildings in South Carolina or Georgia in 2002.13 The prediction was not accurate. But it was made on 2 November (11/2 American notation), while 112 is the European emergency services telephone number. Furthermore, Linda and Terry Jamison were identical twins like the Twin Towers.

The BBC was more accurate in predicting the destruction of the Twin Towers as well as Building Seven. The BBC never intended to make these predictions. A BBC Scotland article from 5 April 2001 headlined, ‘Twin towers to be demolished.’14 The twin towers referred to the two chimneys at Kincardine Power Station, but the choice of words is remarkable to say the least.

On 11 September 2001, a British television reporter for BBC reported that World Trade Center Building Seven had collapsed. Subtitles accompanied his words. Building Seven was still standing and crumbled 26 minutes after the reported news.15 The BBC thus ‘predicted’ the collapse of Building Seven and the Twin Towers, which makes a pair of closely related peculiar coincidences.

New World Order

On 11 September 1990, exactly 11 years before 11 September 2001, President George H.W. Bush delivered a memorable speech. An important theme was Saddam Hussein. The first Gulf War against Iraq was about to begin.16 The terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 became a pretext to start the Second Gulf War against Iraq and Saddam Hussein. President George W. Bush ordered this war. That is indeed remarkable.

President George H.W. Bush stated the developments presented an opportunity for a New World Order of cooperation between nations to emerge.16 One year later, on 11 September 1991, he made similar comments. Remarkably, both dates are 11 September. The same is true for the recurring conflict between Saddam Hussein and two Presidents named George Bush. It is a set of closely related peculiar coincidences.

In September 2000, a group of neoconservatives published a study titled ‘Rebuilding America’s Defences.’ Their report stated it would be difficult to rebuild the military unless some catastrophic event like a new Pearl Harbor occurred.17

A few months before 11 September 2001, the plans for a secret operation named Operation Northwoods were declassified. America’s top military leaders drafted them in the early 1960s. They included hijacking planes and orchestrating violent terrorism inside U.S. cities to provoke a war with Cuba.18 The declassification of these plans occurring just before the attacks is noteworthy.

On 11 September 2001, the North American Aerospace Defense Command conducted a military exercise, Global Guardian. One of the simulated scenarios was the hijacking of planes.19 And so, the attacks caused more confusion than they would have done otherwise.

On 11 September 2001, the official Bin Laden family’s website domain http://www.saudi-binladin-group.com expired.20 On the same day, a defence contractor, the Carlyle Group, hosted a business conference in Washington. Osama Bin Laden’s brother was an honoured guest. The Bush and Bin Laden families were both involved in the Carlyle Group. Members of the Bin Laden family secretly flew out of the United States shortly after the attacks when air travel was still forbidden.21

Numerology, 11 and 11:11

Bloggers on the Internet noticed coincidences surrounding the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks that they believed to be spooky. Several places, items, and persons had names consisting of eleven letters. Emails have circulated, urging us to be scared because Afghanistan and George W. Bush have eleven letters, like some other names and words linked to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001.

A few things are indeed a bit peculiar. The US emergency telephone number 911 compresses to 11 as 9 + 1 + 1 = 11. The European emergency telephone number, 112, is also noteworthy. First, 112 = 56 + 56. It can refer to 11:11 as 5 + 6 = 11. And 112 + 911 = 1023, which is 1111111111 binary. Many countries have emergency telephone numbers 999 and 112 + 999 = 1111.

Two of the four flights used by the terrorists on 11 September 2001 were from American Airlines.22 American Airlines uses AA for its flight codes. After transforming the characters of the flight codes to digits using the scheme A=1, B=2, and C=3, they resolve to 11. It is like 11:11 happening. Both American Airlines flights had flight numbers that were multiples of 11 (11 and 77).

If you like this post, then you might also like:

Aftermath of the 11 September terror attacks

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, a lot more peculiar coincidences happened.

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Events in my life related to 11 September

A few strange coincidences happened in my life that can be related to the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks.

Read More

Latest revision: 25 September 2025

Featured image: Plumes of smoke billow from the World Trade Center after the September 11 attacks. Michael Foran (11 September 2001). Public Domain.

1. Thousands Had Winning 9-1-1 Numbers. Sue Chan. CBS (11 September 2002). [link]
2. September 11 attacks. Wikipedia. [link]
3. The Inauspicious ‘Curse’ of Flight 191. Daniel Morley (2015). AirlineGeeks.com. [link]
4. Prince voorspelde 9/11 in Tivoli Oudegracht. Nu.nl (2016).
5. The cancelled Jackie Chan movie with uncanny parallels to 9/11. Finlay Greig. Inews.co.uk (2017).
6. How Deus Ex Predicted the Future. Richard Wordsworth. Kotaku.com (2014). [link]
7. Out of the Loop (I Am the World Trade Center album). Wikipedia. [link]
8. The Matrix Prophetic Film 911 coincidence. U2r2h Blog (2008). [link]
9. Live Scenes from New York. Wikipedia.
10. How The Simpsons predicted 9/11, Trump and Disney-Fox. The Irish Times (2018).
11. 15 Bizarre Signs In Popular Culture That ‘Predicted’ The 9/11 Attacks Before They Actually Happened. Nishant Raj (2016). [link]
13. Linda and Terry Jamison. Wikipedia. [link]
14. Twin towers to be demolished. BBC (2001). [link]
15. Controversy and conspiracies III. Mike Rudin. BBC (2008). [link]
16. Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the Persian Gulf Crisis and the Federal Budget Deficit. George Bush (11 September 1990) [link]
17. Project for the New American Century. Wikipedia. [link]
18. U.S. Military Wanted to Provoke War With Cuba. David Ruppe. ABC News (2001). [link]
19. Global Guardian. Wikipedia. [link]
20. Date with Destiny? Howard Altman. Philadelphia City Paper (2001).
21. The Carlyle Group: C for capitalism. Economist (2003). [link]
22. September 11 attacks. Wikipedia. [link]

On Numerology

nivtric3 Comments

If you intend to give your critics a field day, base your argument on astrology or numerology, and they will have a good laugh. Numerology is about giving meaning to events using numbers. Numbers have no meaning except for the number itself, so numerology is nonsense. When you give meaning to numbers, you may find the occurrence of specific numbers meaningful. If your lucky number is twenty-six, and you happen to see that number, you might think it is your lucky day. Many of us are superstitious in some way or another. Some wear their lucky shirt when their favourite soccer team is playing. Conspiracy theorists think coincidences indicate that occult groups gather in secret societies like Skull and Bones to coordinate world events. Here is the proof, according to an anonymous online poster:

This year is the 192nd anniversary of the Skull and Bones Society. Matthew Perry died 14 days (2 weeks) after eclipse in October. Sonic (boom) = 192. Obama = 192. Leave the World Behind = 192. Eclipse = 192. Deer – 192. Matthew Perry’s birthday is August 19. 19 seen in Leave the World Behind. April 8th Chandler’s Birthday from Friends, played by Perry. Next Eclipse April 8th. March Twenty Five = 192. One Nine Two is 804 in English Gematria. That’s April 8th backwards, folks. Solar Eclipse is 804. At the very beginning of the movie, three 6s surround the bed. 666 There were 666 months between Chandler’s birthday and Matthew Perry’s death day. Julia Roberts played Chandler’s girlfriend on Friends for a very short time. They were also a couple in real life at the time. Matthew Perry died the same day Julia Roberts celebrated her birthday. At his funeral was a song played Don’t Give Up where the music video has an eclipse in it. Don’t give up – 133. Forty Eight – 133. Gematria for Moloch, Baal, and Mammon are all matched up with this movie.

Now, is it just me, or is this a collection of unrelated events cherry-picked to fit a meaningless scheme? If something remotely relates to Matthew Perry and adds up to 192, the poster added it to the list. And it supposedly proves that members of Skull and Bones are behind these events? That is why numerology attracts ridicule. But it is not that much different from what I am doing, seeing coincidences as evidence that there is a script. The connections I see could be meaningless to you.

These connections aren’t entirely arbitrary, though. The ‘prophetic’ licence plate number AIII 118 of the car that drove Archduke Franz Ferdinand to his assassin, raises the eyebrows of an editor at the Smithsonian Magazine, and many others as well, because the assassination triggered World War I while the licence plate looks like a reference to the Armistice of 11 November 1918 that ended the war. The more people see the same meaning, the less subjective it becomes, but it doesn’t mean someone made it happen. Meaningful coincidences can occur by chance. They aren’t necessarily evidence of an intelligent force directing events, unless they come in improbably large numbers or are part of improbably intricate schemes. Proving that is challenging, to say the least.

So, what about the licence plate of Franz Ferdinand’s doom car referring to the end date of World War I? The end date of the war, 11 November (11-11), may be odd, but most wars didn’t end on 11 November, so there is nothing suspicious about it if you take this fact in isolation. The license plate number and the role of the car in starting the war, however, make the scheme more peculiar, thereby highlighting the date. The start and end of World War I are among the most significant events in history. They are in an entirely different league than the 192nd anniversary of the Skull and Bones Society and the supposedly related events involving Matthew Perry. The combination of importance, meaningfulness and unlikelihood matters, even though we can’t pinpoint it as there is no reliable way to calculate the odds.

Many people notice the time prompt 11:11 on clocks appearing over and over again. So what about the number eleven? Is it special? Numerologists claim eleven is a Master Number. Others believe 11:11 is a sign from angels. If you see it, the angels have a purpose for you, they claim. Well, angels, tell me more. Some explanations make more sense. Eleven is the first double-digit number, and double-digit numbers attract attention. You may see other numbers, but they don’t draw attention because they don’t stand out from the rest. And so it seems you see eleven more often than other numbers. It is selective remembrance. You can remember only the things you noticed. If you happen to notice the same number again and again, it is either a selective remembrance or mind control.

Eleven is a pair of equal digits. Equal digits are an unusual occurrence that attracts attention like a remarkable coincidence. Coincidences can be pairs of similar events. That is why eleven represents coincidence to me. It is my interpretation. If you take this to the next level, you get 11:11. 11:11 thus represents a pair of related coincidences, such as the do-it-yourself store incident. Eleven is the fool’s number in the Netherlands and is associated with oddity. And so I think of 11:11 coincidences as the weird happening. But that is my personal view. Quran verse 36:36 states that God created everything in pairs. 36:36 is like 11:11 as 36 = 6 * 6. A Muslim might say, ‘It is a miracle of the Quran.’ And if you know how the Quran came into existence, you know it is not human intent that made this happen.

Natural Money website upload page 1
Natural Money website upload (1)

I became entangled in a few remarkable numerical coincidences as well. Take the following incident. I investigated eleven related coincidences and dedicated a webpage to them on the Natural Money website. I later removed it and focused the website on research on the financial system. The page had links to other websites dealing with eleven and 11:11. After uploading the page to the server, I noticed something odd had transpired. The upload timestamp of the 11coincidencegallery.html file was 11:11. I didn’t intend for that to happen.

Natural Money website upload (2)
Natural Money website upload (2)

Even more remarkable was a discovery I made more than a year later, which was closely related. I was researching the coincidences surrounding the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. After uploading excerpts from Killtown’s 9/11 coincidences website (files 2001.html to 2006.html), I found out their upload time was 11 April 2011 at 9:11 AM. Also, the file 911.html, which contained my findings regarding the subject, has this timestamp. At the time, the 11coincidencegallery.html page had an upload date of 11 September 2010, also 9/11. I did not make any effort to make this happen either. I discovered it seven months later. It is a pair of closely related coincidences. That is what 11:11 is about for me. If that happens to you, it might make you wonder.

An exercise often performed by numerologists is compressing numbers. It is adding up the digits of a number until you get a single digit. For example 1589 is 1 + 5 + 8 + 9 = 23. You then iterate this process until you get a single-digit number. 23 adds up to 2 + 3 = 5. And then you stop. There is one exception. You do not perform this on eleven, so 911 adds up to 11 as 9 + 1 + 1 = 11. You stop there. You do not go any further by doing 1 + 1 = 2. Why? Perhaps eleven is too beautiful a number to break down any further.

Perhaps you recall the fuss about the winter solstice of 21 December 2012. The world would end on that day, the Mayans allegedly predicted. The estimated time for the solstice was 11:11 GMT, while the digits of 21 December 2012 (21-12-2012) add up to 11 (2 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 0 + 1 + 2). That freaked out a few people, including me. What had happened to me made me think the End Times could be near. Nothing spectacular transpired on that date, perhaps also because the experts recalculated the exact time to be 11:12 GMT due to the Earth experiencing a delay in its planned trajectory. Coincidences might be signs, but you only know in hindsight, so trying to interpret suspected signs beforehand is pointless. Usually, nothing sensible comes out of that.

Coincidences involving numbers can be meaningful to us because we often attribute specific meanings to certain numbers. Once, I came upon the Dutch National Route 666 after leaving a village named Kwadendamme, which translates to ‘Evildam.’ Now, that is already quite peculiar. While getting on Route N666, I noticed a road sign to Borssele, the location of the only remaining Dutch nuclear power plant. The meaning we attach to 666 and Kwadendamme play into my feelings about nuclear energy. The only other Dutch nuclear power plant was in Dodewaard, which translates to ‘Death Holm,’ making it even more ominous. The former municipality of Dodewaard was 66.5 square kilometres in size, close enough to 66.6 to attract my attention.

But why was that size 0.1 square kilometre off? The N666 ends at ‘s-Heerenhoek, which means Corner of the Lord, a small village next to Borssele, so not Borssele itself, thus also slightly off. Furthermore, the N666 ending in ‘s-Heerenhoek adds an entirely different perspective to it, like that God is behind it all, including what we think of as evil. Is it just a coincidence, and do I see meaning that isn’t intentional? That depends on whether there is a script or not. So, was the Author of the script just sloppy when planning route N666 and sizing the Dodewaard municipality? Or did the Author do it on purpose to keep us wondering? Or am I just imagining that someone did this on purpose?

Weird things also happened in the stock markets. The S&P 500 hit a low of 666 on 6 March 2009 (date 6/3, while 666 is three sixes). The exact low was 666.79, so to be fair, that is closer to 667, but it is peculiar nonetheless. The FED stemmed the crisis by committing $7.77 trillion to rescue the financial system. Perhaps for that reason, IMF Chief Christine Lagarde made some frisky numerological comments on the Magic Seven in 2014 at the US National Press Club following the IMF’s annual review of the US economy.2

On 24 June 2016, the stock markets corrected after the results of the Brexit vote came out. In the United States, the Dow was down 610 points, the NASDAQ was down 202 points, and the S&P 500 was down 76 points, resulting in a total loss of 888 points.3 This happened exactly 7 years, 7 months, 7 weeks and 7 days after the Dow crashed 777.7 points at the height of the financial crisis on 29 September 2008.4 It didn’t take long before people on the Internet picked up Lagarde’s remarks about the Magic Seven.

A widely used method in numerology is to translate letters into numbers using the following scheme: A = 1, B = 2, C = 3, D = 4, and so on. In this way, the letters AD represent the number 14. Similarly, A5 represents 15. Something will fit some scheme most of the time. You can cherry-pick events and argue that they are part of a scheme proving members of Skull and Bones are behind it. That is why numerology attracts mockery. Probability, meaning, and significance are difficult to gauge, so critics urge us to refrain from making such evaluations. Still, peculiar numerical coincidences happen, and some stretch the imagination to the point that you might ask yourself, ‘Is this really just a coincidence?’

Latest revision: 12 August 2025

Featured image: 11:11 on a clock

1. Report: Fed Committed $7.77 Trillion to Rescue Banks. Eyder Peralta. NPR (2011). [link]
2. How One Speech Ignited A Ridiculous Conspiracy Theory About The Occult Allegiances Of IMF Chief Christine Lagarde. Peter Farquhar. Business Insider (2014). [link]
3. Crazy Day For Dow, S&P 500 And NASDAQ. Robert H. Anderson. Investing.com (2016). [link]
4. Dow Falls 777 as Market Reels From House Vote. Cindy Perman. CNBC (2008). [link]

Witbreuksweg dormitory

Meaningful Coincidences

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On 15 July 2011, two television towers in the Netherlands caught fire. One collapsed spectacularly. There had never been a fire in a television tower in the Netherlands. These television towers had been there for over fifty years. And there were only twenty-four of them. A few people speculated about these incidents having a common cause.1 The towers are in different areas, making a common cause unlikely unless there is intent. After all, what is the chance of two aeroplanes crashing into both towers of the World Trade Center in New York on the same day? Only there was no evidence suggesting intent or a common cause. That makes it very mysterious.

Consider this coincidence from Bermuda, which is near the mysterious Bermuda Triangle. In 1975, a 17-year-old boy had a deadly accident while riding his moped. He died exactly a year after his 17-year-old brother died in an accident while riding the same moped in the same intersection and collided with the same taxi with the same driver, carrying the same passenger. Repeating patterns may have contributed to the incident. Perhaps it was a dangerous point where accidents frequently occurred. The passenger may have visited Bermuda once a year and taken a taxi from the airport to the same destination each time.

In 1992, I was bicycling in Groningen, where I lived at the time. On the way, a car door suddenly opened just before me. I could barely avoid a collision. About ten minutes later, on the same trip, it happened again with another car on another road. Never before or after this trip had a car door opened in front of me, even though I had made bicycle trips nearly every day for several decades. It is odd. But what are the odds?

Those incidents might be random events. Many things happen all the time, so bizarre accidents occur by chance. It doesn’t require a Supreme Puppet Master to make them happen. It may be hard to calculate the probability of an event like two television towers catching fire in one country in one day, but it is very low. Only, the number of possible strange incidents is very high.

But how low and how high? That matters tremendously. If there are a million possible events, and the chance of one happening on any given day is one in a million, we should not be surprised when one does. On average, an event like that should happen every day. If it is one in a trillion, and such an event occurs quite frequently, we are on to something, because, on average, it should happen once every million days.

The number of possible strange coincidences is infinite, so it shouldn’t surprise us that simple coincidences, such as a car door opening in front of me twice on a single bicycle trip, happen from time to time. It is, however, odd that it happened twice on one trip and never on any other. Coincidences come in different types. The more intricate a coincidence is, the less likely it is to occur. Indeed, some complicated coincidences are far less likely to occur than two car doors opening on one bicycle trip.

The following falls in the latter category. Once, I entered a do-it-yourself store. There was a couch near the entrance. The price tag of € 389 caught my attention. As a student, I lived in dormitory 389 on the campus. Price tags often end with a nine, so there was nothing suspicious about it, I concluded. Strange things had happened, so I tried to convince myself that it was not unusual. I realised it would be far more curious to find a price tag of € 401, as I had also lived in building 401, and price tags rarely end in a 1.

A few seconds later, I ran into a pile of bags of potting soil. These bags had a conspicuous lettering ’40l’, indicating they contained 40 litres of potting soil. That was close enough to 401 to be intriguing. There were no other types of bags on the spot. Potting soil is available in 10, 20, 25, 40, and 50-litre sizes. Sacks of 40 litres also come with markings such as ’40L’ and ’40 litres’. Hence, the ’40l’ was indeed remarkable.

Two years later, I returned to the same store. These bags of potting soil, marked ’40l’, stood conspicuously stacked near the entrance, reminding me of the previous incident. There was no couch, and I did not see a € 389 price tag there. I contemplated this while fetching the item I planned to buy. Its price tag was €3.89, and I had gone to the store to purchase that one item.

That is far less likely to happen than two car doors opening before me on the same bicycle trip. The events interacted with my thoughts, and the sequel made it even more improbable. The car doors opening could be a coincidence, but the do-it-yourself store incident should boggle the mind, provided one is allowed to think. In one of those dormitories, I met a most peculiar Lady. Since then, a series of noteworthy coincidences have transpired, reminding me of that. This coincidence thus also fits into this scheme, further heightening its peculiarity.

To make the coincidence happen, the bags of potting soil had to be in place, so I would run into them just after thinking of 401. And later, I had to go there to buy an item for € 3.89. And it goes much further than that. The scheme encompasses the item having a price tag of € 3.89, and my having lived in dormitories 389 and 401. That is most peculiar indeed. So much can go wrong. Imagine the bags’ content being 50 litres, the lettering being different, or me visiting another do-it-yourself store or buying another item the second time, and the scheme would fall apart. Perhaps it is a mere coincidence, but it is less likely than two car doors opening in front of me during the same bicycle trip.

On the evening of 11 October 2025, my wife and I watched episode ‘Demon 79’ of the Netflix series Black Mirror. The story played in Great Britain in 1979. It turned out that the murder of two people by a psychotic shoe saleswoman, following orders of a demon disguised as Boney M band member Bobby Farrell, proved insufficient to ward off the apocalypse. The apocalypse proved to be a nuclear war. After watching it, I went to bed. The next morning, I first read the news headlines on the teletext page 101 of the Dutch public television, and found out that two people had died at age 79, actress Diane Keaton and singer Joost Nuissl. So, two people died, thus not enough to ward off nuclear war. Two days later, on 14 October 2025, a NATO exercise named Steadfast Noon began. It included dropping fake atomic bombs above the area where I live. ‘You can sleep peacefully,’ a NATO spokesman added.

Latest revision: 14 October 2025

Featured image: Number 381 dormitory. University Of Twente (2013). [copyright info]

1. Onderzoek: Hoe konden twee zendmasten vandaag in brand vliegen? Algemeen Dagblad (15-07-2011). [link]

Royal Steam Bleachery: Exterior Overview Complex With Halls

History’s Oddities

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Thomas Jefferson and John Adams


US Presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were both involved in drafting the Declaration of Independence, signed on 4 July 1776. Hence, 4 July became Independence Day. Jefferson was Adam’s Vice President until he became President in 1800. They were the last surviving members of the revolutionaries. Both died on 4 July 1826, precisely fifty years after the Declaration of Independence.1 Independence Day is 4 July (4/7) as 4 + 7 = 11. This date occurring twice is similar to seeing an 11:11 time prompt.

Napoleon Bonaparte and Adolf Hitler

Napoleon Bonaparte and Adolf Hitler both conquered nearly all of Europe. There are several parallels between them. Both came to power through a coup that ended a period of instability. Napoleon and Hitler both turned Europe into a battlefield. They both ventured into Africa and faced defeat in Egypt. They both waged war on two fronts. Both attacked Russia while not having defeated Great Britain.

Napoleon was born on the island of Corsica, which was then an independent island but later became part of France. Napoleon became the leader of France. Hitler was born in Austria, an independent country that was later annexed by Germany. Hitler became the leader of Germany. On 9 November 1799, Napoleon came to power following a coup. Hitler was involved in a failed coup on 9 November 1923.

The Titanic


The supposedly unsinkable Titanic had sealable compartments. In 1912, it sank on its maiden voyage after having a close encounter with an iceberg. In 1898, Morgan Robertson wrote the novel Futility, describing the maiden voyage of a transatlantic luxury liner named the Titan. Although touted as unsinkable, it collided with an iceberg and sank, resulting in a significant loss of life. In the book, the month of the wreck was April, the same month the Titanic sank. The similarities are striking:

  • The ships had similar names.
  • Both were the largest crafts afloat and considered among humankind’s greatest achievements.
  • The sizes were roughly the same: the Titan counted 45,000 tons, and the Titanic was 46,000 tons.
  • Both ships were deemed unsinkable.
  • Both had a triple screw (propeller).
  • Both vessels had a shortage of lifeboats.
  • Both struck an iceberg: the Titan, moving at 25 knots, struck an iceberg on the starboard side on a night in April in the North Atlantic, 400 nautical miles from Newfoundland, while the Titanic, moving at 22½ knots, struck an iceberg on the starboard side on the night of 14 April 1912 in the North Atlantic, 400 nautical miles from Newfoundland.
  • Both ships sank with much loss of life.

Robertson’s apparent clairvoyance drew attention. He claimed the similarities were the result of his shipbuilding knowledge. That can explain the technical details but not the sinking or the similar names. And the story was to get a sequel.

In April 1935, the cargo vessel Titanian sailed in the North Atlantic. A sailor claimed he felt uncomfortable because the ship’s name was similar to that of the Titanic. For that reason, he sounded a warning. He claimed to have done this before an iceberg was in sight. He added that the vessel stopped just in front of an iceberg. According to reports, the Titanian had run into some damage during the voyage.2

One hundred years later, the luxurious Italian cruise liner Costa Concordia sank after hitting a rock. The accident occurred on Friday, 13 January 2012. The ship had thirteen decks. Some passengers claimed that the Titanic theme ‘My Heart Will Go On’ played in a restaurant when the accident happened.3 Shortly afterwards, on 27 February 2012, another cruise liner of the same parent company, the Costa Allegra, ran into trouble near Seychelles.4 This repetition within a short timeframe adds to the peculiarity of the scheme.

The assassination of Franz Ferdinand

On 28 June 1914, the Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip shot and killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand in his car in Sarajevo. His act triggered World War I. World War I ended with the Armistice of 11 November 1918. 11 November is a peculiar date as it is 11-11. Several strange coincidences accompany the assassination. Franz Ferdinand had premonitions of an early death, and the assassination succeeded after a series of mishaps. But the most peculiar coincidence was the licence plate number A III 118 of the car that drove Franz Ferdinand to his appointment with destiny. It contains a possible reference to the Armistice of 11 November 1918 (11-11-18).5

The car in which Archduke Franz Ferdinand was killed
Gräf and Stift Double Phaeton ridden by Archduke Franz Ferdinand at the time of his assassination

D-Day

D-Day was on 6 June 1944 (6/6/44). That date has double digits, like 11 November (11-11). The Allies had selected 5 June 1944 for their invasion because of a full moon that night. They postponed it by one day due to the weather. There was no consensus among historians on the start date of World War II, whereas the Battle of Stalingrad lasted more than two months. Therefore, D-Day is considered the most important single day in World War II. D-Day means Decision Day. D is the fourth letter of the alphabet, so Decision Day (DD) can refer to (19)44, the year D-Day happened.

Normandy invaded England in 1066 AD, while D-Day occurred on 6 June, or 6/6. In the ensuing Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, King Harold II of England died while trying to repel the invasion. That happened a few days after his forces had killed King Harold III of Norway, who also had invaded England. On 14 October 1944, the German General Rommel committed suicide after having overseen the construction of the German coastal defences intended to repel the Allied invasion.

Roman de Rou is a chronicle written around 1170. It covers the history of the Dukes of Normandy. It mentions that Roger the Great de Montgomery commanded parts of the invading forces in 1066. Other sources don’t confirm this account.6 During the 1944 invasion, Bernard Montgomery commanded portions of the invading army. That is most peculiar indeed, and there is more.

On 11 March 2010, the founder of the Dutch political party D66, Hans van Mierlo, boldly went where billions have gone before, and passed away. The name D66 stands for Democrats 66 and refers to the year 1966 as the party was founded on 14 October 1966 by 44 people.7 The name can refer to D-Day, making the founding date and the number of people involved in establishing the party rather intriguing. D-Day was on 6-6-44, so D66 could mean D-Day 6-6. Van Mierlo died in 2010, 44 years after starting D66 and 66 years after D-Day. Van Mierlo had just married a few months before on 11 November 2009 (11-11-11 after compressing numbers), which might also raise some eyebrows.

The numbers 66 and 44, along with the date 14 October, repeatedly appear in this scheme. And 11-11 is part of it too. It was the day Hans van Mierlo got married. 11 November is the date of the Armistice that terminated World War I. And the Vikings founded Normandy in the year 911. This number is closely related to the fall of the Berlin Wall and 9/11. On 9 November 1989 (9/11 European notation), the Berlin Wall fell. On 11 September 2001 (9/11 American notation), the terrorist attacks took place.

The assassination of Martin Luther King was on 4 April 1968, one year after he spoke out against the Vietnam War on 4 April 1967. Both dates are 4 April (4/4). On 5 June 1968, in another high-profile political assassination in the United States, Senator Robert Kennedy crossed the path of a bullet. He died the next day, on 6 June (6/6). Both incidents happened in the United States in 1968 and point to the digits of D-Day (6/6/44). 6 June was also the release date of The Omen, the most ‘cursed’ film in history.

John F. Kennedy’s assassination

‘We’re heading into nut country today,’ said President John F. Kennedy to his wife on the morning of 22 November 1963. She had just seen an advertisement from the John Birch Society in the Dallas Morning News suggesting that he was a communist. The border of the advert was in the black of a funeral announcement. ‘But, Jackie, if somebody wants to shoot me from a window with a rifle, nobody can stop it, so why worry about it?’8

A few hours later, somebody shot him from a window with a rifle. The assassination date, 22 November (22/11), consists of two multiples of eleven, which is somewhat unusual as is the date of D-Day and the date of the Armistice ending World War I. There are also parallels between John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln:

  • Both concerned themselves with Civil Rights.
  • Both did get a bullet in the back of their heads in the presence of their wives.
  • Lincoln was shot in the Ford Theatre, and Kennedy in a Ford Lincoln.
  • They were both murdered on a Friday.
  • In both cases, an assassin assassinated the assassin before he could face trial.
  • Lincoln’s election into Congress happened in 1846, and Kennedy’s in 1946.
  • Lincoln’s election to President occurred in 1860, and Kennedy’s in 1960.
  • Lincoln’s successor was Andrew Johnson, born in 1808, while Kennedy’s successor was Lyndon Johnson, born in 1908.9

Longer lists are circulating with some false claims. Sceptics have argued that these similarities are mere coincidences and that similar parallels exist between other US presidents. Wikipedia even labelled it an urban legend, although it is not, as it implies that the story is false. That both murders took place on a Friday is indeed unremarkable. But the murder of Lincoln taking place in the Ford Theatre and the assassination of Kennedy happening in a Ford Lincoln is noteworthy, as is the time difference of precisely one century that recurs three times. And there are links with other peculiar coincidences.

Kennedy’s brother, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, was shot a few years later. He died in 1968 on 6 June (6/6), just after the murder of Martin Luther King on 4 April (4/4). That is odd, given the coincidences surrounding D-Day (6/6/44). His untimely passing is part of a series of premature deaths, accidents, and other calamities involving members of the Kennedy family called the Kennedy Curse.

The son of President Lincoln, Robert Todd Lincoln, also had his share of remarkable coincidences. A few months before John Wilkes Booth murdered his father, Edwin Booth, the brother of John Wilkes, saved him when he was travelling by train. During a stop, he stepped back on the crowded platform to let others pass, pressing his back against a stopped train. When the train began to move, Lincoln fell onto the tracks. Booth hauled him back onto the platform. The Booth family and the Lincoln family were not neighbours, which makes the incident even more remarkable. Robert Lincoln was in the vicinity when the murder of his father occurred. He was also present at the assassination of President Garfield in 1881 and the assassination of President McKinley in 1901.10

The Kennedy assassination takes part in a series of premature deaths in office of American presidents elected in years starting with a zero, called the Curse of Tippecanoe or Zero-Year Curse. From William Henry Harrison to John Kennedy, every President elected in a year ending in zero died in office. It ended with Ronald Reagan, elected in 1980, who survived an assassination attempt. First Lady Nancy Reagan reportedly had hired psychics and astrologers to protect her husband from the curse.11 George W. Bush, elected in 2000, also survived an assassination attempt. The curse seems to have lost its lustre. Even Joe Biden, who could have passed away at any time without raising any suspicion of something of a curse having an involvement, survived.

Houston, we have a problem

We associate the number 13 with bad luck. Bad luck haunted the voyage of Apollo 13. The launch was on 11 April 1970 at 13:13 CST from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The departure time combined with the mission number was a daring attempt to defy fate. Possibly, the people at NASA thought, ‘We are scientists and don’t believe in this superstitious nonsense.’ And bingo! Fate took vengeance. On 13 April,
note the date, an oxygen tank exploded. The event has enriched the annals of history with the famous quote, ‘Houston, we have a problem.’ Mission control aborted the lunar landing. The crew made it back alive.12

The fall of the Berlin Wall

The fall of the Berlin Wall was the pivotal event marking the end of the Soviet Empire and the Cold War. The dismantling of this wall began on 9 November 1989 (9/11 European notation). On 11 September 2001 (9/11 American notation), a terrorist attack was another pivotal event in the war on terror. It marked the end of the period of relative peace following the fall of the Soviet Empire. On 11 September 1989, thousands of East Germans began crossing the Austrian-Hungarian border to emigrate to West Germany. That eventually led to the fall of the Berlin Wall. This date, also being 11 September, is noteworthy.

The historian James P. O’Donnell unwittingly predicted the year the Berlin Wall would fall. In the German edition of Reader’s Digest, he wrote ten years before it happened, ‘Not long ago I dreamed of Berlin. The year was 1989. The wall was coming down. Along its hideous 165 kilometres, East and West Berliners were pouring out to dismantle it. […] Canny merchants were weaving through the happy crowd selling souvenir bricks.’13

That is not as remarkable as it seems at first glance. O’Donnell made his prediction in 1979. If you were thinking in 1979 about the Berlin Wall falling and were guessing when it might happen, 1989 is a year you could easily pick. The final year of a decade can be a moment to think of the next decade’s final year. A 1979 ABBA does the same in a song named Happy New Year. But then again, O’Donnell thought of it in 1979, which increased the likelihood of choosing 1989. He could have thought of it in many other years, but he just happened to think of it in 1979, which makes it somewhat fishy nonetheless.

There is another peculiar twist. O’Donnell became Newsweek Magazine’s German bureau chief in 1945. He came to Berlin on 4 July 1945 to investigate Hitler’s death and gather information about his wife, Eva Braun.5 Braun died at the age of 33, and Hitler died at the age of 56, while 33 + 56 = 89. Hitler was born in 1889. And the erection of the Berlin Wall was a consequence of Hitler’s defeat. And it fell in 1989. There is more to say about Eva Braun and 1989, which makes the coincidence part of a larger scheme.
That is, however, a separate story.

Latest revision: 23 July 2025

Featured image: NASA mission control celebrating the successful return of Apollo 13. NASA. Public Domain.

1. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams die. History.com (2009).
2. Titanian – Echo of Titanic. Encyclopedia Titanica (2004).
3. Costa Concordia disaster. Wikipedia.
4. MS Costa Allegra. Wikipedia.
5. Curses! Archduke Franz Ferdinand and His Astounding Death Car. Mike Dash (2013). Smithsonian. [link]
6. Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury. Wikipedia. [link]
7. Hans van Mierlo. Wikipedia. [link]
8. Three surprising details from the JFK assassination – and why they matter. James L. Swanson (2013). The Globe And Mail.
9. Lincoln–Kennedy coincidences urban legend. Wikipedia.
10. Robert Todd Lincoln. Wikipedia.
11. Curse of Tippecanoe. Wikipedia.
12. Apollo 13. Wikipedia.
13. Reader’s Digest, Geman Edition, January 1979
14. James P. O’Donnell. Wikipedia. [link]