Nobody’s immune to bad luck. But what you initially think is a negative experience might turn out to be anything but! There are small moments of misfortune that end up either indirectly protecting you from something far worse or lead to something wonderful.
This, in a nutshell, is the so-called Burnt Toast Theory. Essentially, it suggests that minor inconveniences and delays can be blessings in disguise. Today, we’re featuring some of the most jaw-dropping moments of serendipity as shared by internet users in an intriguing AskReddit thread. Grab some toast and scroll down to read all about why they were so grateful for their setbacks.
#1
In 2015, I was going to a big music festival. I’d never been to one before, so I found the official FB group for it to get advice and meet people going.
Commented on one thread about short people needing help to see crowded bands for pictures. I volunteered for someone to sit on my shoulders for a band we both liked so she could get some pictures if we didn’t get close enough. We hung out all weekend, hung out a lot after. We’ve now been together for 10yrs, married for 6.5 of them.
All because of a FB comment.
Image source: CaffeinatedLystro, Getty Images/unsplash
#2
I was a young university teacher and was supposed to teach an evening class one semester. A week before the first class, an instructor who had more seniority than me wanted to swap classrooms, which meant that I now needed to drive farther to teach an evening class at another campus across town. I was so pissed off at the time.
However, that semester I ended up meeting and falling in love with a lady who was taking classes that term at that campus. That was almost 25 years ago now. Since then, we got married, raised two lovely children, and will live happily ever after.
I never met that other teacher who requested to swap classes, but if it wasn’t for him wanting to swap workplaces that semester, my wife and I never would’ve met.
Image source: Forsaken_You1092, Getty Images/unsplash
#3
I had just moved to London from Melbourne, Australia and only had one friend outside of my family in the city. On a Saturday night, she was busy, and I was bored, so I looked up what was happening near me on Facebook events and found a basement concert for an American rapper called Mykki (?) Blanco.
I went to the gig a couple of hours later by myself, decided to try and make friends so I chucked out my lighter and went and hung out in the smokers section and started asking people for a light to strike up conversation. I met a gay guy who was pretty cool, and he told me his husband ran a tequila bar in the east end who was looking for staff and that he would pass on my number.
He did, and I got the job working as a waitress. There was one other antipodean there (a guy from New Zealand) who I got along with pretty well.
14 years later me and that kiwi guy are married with two kids :)
We never would have met if my friend wasn’t busy that night.
Image source: Capital-Lychee-9961, Alvin Mahmudov/unsplash
#4
Missed a bus once and was super annoyed but while waiting, I met someone who ended up becoming one of my closest friends. Funny how small delays can change everything.
Image source: Comfortable-Cow-730, Getty Images/unsplash
#5
A couple of decades ago, I went to see the J. Geils Band at a local club. I was a little bit of a fan, and I had been trying to go out and do more things with my girlfriend, and tickets were only $10, so what the hell. When we got there, I noticed how low the ceilings were, how narrow the hallways in back to the bathrooms were, and that they had the back doors chained so people wouldn’t sneak in. The concert was decent, especially for $10 each.
The next year, another band was playing that same place for about $20/each. I wasn’t much of a fan, and told her, “I only spent ten bucks to see J. Geils. No way I’m spending twice that to see a band I only know two songs from.”
That band was Great White. Me being a cheap prevented me from being in the Station Nightclub Fire.
Image source: KyloRenCadetStimpy, Matt Becker
#6
I was given the wrong date for a group job interview so I showed up on Thursday rather than Tuesday. The HR guy easily could have just apologised for the mix up and told me it was too bad but he said he had some time so he could take me through the technical tests and ask me the interview questions so I could be added to the pool of candidates from the group interview. I got the job, met my husband, we started a business many years later that employs many people and helps our local community and we have 2 wonderful children. None of that would exist without that HR guy’s kindness and taking the time to interview me when he didn’t have to.
Image source: TimedDelivery, Getty Images/unsplash
#7
My friend and I were driving to a different city to go shopping and changed plans mid drive because of the weather. I met my husband at the place we went instead. A 10 minute conversation turned into 12 years and counting.
Image source: Rawrisaur18, Ryan Porter/unsplash
#8
I live on the 25th floor of a high-rise condominium building. Had dinner delivered to the lobby on the ground floor but I accidentally fell right back into my nap after I talked to the delivery guy on the phone. Few minutes after, a magnitude 6 ish earthquake occurred. If I woke up to get my food a few minutes before, I think I would have been in the elevator as the earthquake happened.
I’ve given myself some grace after that when things don’t go my way.
Image source: WearyCommand825, Curated Lifestyle/unsplash
#9
I was bored at home, so was messaging people to see what they were doing. One said he was going for a hike, the other said he was going grocery shopping.
I was going to go for a hike, but couldn’t find my trail shoes, so I went grocery shopping with my buddy.
Met my wife at the grocery store.
Image source: Optimal-Talk3663, Getty Images/unsplash
#10
No money, no heat, and barely any food my first winter in Oregon. I was struggling and the only thing I had handy for recreation was my Nintendo Switch. Years earlier, in easier times, I had bought Fire Emblem: Three Houses mainly because Edelgard looked cool on the cover, but I’d never played it.
Playing a little bit at a time between working to fix my situation, I totally fell in love with Edelgard’s route. When things got better, I started writing fanfiction. That reignited my passion for writing. Now I’m back to full-time editing and writing gigs and always make time for fiction, the thing that makes me happiest in life.
I’ve never been more productive, my mental health is more robust and I know what I want from life, and it was basically thanks to Edelgard. If I hadn’t been under extreme stress, there’s no way I would have imprinted on her so hard; I wouldn’t have needed to write about her; and none of this would’ve happened.
And it was all because I went “She looks neat, I wonder what her deal is?” and bought impulsively.
Image source: FavoredVassal, Mesut çiçen/unsplash
#11
I was stuck in a [bad] job. One of my friends was in nursing school and frequently crashed at my house after her shifts because it was closer than her house. She was doing nursing school practice exams and I was answering questions with her out of boredom. As I was doing them, I thought to myself this is actually pretty interesting. The next year I decided to move back home and start going for my nursing associates. 9 years later, I have a great career and my life has taken a complete 180. Never considered nursing before that night and probably would still be a complete train wreck if I never decided to bug my friend doing homework.
Image source: Nagabuk, Getty Images/unsplash
#12
Dislocated someone’s shoulder at Judo. Felt bad, so went to a first aid course. Met my wife and been together 18 years.
Image source: locutus92, Martin Splitt/unsplash
#13
A snowy day led to both mine and another EMTs partner calling out. We got paired together and spent the next 10hrs on the ambulance laughing nonstop. At the end of our shift I cut up a pair of gloves and “proposed” we’d be partners, we both changed our schedules to work together. Soon after we started dating, and weve been together for 7years. We just had our first wedding anniversary. We’ve both moved off the ambulance in to better careers, and were as happy and in love as ever all thanks to a snowy day.
Image source: Sad_Birthday_1911, Getty Images/unsplash
#14
Ordered pizza delivery, but the driver got my address wrong and showed up 3 streets away. By the time I found him, the pizza was a little cold. I complained jokingly, and he said, “Fine, I’ll give you a free one next time.” He actually did, and we’ve been friends ever since.
Then one night he invited me to join his friend group for a small get-together. That’s where I met this girl, we started talking, hit it off, and now she’s my girlfriend.
Image source: -A8-, Polina Kuzovkova/unsplash
#15
Much too early dinner break at work (night shift), and met the woman who’d become my wife at the café I decided to try now that I had my break before everything closed.
She was also random forced to fill in at the front, usually working only in the kitchen, so we both had our toast burnt.
Image source: Twooshort, Sander Dalhuisen/unsplash
#16
Neighbor’s kid had recently completed the exams one takes to become a stockbroker in spring of 2001. She secured an interview with a company housed in the WTC. Took the Long Island Railroad in to the city and was delayed about an hour due to train issues–had to switch to a bus etc. She did get to the interview, but felt that being late (though it was not in her control) reflected badly and she didn’t get the job. She was so disappointed. Had she gotten the job, she would have been working on a high floor on 9/11.
She switched careers, got a civil service job with Suffolk County, and is raising 3 teenagers with her husband.
Image source: miz_mantis, Ahmed/unsplash
#17
I bought tickets to a music festival in 2010, and it ended up being my brother’s high school graduation weekend and my mom wouldn’t let us go. I posted in a group on LAST.fm I wanted to give away the tickets. A guy responded that he wanted them, so we DMed, exchanged info and I forgot to send the tickets. We ended up talking online a lot, had a similar music taste and started going to concerts together regularly. He moved to another state for college but we stayed in touch. He visited one summer, we confessed our love to each other, and I ended up dropping my entire life to move in with him 1700 miles away from my hometown. We didn’t work out but I met the love of my life here, started a business, made some incredible friends and built myself the life of my dreams. I can’t believe I’d ever be grateful that my mom wouldn’t let me go to a festival.
Image source: trippsmom17, Chinh Le Duc/unsplash
#18
I once missed my bus because i spent 10 minutes looking for my keys, only to find them in the fridge next to the milk. Met my now-best friend while we were both [complaining] about the bus being late.
We still don’t know how the keys got in the fridge. My money’s on a ghost with poor organizational skills.
Image source: SunTraditional6031, Mikel Mirjane/unsplash
#19
In 2016 I got a call in the middle of the night from SAS (Swedish airlines) that a flight of mine had a change and they offered a full refund due to the inconvenience. This was supposed to be a group of friends and I going, and rather than waiting to discuss with them, I had a gut feeling to cancel the Stockholm trip entirely.
Fast forward and a year later that same group of friends and I booked a trip to Copenhagen instead. We get there and on the first night I met my future wife. Fast forward and almost 10 years later, we settled down in Norway and then Sweden, have two kids and have created the most perfect life together.
All thanks to that one call from SAS.
Image source: minusthelela, Nicolas Nezzo/unsplash
#20
In the game Rust, I didn’t shoot the other person who showed up at the airdrop. We split the loot. Kept running into each other and became gaming buddies.
His friends and I started making mods for games. One of these mods got me my first programming job, which is kind of a big deal because I don’t have a Computer Science degree.
That job didn’t work out long term, but it was enough experience to get an even better job.
I met my long-term, probably permanent partner working here.
So basically being nice to someone in a video game got me a decent career, a great partner, plus smart and fun friends to game with.
Image source: esamerelda, Getty Images/unsplash
#21
A few months ago, I accidentally committed a moving violation when I just happened to be right in front of a police officer and got a citation, it ended up being the last straw for me to tell my parents about a financial problem I was having which I wasn’t originally going to tell them out of embarrassment because it was my fault (I inadvertently missed a couple car insurance payments and had a week to pay a huge bill or my insurance would be cancelled).
I didn’t have the money so I was going to take out a loan from Check City which I have done once before and I didn’t notice how high the interest rates were but when I got the ticket, I was like “nope, I can’t afford all this” so I ended up telling my mom and instead of chastising me about my traffic violation or missing my insurance payments, she gave me a lecture on those payday loans and to NEVER use them; my parents hooked me up with their insurance broker to get me on different insurance so I wouldn’t be without it and I would have more time to save up and pay my old bill so it doesn’t go to collections; it turns out my new insurance has lower premiums than my last one, so this ticket saved me a lot more money than it cost me and as long as I don’t get any more moving violations and meet the requirements for my ticket to be dismissed by deferred prosecution, it would probably be the first citation in history to actually lower one’s insurance premiums. I know this is a long story but I learned four things from it,
stay hydrated and take breaks while driving for long periods, highway hypnosis can be extremely dangerous and can sneak up on you fast and no, it doesn’t only happen on highways.
stay up to date on insurance payments.
never take out payday loans.
Be transparent about your problems, especially to family, someone just might have a solution.
TLDR: traffic ticket played a huge role in improving my financial situation.
Image source: KristianKing102
#22
Starting dating a local guy who played WOW. I hadn’t played in about a year and decided to play again with him. Rolled a new character on the server he played on. Found out just a few weeks later that he was married and had been cheating on his wife with me.
Dropped him like a hot potato but stayed on that server because it had a nice community.
A few months later, I met a really nice guy when I was chaining some heroics. We’ve been together 15 years now…he moved across the country to be with me about 11 years ago. :).
Image source: hilhilbean
#23
When I was a depressed and lonely teenager I went to a Radiohead concert in London. All the avid fans at the time were lining up all day all weekend, so we were there for probably 12 hours. I made friends in line with two musicians in their late twenties, one of whom was kind to me in the profound and meaningful way that you can be kind to a teenager. We kept in very sporadic touch after that – he was one of those guys that has zero internet presence.
I wrote a poem about that guy and his kindness and posted it on my silly Tumblr with his full name (stupid; wouldn’t do it as an adult) and went on with my life. We hadn’t talked for years when I get this message from a woman in the US who had the best time with him and is flying to Spain forever but accidentally left her phone in his car and needs it back, and she’s tried to find him but no dice because he has no internet presence and the only thing that comes up about him is this silly poem about how nice he was to me! I send a frantic email to him via this email I’m not even sure he checks anymore.
Anyway, they’re married now and she didn’t move to Spain after all. Happily I hope!
Image source: mrdooter
#24
I was attending a weekend of placement testing for a high school I wanted to attend – a boarding school for nerds, essentially. State run. There’s about 2 dozen US states with school like this ( school of math and science, etc.)
I had some sort of stomach bug. The rooms were spinning, I knew I was bombing these exams. I went outside and sat on some steps waiting for my dad to collect me. Suddenly, a voice:
“…are you [okay]?”
It was a girl my age in a catholic school uniform. Her face showed great concern. She sat with me until dad came. He saw how bad I was and was able to arrange that I retake the exams.
Four weeks later at the orientation weekend a young woman with a shaved head approaches me and we figure out it’s the catholic school girl. She wanted to let loose a little since she was transitioning from a high control to very low control environment. A rising senior, introduced as the senior class president took an interest in us. “Yall rooming together? We have an empty room in our suite.” Without a word to each other or even a look we both said yes.
Its been 20 years hence. Lauren’s been my maid of honor. We’ve traveled the world together. She’s my oldest and best friend. Thanks for not letting me [pass] alone that one afternoon.
Image source: Langstarr
#25
When I was 17 I interviewed for a gap year overseas. My top picks for locations were Russia, Fiji, Poland, China, and Canada. I wanted a wildly different experience than my Australian upbringing. Canada was my last choice but that’s the country they chose for me after my interview. Glad they did because I ended up loving it! Eventually moved here, found my love, started a family, and obtained my citizenship.
Image source: Sorels
#26
If I didn’t wear my red shirt with cat print, I wouldn’t have got talking with the interviewer about cats and how much we liked them, so I was relaxed, nailed the interview and got the job.
If I didn’t get the job, the interviewer wouldn’t have become my colleague and introduce me to her brother.
I married the brother. All because of a red shirt with cats on it.
Image source: crestfallen_castle
#27
2018. I’d need through a particularly rough patch for about five years. In a job I hated, in a town I hated. My employment prospects were terrible, and so were my romantic ones. I went back home (other side of the country) for a week, ostensibly for a job interview, but it was really to say “goodbye” to my loved ones, iykyk.
My car broke down while I was over here. Because of that, I couldn’t afford to get back, and I was available for a surprise interview, and landed a job that paid twice as much as the one I was leaving. Now I get paid 1.5x *that* amount, am completely debt free, and have a very happy and healthy relationship with a beautiful woman :).
Image source: unfnknblvbl
#28
I worked 2 jobs in college. I was working my second job at an oil change when the boss’s now ex wife’s friend came in and asked me if I wanted to go see the jet cars at the Milan, MI dragway. I said sure. We went to my house after, I showered, we got dinner, both got sick, and then went and had a great time. We stayed friends and started dating about 4 or so months later. Weve been together 19 years. Married 17. We have a beautiful house and 3 chihuahuas together. All because a dude named Craig I worked with ghosted her.
Image source: Unlucky_Decision4138
#29
I was 21 and in the Navy, living in the student barracks. It was the rare holiday weekend when I was off duty, and all I wanted to do for Memorial Day holiday was stay in my room and read, but a couple of the girls were trying to convince me to hang out with them and another friend on Monday. I wasn’t planning to go, but I finished my last book about 30 minutes before they wanted to meet that morning, so I decided to head their way.
Right as I stepped onto the smoke deck I saw this guy. Red hair, green eyes, and he had just said something that made the people he was talking to laugh. And I knew in the deepest part of me that someday I would marry him.
He knew the girls I was meeting and we all hung out together that day. And we just clicked, as though we’d always known each other. 2 weeks later we had an actual date. Then another the next night. That’s when he proposed. We got married 4 weeks later, which was 6 weeks after I first saw him. Everyone thought we were nuts, and they were probably right. All either of us had to go on was a gut feeling and a prayer.
We celebrated our 25th anniversary this past summer. He is the best person I’ve ever known. Those green eyes I first noticed are kind and intelligent, and he’s always making me laugh. The red hair darkened over time and lately I can see grey highlights coming through. We have a son and a dog and an incredible and fulfilling life even when it’s hard. I can’t imagine ever loving anyone more, and I don’t think anyone else could make me feel so loved. In my wildest dreams I never thought I would grow up to be so happy.
And all because I didn’t check one more book out of the library for the holiday weekend.
Image source: onwardtotexas
#30
I was going to a large Big Ten university as an engineering student. I played trombone and wanted to keep up the music, so during freshman orientation I went to the Band Building to sign up for a concert band. The admin checking me in noticed I came from a high school with a marching band that finished second in the U’s annual statewide marching band competition. She urged me to join the school’s marching band (“one of the best in the nation” -it was!). I protested, saying as an engineering student I didn’t think I would have the time. “It doesn’t take up much of your week,” she replied in one of the boldest lies of the 20th Century. Freshman orientation week was then Marching Band morning, afternoon, and evening!
But, hanging out with the marching band resulted in my realizing maybe I wasn’t an aeronautical engineer after all, I left the school six months later, enrolled in Journalism, met a girl (who was the roomie of a bandmate), married her, had two kids and a successful 32-year career in TV news.
I always tell my kids they owe their existence to that lying band department admin.
Image source: Snarky_A_F
#31
This was back when Pokemon GO was still crazy popular. We organized a raid with a group near this small building at a college campus. I got to the right building, but at the wrong entrance. So did another player. I greet her and told her I was waiting for the rest of the group. We sat and chatted about the game for a while until we realized our mistake, met with rest of the group, then played the raid and everyone went on their own.
This girl and I met again the next day. Our group was organizing legendary Pokemon raids since the noon. We all met at a big park in our city for the raid, then planned on going to another park for the next raid, about 2 kilometers away.
Some went by bus, some on their bikes. She and I decided to go walking (hey, it’s called Pokemon GO for a reason!). During that walk, we got to know each other very well, and became friends with lots of things in common.
We were dating as friends for a year until we officially got into a relationship with eachother.
She’s been my girlfriend for 7+ years and counting. I’m about to get up from bed and say good morning to her 😁
I met the girl of my dreams by taking a bad turn while playing Pokemon GO of all things lol.
Image source: apalapan
#32
I burnt several pieces of toast in order to meet my husband.
It started as a teenager, when I used to stay at a summer camp with his cousin. She showed us all pictures of her family, including her 8 yr old cousin (we were 14 at the time).
Fast forward 20 years and I’m helping my then best friend shoot her BIL’s wedding. She keeps trying to get me to meet this cute guy she saw hanging out by the kitchen all night, but we were busy working so I never got the chance.
Fast forward 6 months later. I’m going to interview for a job and I run into one of the employees there. We make a minutes worth of small talk and I make a joke that he should recommend that I get the job. I didn’t, but that’s okay. But do you know who did get a different job at that same company 2 months later? My future husband.
Fast forward 2 years again. I’m again looking for another job and see that the job I had interviewed at 2 years ago is open again, so I go in and actually get the job this time. One my first day of work, I happen to be looking out my office window when I see this silver truck pull up and this guy in jeans, grey shirt and a backwards cap gets out. So I text my friend “this really cute guy just pulled up, I hope he works here”.
My theory? The universe has been trying since our childhoods to get us together, but the timing wasn’t ever right until it exactly was.
Image source: Ok_Outcome_6213
#33
Not me, but my grandpa always told this story about the power of saying “thank you”.
He got a scholarship that took him from what was then Rhodesia to study law at Yale fully paid. When he arrived, he searched and found the couple that sponsored him in New York and met them to say thank you. They said that in the many years of having this scholarship, he was the only person to ever find and thank them. This led to them forming a friendship, offering him a job right out of law school at their very prestigious firm in NY, sponsoring his visa, eventually getting him citizenship and that was where he met my Grandma. The couple stood in as his parents at his wedding. He had a very happy and successful life, and he would always tell anyone that would listen that it was because of that one moment in his life where he decided to make the extra effort to say “thank you.”
Image source: agilges2111
#34
Was a single dad, and resisted having women in and out of my young child’s life. Once he was old enough, I started on some casual dates, and they were a disaster. I wasn’t drinking or partying, so my social life was nil, and a few friends hooked me up with friends. No better. So I tried online dating….awful. So I gave up, and was cool with whatever it will be will be….my burnt toast moment. I ran a marathon November 7th, my first one, and I was cooked. Was laying in bed with heat on my legs and could not really move, and during some extreme boredom, opened my online dating app. We have been together 8 years, engaged, house, dogs and my son has an amazing bonus mom! If I hadn’t been too sore to get out of bed……
Image source: zeroshock30
#35
Near the end of 2019 I noticed a big lump in my throat. Went to the doctor and after tests it was discovered to be thyroid cancer. Official diagnosis came around February 2020, surgery scheduled for May 2020. Well obviously my surgery gets cancelled, twice, and I end up finally getting surgery September. I had been single for a long time at that point and after the surgery I vowed to try harder and find someone.
My first week back to work, three weeks after surgery I met my future wife. If I’d had my surgery sooner and made my vow sooner I probably wouldn’t have met her.
Image source: SgtGo
#36
Late 2020, they announced another full lockdown in my city starting the next day. I was immune. So I took literally the cheapest flight available leaving before the lockdown because I couldn’t stomach the idea of another two months locked in the house with my ex and his girlfriend, doing a job that I hated.
I now live in that country, am happily married to a local, have an amazing stepson, love my job, and this year I bought a home here.
Image source: Four_beastlings
#37
One day I was being my wiggly autistic self in class. Second grade. Probably 1991 or 1992. I ended up being enough of disruption To the point that my teacher gave me a thin book about Japan and a blank sheet of paper and told me to fill the page with stuff about the islands of Japan.
That was the first I had really ever heard of the place. Or rather, the first time I’d shown any interest in it. Is he interesting enough, so then the next time I saw something Japanese, which was this orange book about Godzilla, I read that. After that, I decided I was a Godzilla fan even though I had never seen one of the movies.
This sort of thing about Japan just sort of grew a little. By the time I was in 7th grade it was something I liked but not something necessarily that I knew about in any great detail. But one of the ladies who lived in my town started offering Japanese classes at the local library after school.
My mom signed me up and I was in that class for a few years. During our second year, but most interesting thing ever happened to me.
A man was walking along the coast, Tillamook Spit. He found a bottle of suntory whiskey washed up on shore. Inside. This bottle were many letters. He told a co-worker about this bottle, and the co-worker happened to be the father of one of the other students in my class. The co-worker brought the bottle to my teacher.
My teacher translated the notes, and it turned out that they were from a group of boys who are attending a summer school in Japan 5 years. Earlier. They had all been on a boat and they had all written these little letters and put them in a whiskey bottle and thrown it overboard. You took 5 years, but it went all the way from Japan to Oregon.
Each of the boys left contact information, and one of them was still valid. My teacher called up that family and exchange pleasantries with them.
My teacher was also friends with a local travel agency that specialized in Japanese trips. And it just so happened that Delta airlines had recently opened up a direct flight from Portland to the city where these boys lived.
So, to promote the flight to Fukuoka, Japan, Delta airlines and Azumano travel sent this man, John Frewing, over to Japan to stay for a little bit. Then, they sent each of the boys who had written a note in that bottle over here to stay in Oregon. One of the boys stayed in my home. He was 17 at the time, and I was like 13 or 14. He was so cool, and he became my Japanese big brother.
When these boys came and stayed, we got to go to all sorts of crazy award or banquet. Receptions and I got to meet the Mayors of multiple towns. Just very cool stuff.
Well, it turned out that the flight to Japan was not as successful as Delta had hoped. So to drum up more publicity, my teacher convinced them to send my entire Japanese class over to Japan for free for a week.
Growing up, at this point in my life, we were dirt poor. Like probably better off than some, but something like this was definitely never going to happen to me.
I can’t tell you how much fun stuff we did. We went to castles, we went to Temple’s, we toured a TV station, we toured a baseball stadium, we saw the hakata doll factories, we ate wonderful food, we saw kabuki, we saw noh theater, we saw bunraku puppetry, we saw the tea ceremony. Ceremony. We visited the Nagasaki peace memorial. We got to be on TV and I got to give a speech in front of the lieutenant governor of the prefecture.
One morning, we went and saw Kinkaku-ji castle, with its beautiful golden walls, and later that night we spent hours playing video games in a very large arcade at the top of a train station in Kyoto.
This is something I will never forget. And it all happened because I was wiggly in class one day.
Image source: JacobDCRoss
#38
Missed flight, met soulmate.
Image source: jessikaf
#39
Friend went to a gig and wanted to roll a cigarette while in the queue, it was raining so he asked the person in front to sit under her umbrella while he rolls. Long story short is they stayed in touch, he got with her friend and introduced them both to the group. That woman is my wife and we have a daughter and a 15 year long relationship. If it hadn’t have been raining, if he was 5 mins later to the venue and somewhere else in the queue, if he didn’t want a smoke, in if she didn’t bring an umbrella – my life would be completely different.
Image source: BaconRollz14
#40
I was supposed to be deploying with the Peace Corps in Guatemala in 2012. Day before I got a call we were cancelled due to security concerns. Life turned upside down as I had sold everything, quit my job, and was ready to get on a plane. I got the choice of a couple other deployments, chose the quickest one in three months. Met this cool girl who was another volunteer. We’re now 13 years and 2 kids later. Seems like that turned out well.
Image source: dyslexicsuntied
#41
Went to a friend’s house to chill. Other dude there. We both play soccer. Tell him to call me if he ever needs a goalie(they ALWAYS do) less than 2 weeks later i show up for his team and its a coed team of guys i went to grade school with and some women id never met. Played with them for about 6 months and learned that 2 of those women share my last name.
Long lost cousins found at age 23 because some random dude happened to be at my friend’s house one day.
Image source: Redwings1927
#42
Was at a frat party my junior year.
Had been talking to a gothy girl, and she left after like 30 minutes.
Tried convincing her to stay, but she didn’t.
Went to the bathroom after that.
Contemplated leaving the party (I was already outside, peeing) but decided to go back in.
Inside, met another girl with black hair. Talked to her, hit it off, made out, etc.
That was nearly 20 years ago, band were still together with a house and multiple pets.
Image source: Wazootyman13
#43
Went on a date with a guy I really didn’t want to go on with, but he was persistent so I gave it a shot. I knew immediately that I was right in not being into him but we had a nice conversation, he talked about how he had traveled around Europe and for some reason that sparked something in me to research traveling around Europe, and I felt pulled to just move my whole life to Italy. And I did. For 4 years.
But honestly I’m miserable here and I’m going back to the USA next month so I’m not sure if this was a good “burnt toast” theory actually. But that one date changed the next 4 years of my life.
Image source: Flaky-Boysenberry466
#44
When I was in college, I ended up taking Calculus over the summer. The content was presented blazingly fast (as expected), and while I passed, I hadn’t retained enough to pass Calc 2. So I switched to Secondary Education English. However, my brothers went to a university that was previously a Normal College (specializing in training teachers), so I switched to that university (and switched majors again). Ended up meeting a guy in my dorm and later became roommates. Graduated and lost touch with him. 3 years later ran into him at a party. Ended up hanging out with him and met his sister. We hit it off, and got married. We’ve been married for 28 years. Best thing that ever happened to me.
TLDR; failed calc 2, got married.
Image source: mixlplex
#45
In 2004, I was 21 and newly married, but very unhappy. I lived in a super conservative, religious area where I didn’t fit in at all, so I spent most of my free time on LiveJournal, connecting with others in ways I wasn’t able to in my local community. I was in an LJ community for young married people, and I commented on a thread about not having any other married friends. One stranger saw my comment and decided to add me as an LJ friend so I’d have another married peer to talk to. She was in the Midwest and I was in Virginia, but we were the same age and had a few things in common. We never really interacted much, but we did follow each other’s blogs for years, and both posted regularly enough that we got to know each other without really talking much.
Life kept going, I got divorced, remarried, and moved to Portland, Oregon. She and her husband moved a few times, and eventually ended up also moving to Portland, because her parents were here and it’s where they wanted to settle down long term. Shortly after they moved here, in 2011, it was her husband’s 30th birthday, and I was one of the only people their age that they “knew” in town, so they invited me over to celebrate. I met them in person for the first time and totally hit it off. We became regular board game buddies. We hung out more and more, and built a friend group together with other nerdy young adults. They had a kid in 2014, and I had a flexible enough schedule that I was able to spend a lot of time at their house, being an auntie and playing board games with them while they tended to their baby.
Eventually, we bought houses in the same neighborhood. We encouraged other friends to join us here, and have a very intentional community of lovely, supportive people. I’m their kids’ aunt and godparent. We’ve traveled together. We’re family, and have been for nearly 15 years. All because 7 years earlier, we crossed paths on LJ.
Image source: jianantonic
#46
The saw mill I had worked at for 10 years was shut down and they brought in a temp for a day and a half to write up our references. We will have been married 22 years in February 💕.
Image source: No-Price5802
#47
19 years old, my highschool boyfriend cheated on me.
My brother invited me out for wings with his university friends out of pity.
One of his university friends roommates was in the navy, and like me.
He asked me out, and we were on-again-off-again for a couple years.
He got stationed across the country.
I decided to also move.
Navy guy didn’t work out, but I moved into a house with three roommates from a random online ad.
One roommate got me a job at the Mexican restaurant she worked at.
I worked there a while, then got a new job at an Irish pub down the road.
This guy who got my job at the Mexican place was the one they were replacing at the Irish pub, we basically switched jobs.
I worked with him for a couple shifts.
We’re 10 years together now, 5 years married.
All because of some pity wings.
Image source: lizypickle
#48
I had a dream that sent me looking online for dream interpretation. The site I found had a forum that was more like a little community. I ended up marrying someone I met there, who’d found the site the same way. Now we’re married nearly 15 years.
Image source: Team-Mako-N7
#49
I did an adult apprenticeship (41) as a diesel mechanic. While I was at trade school at lunch one day, one of the other apprentices in my group asked if any of use had a lighter because his had run out. None of of us did so I asked one of the two ladies sitting at the other end of our table if they had a lighter we could borrow please? One of them said that since I asked so politely they certainly did have a light we could borrow. Anyhow we got chatting and ten days later I went home and told my then wife I wanted a divorce and moved out that night. That was twenty years ago and I’m still with my lady of the lighter. And not once have I ever regretted my choice.
Image source: Zen_Badger
#50
I didn’t want to go to a dance alone in high school. I asked a boy to go with me, we started dating. We kept dating through college. We got married and he supported me through grad school. Now I’m pregnant with our 2nd kid, have been married for almost 7 years and i am working in my dream profession.
I live in a house that we bought together with our pets and kid. I never would have thought I’d be a mom or that I’d love it. I also never would have been able to finish grad school without his support. My degree required a 40 hour a week unpaid internship that he supported me through so I could finish. I have my career and a wonderful home because I didn’t want to go to a dance alone.
Image source: Pandamommy67
#51
I volunteered to join the student council at my university when my classmate dropped out at the last minute. I met a guy on the council who became my boyfriend shortly afterwards. I followed him abroad as he got a job in another country, I got a job there myself. The relationship only lasted a year after we’d both moved abroad but I stayed there after we split up. After a few months of healing from a messy break up, I went on a solo trip to a neighbouring country where I met the man who is now my husband. We’ve been together almost 8 years and have a 1 year old little boy.
I can’t imagine how different my life would have been had my classmate decided she wanted to stay on the student council.
Image source: goodmythicalrose
#52
Did a small free work favor for my BF’s boss. The boss ended up asking me to come work for him. Led to a great job where I ended up partner/part owner of the company.
Image source: ThePakMaRa
#53
Was at a house party for mates 18th as the evening went on the crowd wanted to clubbing. Half to one district half to another. The girl I was with at the time sorta not really serious jumped in one car with no spare seats so I jumped in another thinking it was going to the same place. It wasn’t. Ended up drunk on a dance floor where I meet a girl also drunk on the dance floor. Hit it off and ended up married for 14 years with 2 daughters. I’m divorced now but that’s a different burnt toast story.
Image source: Puzzleheaded_Loss770
#54
Got fired out of nowhere, forced me into a career I actually love now.
Image source: Possible_Web_8921
#55
We were relatively new in Iraq. Had only been in country three weeks and had to do a convoy to Baghdad so the company commanders could sign off on inventories and transfer the property books. The morning after that we were convoying back to our home station in Tikrit. On the way out of the gate the turret gunner in the lead vehicle had an accidental discharge. We had to pull over to check in with the NCOIC of the guard shift, make sure everyone in the towers that we had just passed were ok and do an incident report. While we were pulled over another unit passed us. We finally left and a couple miles down the road caught up to the other unit. They had been hit by an ambush, and fortunately had heavier armored vehicles than we did and had been in country for ten months. No one was hurt and they quickly engaged with the enemy. Had we left when we were supposed to, we would’ve been hit and probably not have responded as well. I was driving the lead vehicle that would’ve been targeted and possibly would not have survived.
Image source: rvrndgonzo
#56
After my divorce, I reconnected with an ex. Fairly excited about the prospect, then he ghosted me.
Got in a really bad place, vaguebooked on social media, and got a random dm from someone I went to high school and college with. Never really spoke before or hung out.
We’ll be celebrating our third wedding anniversary soon.
Image source: Automatic-Hunter1317
#57
I decided to take a day off to hang out with a new friend. At the time, I was stuck in a [toxic] relationship I didn’t have the courage to leave and working for two different pizza franchises under the same brand but with different owners. I called in to both jobs that day just to spend time with this new friend.
The morning-shift franchise assumed I’d gone to work for the evening-shift one instead and fired me. The evening-shift location started giving me morning shifts, which led me to deliver to a big, respected company I never would’ve delivered to otherwise. They asked me to come in for an interview, ended up hiring me, and that’s how I left food delivery for the corporate world.
That same day off, my friend and I had what we still call “the best day ever.” Not long after, I found the courage to leave my ex—while still pretending I wasn’t already falling in love with that “new friend.”
That one spontaneous day completely changed my life. I’ve now climbed high in that same company and just celebrated ten years there—and ten years with my husband, the friend I took that day off for.
Image source: oooohhhhhwhyyoulying
#58
My friend always gave me a ride home in highschool, but she had a club meeting so my choices were go to the meeting or take the bus. I went to the meeting, ended up going with the club on a trip to DC, bonded real hard with one of the guys, we got together a few months later and have been together ever since.
Image source: Savin4051
#59
Around March or April 1998, I’m failing in University and I’m depressed and getting ready to drop out. My friend says “Hey you know how to install IRC right, would you mind setting up a server for me and just hanging out on there to keep an eye on things? It’s for one of my customers”. I say sure, 15 minutes of work and done.
His customer and boss are both impressed by my work. His boss offers me a job when I finally crash out from University in June. It ends up being my first full time IT job that kick starts my career. His boss is a cool guy, he also helps with the the down payment and first month rent on the house I moved into. I end up working there for almost 3 years.
Back to that server. I end up hanging out on there and in August 1999 I meet my future wife there. The following year I emigrated to the US and started a new life. The references from the job I had helped start my IT career in the US. We’ll be married 25 years later this month!
Image source: zerbey
#60
My parents got divorced the year I was graduating and my dad got to walk away with my college fund.
In high school I was rated number 6 out of my class for graduation.
Top 5 got full scholarships to any in state university, with room, board, books, everything. Two of the top 5 said they were leaving the state, but the school couldn’t award me their prizes.
Instead I got a two year scholarship to a local community college. Fine, I thought, I’ll take the basic [stuff] and then go on later.
I ended up staying over 5 years, taking tons of classes I really didn’t need but learning so much. Met two professors that I eventually nannied for, raising a total of four kids from three months to almost six years old. Got SCUBA certified with one, went to French Polynesia for a dive trip.
The youngest kid just turned 18. The oldest is in Japan and finishing college, the two “middle” are working with special education kids, and going to school as well.
All because I was number 6 and not 5.
Image source: TaratronHex
#61
Dated a guy in college with a big house and multiple roommates. My twin sister wound up coming over and drunkenly hooking up with one of them and now they’ve been together for 21 years and have two kids.
I moved across the country and after graduation they moved two hours away from the college to the northern part of the same state. My sister gets a job managing a jewelry store in a mall and the guys from a cell phone store come to hang out and [pass] time. One mentions he’s planning to move across the country to the state I’m now living in and my sister decides to play matchmaker. We’ve now been together almost 16 years and have a son…neither one of us would have met our husbands and three kids wouldn’t exist if I hadn’t dated that first guy.
My husband making his way out to the west coast is an even more random story. Life is full of twists and turns.
Image source: Username614855713
#62
Went to a concert of a band I didn’t even like with my cousin and his friend. Went for a walk afterwards late at night which was unusual for me. Then I talked with my brothers friend until 4 am.
I woke up next morning, on a sunny day, the first of the month, and realised that yesterday had been fun. And I thought about how I’m turning 17 soon,which is almost 18, and how I spent my years on solitude. The air was fresh and I heard people in the caffes in the street, and I realised: I’d really like to try living.
I decided to start by finally meeting up with a friend I met online/through a classmate who followed him. I just messaged him one day out of curiosity. Over a year of chats later I met up with him and, for someone who up until then had never had a friendship and had spent the past 4 years in social withdrawal due to a psychotic episode and social anxiety, I felt something in my brain shift. Decided that no matter how uncomfortable and painful it all is I just need to push through if I want to live. Then I started caring about my appearance a bit more, I started going to the movies more often, I started working with my therapist on my social skills and everything else that had piled up over the years, I hung out with him again and then met one of his friends, and for the first time in over I year I spent time with more than one person, neither who are family members. I went to my first party and came back home really late for the first time.
It feels like I am starting to experience youth for the first time ever and yes it hurts and yes Its chaotic and yes I constantly need to remind myself that people who talk to me don’t suddenly hate me and that I shouldn’t run away but, I feel like I’ve got some good memories in store for me. I’ll be going to a concert in a few months.
Image source: the-great_inquisitor
#63
I decided to not go back to my apartment and get my cigarettes and because of that I quite literally ran into the women who would be my wife. If I would have left two minutes later and I never would have met her. She’s perfect and I don’t know what I would do without her.
Image source: aspect-of-the-badger
#64
I had fallen out with my cousin due to the person she dated at the time. We hadn’t spoke for 6 years. I had a lovely dream one night about her and woke up feeling lighter and happy. I decided to message her and we rekindled the relationship. She is my absolute rock and helped me with so many things in my life and I have helped her too. Both of us would be lost without each other as we are each others support system. My life has changed for the better, all because of a dream.
Image source: skatergirl911
#65
In 2009, I was supposed to go to a birthday party on a Friday evening. At the last minute, I decided to spend the weekend at my hometown instead, and spent that Friday evening going to a show at a local bar. I met my now-husband there.
Image source: txjennah
#66
Ten years ago, I missed the deadline for signing up for a test to attend university. My parents were super mad and made me feel horrible because of this. Yet somehow I felt that this just NEEDED to happen in my life, although I didn’t know why. I moved out and started working at a hospital, met a cool guy there. Married for six years and have three kids now. Life has never been better.
Image source: katreadsbooks
#67
Teenaged me tried to apply to pizza hut (one of the best run fast food establishments in my town) and got the job, but issues with my identification prevented me from actually working there (side note, kids, don’t EVER, under any circumstances, let your ID expire completely. Always renew just before it actually expires and you’ll save yourself a whole world of headache).
So long story short, with no currently valid ID, l started working at a thrift store run by a mexican family, during which I picked up quite a bit of spanish.
Fast forward 3 years or so when I had finally sorted out the hassle with getting my ID renewed, I started spam applying to every job I could find, since the resale shop I had been working at had relocated outside of my city and I no longer had a way to reliably make it to work. Apparently, many different indeed applications went through, but I didn’t find out until much later that the emails that came in asking for interviews were all going into my spam folder.
The one job that texted me, thus bypassing the spam folder conundrum, was the local Whataburger. I only stayed there for 4 months because my mental health went down the drain and the majority of the staff and management was awful to me, but there were a few people I genuinely missed, one of them being this lovely gentleman who worked on the grill, always cracked jokes and quoted pop culture, yet as much of a joker as he was, he would always stick up for me to management and try to cheer me up on the days where I’d be visibly struggling. I always found it very nice to know somebody actually cared for me in that environment but never thought beyond that.
But, about 3 months after leaving Whataburger, I got hired for a local cell phone retailer, and the main thing that stuck out about me when I had basically no experience at the time was the fact that I knew enough spanish to form sentences and perform most of my job. I quickly noticed that because this was a small town, basically all my coworkers, save for management, became my customers. And who should come in another 4-5 months after starting here? Why, my favorite former coworker of course! So we started chatting about different forms of technology and I started catching feelings over how much he knew and how passionate he was about an interest we shared, but I didn’t want to overstep either company or personal boundaries so I said absolutely nothing as he left besides the scripted “have a great day” I kept noticing he would come in to ask for me and ask different questions about which phones had the best hardware and which speakers worked the best, but a few months after I first saw him, he ends up switching to a different phone company to get a better deal on the phone he wanted. But later on that same day he would call the store, inform me that he switched to a different company, and then ask me if he could give me his number because he would love to talk to me again and catch up. We started talking the next day, officially dating a month later, now we’re going on a year together in my first healthy relationship.
TL;DR: became functionally bilingual and met the love of my life because my ID expired and emails went into spam. Bonus: my now boyfriend has also given me the courage to just be myself without fearing what other people think, something I had struggled with very badly with the way my community was structured. So now that he’s helped me have the courage to stand up for myself and set boundaries, my mental health has improved vastly because I’m not the doormat I used to be.
Image source: Thechaosjester776
#68
Back in the day, I was playing an MMORPG when I received an invitation to a private chat channel from someone I recognized. I accepted the invite and found myself in a channel full of roleplayers–something I’d done on forums before, but never in a game. He apologized and said that he’d hit a wrong button and invited his friends list accidentally, and that I didn’t have to stay if I didn’t want to. I stayed. Those people are my family now. I married two of them (not at the same time; hubby and I are both close friends with my ex). We play Pathfinder together several times a week, we get together in person every two years, and we talk constantly. It’s been nearly 20 years and I’m thankful every day that I said yes.
Image source: kyothinks
#69
Was going to go to this cafe that I hadn’t been to in a while, but was too hung over from the night before, when I didn’t usually drink that much in one go. Went the following day instead, saw a guy sitting near me that I was immediately drawn to. We had a brief and very specific interaction, but afterwards I was too shy to say anything to him, and he left before I did. Posted on Craigslist about it, he happened to read the post just a few days later, we met up again on purpose, and were together for over a decade.
Image source: orangepaperlantern
Follow Us
