If you think you’re having a bad day, spare a thought for the 10 unluckiest people ever; it’ll cheer you up for sure. Most of it feels like having a turtle dropped on your head by a vulture… twice.
10 Unluckiest People: Their Stories
9 Except For One Guy
Every Christmas in Spain, a colossal lottery draw known as El Gordo—literally “the Fat One”—takes place, offering a prize so massive it makes most other jackpots look like pocket money. In the tiny village of Sodeto, all 70 households bought tickets, except for a single resident named Costis Mitsotakis. When the winning numbers (58268) were announced, the village’s collective ticket hit the jackpot, netting a share of the staggering $950 million first‑place prize. The locals, a mix of farmers and unemployed construction workers, walked away with multi‑million‑dollar windfalls. Unfortunately for Costis, the local homemakers’ association that sold the tickets simply never knocked on his door. He missed out on the life‑changing fortune, a classic case of bad timing and a missed knock.
8 The Human Lightning Conductor
They say lightning never strikes twice, but Roy Sullivan proved the universe could be a cruel prankster. The U.S. park ranger from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia was struck by lightning a jaw‑dropping seven times—a Guinness World Record for the most lightning strikes on a single human. To put it in perspective, the odds of being struck even once are about 3,000 to 1; a seven‑time strike translates to roughly 22 septillion to 1 (that’s 22,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000). After his sixth strike, you’d think Roy would stay indoors, but he kept going. The final encounter was especially dramatic: while fishing, lightning hit him, and a bear tried to swipe the trout from his line. Roy, undeterred, fended off the bear with a branch and reclaimed his catch—talk about a thunderous showdown.
Speaking of relentless fate, Henry Zeigland thought he’d finally escaped death, only to be reminded that destiny can be oddly poetic. In 1883, after a breakup led his former girlfriend’s brother to hunt him down and shoot him, Zeigland believed he’d survived—the bullet had merely grazed his face and lodged in a nearby tree. Years later, while cutting down that very tree, he used a few sticks of dynamite to speed the process. The explosion sent the bullet flying straight into his skull, killing him instantly. A grim reminder that some bullets truly have a way of finding their mark.
7 The Hairiest Man
Ladies, if you ever complained about a man’s fuzz, meet Yu Zhenhuan, officially recorded as the hairiest person on the planet. A rare condition called atavism coats 96 percent of his body in hair—averaging 41 hairs per square centimeter (about 0.16 sq in). Only his palms and soles remain bare. The excessive growth even forced him to undergo ear‑hair removal surgery because the fuzz interfered with his hearing. Rather than hide, Yu turned his unique look into a brand, posting photos on sites like www.maohai.com and www.hairboy.com, hoping to land a recording contract and become China’s next rock star. He’s even on the hunt for a wife who can appreciate his… abundant… charisma.
6 Unluckiest Woman In America
Melanie Martinez has the dubious honor of being America’s unluckiest woman, having lost four homes to four separate hurricanes—Betsy (1965), Juan (1985), Georges (1998), and Katrina (2005)—all while living on a flood‑prone plain in Louisiana. A reality‑TV makeover team once gifted her a $20,000 renovation, complete with a brand‑new kitchen, cabinets, appliances, and a 50‑inch smart TV. Yet, on the seventh anniversary of Katrina, Category 1 Hurricane Isaac rolled in and once again devastated her home. Martinez, her family, five kittens, and three dogs were rescued by boat, losing everything but their lives. “Now I’ve lost five houses to five storms. Every time a wipe‑out,” she lamented, urging anyone listening to consider higher ground.
5 Britain’s Unluckiest Man
‘Calamity’ John Lyne earned the reputation of Britain’s unluckiest man after surviving 16 major accidents spanning lightning strikes, a rock‑fall in a mine, three separate car crashes, and even a catapult‑propelled stone that smashed eight of his teeth. Born with underdeveloped lungs, he required steroids and constant care just to survive infancy. At 18 months, a curious toddler, he lapped up disinfectant from a plastic bottle, necessitating a stomach pump and a full water flush. As a teenager, after breaking an arm falling from a tree, he visited a hospital for treatment. On the way home, the bus he rode crashed, breaking the same arm again—on a Friday the 13th, no less. Lyne’s life reads like a series of unfortunate headlines, each more bizarre than the last.
Dede Koswara, known as the “Tree Man of Java,” was born healthy but at age ten sprouted warts after a scraped knee. Over time, the warts proliferated across his hands and feet, resembling bark and turning his limbs into grotesque, plant‑like growths. The condition, a combination of common human papillomavirus and a rare immune deficiency, caused his limbs to swell and become immobile. He was forced into a traveling freak show to earn a living, his appearance earning him the nickname. Surgeons once removed 13 pounds of warty tissue with an electric saw, only for it to regrow later. His life is a stark reminder that nature can sometimes be a cruel sculptor.
4 Survivor Of Two Atomic Bombs
Tsutomu Yamaguchi holds the unique status of being the only officially recognized survivor of both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings. On 6 August 1945, while disembarking a tram in Hiroshima, he witnessed a blinding flash, felt the force of the blast, and was knocked to the ground. The bomb detonated 600 m overhead, killing roughly 140 000 people instantly. Yamaguchi, merely two miles from ground zero, sustained severe burns, a perforated eardrum, and spent the night in an air‑raid shelter amid the carnage. The next day, he boarded a train back to his hometown of Nagasaki—only to experience the second bomb at 11:02 am, again within two miles of the epicenter. He survived both blasts, but endured lifelong health issues, including deafness, chronic wounds, and the loss of his wife and son to radiation‑related illnesses. He later became a passionate anti‑nuclear activist, dedicating his remaining years to peace advocacy.
3 The Dynamite‑Dog Disaster
In the frigid depths of Ten Mile Lake, Minnesota, Harry Jenkins and two friends attempted to carve a fishing hole by tossing a stick of illegally obtained dynamite onto the ice. Their Labrador retriever, Jerry, mistook the thrown stick for a game and raced across the ice to retrieve it. Ignoring the men’s frantic shouts, Jerry grabbed the live dynamite and bolted back toward them, tail wagging. Realizing the imminent danger, the trio fled in terror as the dog chased them, unaware of the ticking death. The explosion detonated, killing Jerry and cracking the ice beneath their truck, which then sank into the icy waters. To add insult to injury, Jenkins’ insurance company refused his claim for the sunken vehicle, leaving him with both emotional and financial loss.
2 The Persistent Bullet
In 1883, Henry Zeigland thought he’d escaped a murderous vendetta when a bullet, intended to kill him, glanced off his face and lodged in a nearby tree. Believing himself fortunate, he later decided to fell the very tree that held the projectile. Using a few sticks of dynamite for a quicker cut, the explosion sent the bullet soaring straight into his skull, ending his life instantly. This macabre twist cemented his place among the world’s most unlucky individuals.
1 The Hairiest Man
Yu Zhenhuan, the world’s hairiest person, is covered in a dense coat of hair covering 96 percent of his body, averaging 41 hairs per square centimeter. The condition, known as atavism, forced him to undergo ear‑hair removal surgery due to hearing impairment. Embracing his uniqueness, Yu launched websites like www.maohai.com and www.hairboy.com, aiming for a rock‑star career while searching for a partner who can appreciate his extraordinary appearance.