Some people see a coincidence and believe it’s a sign of something more. Maybe divine intervention, aliens, fate, or who knows what. They want there to be order in the chaos and to find meaning in seemingly unrelated events. Others see it as just a weird twist of luck, something uncanny that defies the odds. No matter how you choose to look at a coincidence, though, it’s hard to ignore that they can often be very odd and compelling. 

Is there anything more behind these events that coincidentally happened in the same place at different times? Let us know what you think. 

10. There was a Battle of Thermopylae in Both 1941 and 480 BC

In 2006, the movie 300 came out and shared the tale of the Battle of Thermopylae with millions who had never heard of it before. Though the film is based on a comic that itself fictionalized the story well beyond belief, the basic idea was true. There was a battle during the Greco-Persian war in which a small army of Greeks, led by the Spartan King Leonidas, took a stand against a much larger Persian force. The battle lasted for three days and though the Greeks lost, it’s said that the few hundred soldiers killed 20,000 Persians.  

Fast forward to 1941 and there was a second Battle of Thermopylae, this time between Nazis and Allied Forces made of British, Australian and New Zealand forces. The Germans were attempting to invade Greece. Allies were withdrawing but two brigades remained as the rear defense against Axis troops.

A Panzer division and another battle group were held back by artillery fire. Though the battle was not nearly as dramatic as the original, many German tanks ended up being destroyed. Across Greece, Germans took heavy losses against a much smaller force of Allies aided by locals. Though the Germans took Greece and the entire Allied operation in Greece was considered a failure, their efforts made sure the Germans paid dearly for the progress they made. 

9. Both Alexander Hamilton and His Son Died in the Same Spot 

Dueling isn’t so popular these days but once upon a time it was the go to way for any gentleman worth his frilly shirt to settle a dispute, just ask Alexander Hamilton. Or his ghost, since he died in a duel.

It was July 11, 1804 when Alexander Hamilton took a bullet from Vice President Aaron Burr. Burr not becoming President was due, in part, to the machinations of Hamilton and the men had a long history of animosity between them. The challenge was issued, and the men met on the dueling grounds near Weehawken, New Jersey.

The location of the duel was grimly familiar to Hamilton as just three years earlier his own son had died in the same spot, during a duel, defending his father’s honor. Not successfully, obviously. The elder Hamilton used the same pistols for his own failed duel.

In 1801, Phillip Hamilton heard a speech by a man named George Eacker that was harshly critical of his father. The younger Hamilton, being 19 and something of a hothead, took great offense. The men exchanged words, and a duel was set. Hamilton’s father gave his son advice about waiting for the first round of four to pass, not shooting until the other man had shot to make him look bad, but it was all for naught. Eacker struck Hamilton and the young man died the next day. 

8. Hitler Made France Surrender in the Same Train Car as Germany in WWI

This doesn’t qualify as a coincidence, rather a planned humiliation thanks to a historic callback. There is a train carriage in France where, on November 11, 1918, Allied Forces and Germany signed the armistice that ended World War One. It took place in a train car because of all the damage that had occurred in the town during the war, making it infeasible to hold the historic event there. 

Jumping ahead to 1940 and the German war machine was storming across Europe. Hitler had taken France and brought a new armistice agreement for them to sign, just as they had made Germany sign the first one years earlier. For the occasion he had the same train carriage used. It was revenge for what he deemed a humiliation in the past, now to serve as the same for France.

7. Two Air India Flights Crashed Into the Same Mountain 16 Years Apart

It’s hard to say how many planes have crashed in history but if you’re thinking of commercial passenger jet airliners, it’s a little easier to gauge. In 2017, that number was just under 2,000 in history. All things being equal, that is a relatively low number compared to total flights and something like car crashes. That air travel is relatively safe and crashes are relatively rare makes it even more remarkable that two flights, from the same airline, crashed into the same mountain, 16 years apart. 

The first crash occurred in 1950 when a plane crashed into the southwest side of Mont Blanc, taking 58 lives. In 1966, a miscommunication with flight control caused a Boeing 707 to crash in nearly the exact same spot, claiming an additional 117 lives. 

6. Jackass Cast Member Ryan Dunn Flipped his Car in the Same Spot He’d Later Die

The cast of the show Jackass have all put themselves through preposterous things over the years. They’ve been electrocuted, bitten by many deadly creatures, beaten, shot, exploded and then some. But, despite how it sounds, it was all meant to be fun. That said, there was some tragedy along the way as well, notably with the death of Ryan Dunn, who died in 2011.

Dunn was drunk and got behind the wheel of his car. He was going 130 miles per hour when he hit a tree. He died along with a production assistant named Zachary Hartwell.

Bam Margera, Dunn’s best friend, pointed out afterward that he always suspected Dunn would get into an accident sometime and that, in fact, the two of them survived one in the same place Dunn died five years earlier. According to Margera his friend flipped their car 8 times in that incident but they both walked away from it. 

5. Two Women, in Incidents One Year Apart, Were Buried Alive in Greece

Being buried alive is probably a fear no one has until the first time they hear it can happen, and then it haunts them forever after. It may not be a common occurrence but it has happened in the past and maybe a little too often over around Peraia, Greece.

The first incident reported in 2014 involved a 45-year-old woman. She was buried in a cemetery in the town of Peraia after being comatose for a time and dying in a private hospital. Locals, including some children playing nearby, heard her calling out after the funeral and attempts to rescue her fell short. She died from asphyxiation.

Later it was reported a 49-year-old woman who had been treated for cancer was also buried after doctors thought she had died. Her screams were heard after the funeral so she was exhumed but by then it was too late. Her official cause of death was cardiac arrest. 

Some of the news reports seem to mix up details between both stories and it’s possible this was reported wrongly, and it was a single incident, but the ages and details differ enough that it’s just as likely it was two separate occasions.

4. Bobby Farrell of Boney M and Rasputin Died on the Same Date in the Same City

If you don’t know the name Bobby Farrell you probably at least knew his voice. He was the singer for the band Boney M, most famous for their disco-era hit “Rasputin.” The song is about the infamous Russian mystic who is killed for sleeping with the wrong women. 

In real life, Rasputin’s death has long been the subject of much mystery and exaggeration, in particular about how he was shot and poisoned and drowned and so many other things before he finally died. What everyone agrees on is that he died on December 30th in St. Petersburg. 

Rasputin’s death took place in 1916. Fast forward to 2010, December 30th, in the city of St. Petersburg and that’s when and where Bobby Farrell also passed away. He had just performed a show and complained of not feeling well. He died of heart failure in his hotel room.

3. Steph Curry and LeBron James Were Born on the Same Floor of the Same Hospital

Any time you hear of famous people coming from the same place someone will make a joke about there being something in the water. Maybe they attended the same school or the same town and it’s a fun coincidence. In that same vein, you’ll discover some athletes often attended the same schools. Less common is discovering they were born in almost the same place. Not just the same town, not just the same hospital, but the same floor of that hospital.

Basketball legends Steph Curry and LeBron James were both born in Akron, Ohio. Just 39 months separate the two stars, who were born at the Summa Akron City Hospital.

2. Keith Moon and Mama Cass Both Died at 32 in the Same Apartment Four Years Apart

The music world is full of weird and morbid conspiracies and coincidences, most notably the infamous 27 Club. There’s another grim coincidence out there that’s much more dramatic than artists simply dying at the same age and that’s the connection between “Mama” Cass Elliot and The Who drummer Keith Moon.

On July 29, 1974, Cass Elliot was staying in the apartment of songwriter Harry Nillson in London, England. Nillson was rarely there and let friends use it when they were in town. After a pair of performances she collapsed in the apartment and died of heart failure at age 32. Her weak heart was blamed on years of crash diets.

Four years later, Keith Moon was staying in the same apartment. Nillson is said to have not even wanted to loan it out, now afraid that the place was cursed. Moon talked him into it. He was also 32-years-old.

Moon’s body was found in the same bed where Cass had died. He had overdosed on a prescription drug called clomethiazole, which he was using to treat alcoholism. 

1. A Simulated Attack Was Conducted at Pearl Harbor 10 Years Before the Real Thing

Pearl Harbor is one of the most well-known events in American history and it’s been taught in school, written about in books and immortalized on film again and again. One thing that’s not usually mentioned, however, is that 10 years before the infamous attack, pretty much the same thing happened in the same place but for very different reasons.

In February, 1932, the Second World War hadn’t started. But, with the First in the rearview and tensions on the rise everywhere, America was preparing for anything. Rear Admiral Henry Yarnell was in charge of something called Fleet Problem #13. This was a military drill designed to simulate an attack from an Asian enemy on Pearl Harbor. 

Yarnell, with 152 planes, staged an attack to take out the American airfield in Pearl Harbor, catching them unaware. He attacked Sunday morning, just as the Japanese would later do, in an effort to catch them off guard. Because the “Americans” anticipated an attack from sea, they never saw the plans coming. Yarnell’s forces dropped bags of flour, simulated bombs, and laid waste to the US base. Not a single American plane got in the air. 

Though the attack was just a drill and Yarnell proved Pearl Harbor vulnerable, the military decided his efforts proved nothing. He attacked on a Sunday which they basically called cheating.

When the actual attack on Pearl Harbor happened, it followed many similar paths as Yarnell’s mock attack. Later, military officials would be absolved of culpability under the reason that the attack could never have been predicted. This gave rise to a conspiracy theory that the Japanese learned of Yarnell’s fake plan and the US has since covered it up.

Everyone loves a good romance, whether it be a witty “rom-com,” a tearjerker melodrama, or an epic set against a historical backdrop. OK, maybe not everyone, but certainly many romantic films rank among the most memorable and critically acclaimed motion pictures ever made and are some of the most popular.

Even today, when adjusted for monetary inflation, 1939’s romantic epic Gone with the Wind remains the highest-grossing film in cinema history. But what would have happened had other lead actors and actresses been cast in the lead roles of these movie classics? Would it have worked, or would they have flopped?

Here is a list of ten of the most popular romantic films and the pairs who were almost originally cast in the lead roles.

Related: 10 Hollywood Stars’ Curious Movie Debuts

10 Pretty Woman: Burt Reynolds and Meg Ryan

Burt Reynolds was the king of motion pictures in the 1970s and was cast in some of the most successful box office hits of that decade. After a breakout role in John Boorman’s critically acclaimed survivalist thriller Deliverance (1972), Reynolds rocketed to fame in movies such as The Longest Yard (1974) and Smokey and the Bandit (1977). Likewise, Meg Ryan emerged as one of the most popular leading ladies of the 1990s, scoring with hits such as You’ve Got Mail (1998) and Kate & Leopold (2001).

So, how could such a pairing not be box-office gold? Unfortunately, we’ll never know. But before you judge each too harshly for turning down the roles of Edward Lewis and Vivian Ward (who would become iconic parts for Richard Gere and Julia Roberts), consider this: Reynolds turned down Pretty Woman in 1990 to accept the lead role in the CBS sitcom Evening Shade, a part that netted him the only Emmy Award in his career.

Meanwhile, coming off the success of 1989’s When Harry Met Sally, and three years from being cast in Sleepless in Seattle, turning down the role that made Roberts a star hardly slowed down Ryan’s career. Call it a “win-win” for everyone! Also, Garry Marshall had initially envisioned the lead roles going to Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer. Another pairing that just doesn’t seem quite right.^[1]

9 An Affair to Remember: Fernando Lamas and Arlene Dahl

Few actors in the 1950s were as debonair as Cary Grant. Ironically, only a couple of decades earlier, Grant was better known for comedic parts in films such as Bringing Up Baby (1938) and Arsenic and Old Lace (1943) than the suave leading man roles he would later play. However, when veteran director Leo McCarey decided to remake his 1939 romance classic Love Affair, he envisioned it as a vehicle for husband and wife team Fernando Lamas and Arlene Dahl.

Considering the success of another married acting couple in 1957, I Love Lucy’s Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, matching the Argentinian Lamas and the redheaded Dahl made sense as a variation of the Cuban Arnaz and the carrot-topped Ball pairing.

But as fate would have it, An Affair to Remember (1957) would be cast with Grant and the six-time Academy Award nominee, Deborah Kerr. The casting decision proved to be the right one. In 2002, the American Film Institute ranked the movie as the fifth most romantic film of all time. But it was a tough break for Lamas and Dahl, who not only lost the iconic roles but also would divorce just three years later. ^[2]

8 The Bishop’s Wife: Dana Andrews and Teresa Wright

A Christmas classic that has become a perennial fan favorite in recent decades is yet another film that starred the prolific romantic leading man Cary Grant. But he was not the original choice to play the angel Dudley in Henry Koster’s beloved romantic comedy The Bishop’s Wife in 1947. Hoping to cash in on the popular pairing of Dana Andrews and Teresa Wright, who both gave memorable performances a year earlier in the acclaimed post-World War II drama The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), producer Samuel Goldwyn planned to cast each as the bishop and his wife, with David Niven as Dudley.

However, when Wright declined the role after becoming pregnant, Goldwyn was forced to loan out Andrews to RKO, who, in return, released Loretta Young to play the title role. Grant then joined the production only to have director Koster pull another casting switch. Instead of replacing Andrews as the bishop, Grant was cast as the angel. Reluctantly, Niven acquiesced to being assigned the bishop role. Although initially disappointing at the box office, the film has slowly grown in popularity and in 1996 was remade as The Preacher’s Wife, starring Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston.^[3]

7 Rocky: James Caan and Carrie Snodgress

With multiple sequels and antagonists who might as easily fit into the Marvel universe as they would into a sports movie franchise, there are three basic facts many forget about the movie that spawned it all: Rocky. First of all, the 1976 film won the Oscar for Best Picture. Secondly, Sylvester Stallone was virtually an unknown actor at that time, and it almost cost him the title role. And third, how much boxing was actually in the film? Not much. Because Rocky—at its core—is not a true sports film. “It’s a love story,” to quote the actor who played champion Apollo Creed, Carl Weathers.

Executives at United Artists loved Sylvester Stallone’s script for the film, but they wanted a bankable star to play the lead. Coming off the success of testosterone-driven films like Rollerball (1975) and the “guy-cry” TV classic Brian’s Song (1971), who better to play the “Italian Stallion” than the actor previously cast as The Godfather’s oldest son, James Caan? To play Rocky’s love interest Adrian, Carrie Snodgress, who inspired Neil Young to write “A Man Needs a Maid” in 1972, was the frontrunner.

According to Stallone, Adrian was originally supposed to be Irish, and he wanted Harvey Keitel to play her brother. Who knows? With Martin Scorsese directing, this might have worked.^[4]

6 Grease: Henry Winkler and Marie Osmond

Few movies in the 1970s could boast the popularity of the musical romantic comedy Grease. Adapted from a Broadway musical, Grease (1978) became the highest-grossing film musical of all time, a record that would stand for the next 30 years. The popularity of actor John Travolta and singer Olivia Newton-John exploded after playing the iconic leads roles of Danny and Sandy. Travolta emerged as a major box-office draw, and for Newton-John, it helped cultivate a new image for her as a singer. But neither was the first choice for either plumb role.

At the peak of his fame as “Fonzie,” the bad-boy tough guy on TV’s Happy Days, Henry Winkler was first offered the role of Danny. To play Sandy, another popular TV star and teen idol was considered: Marie Osmond. Winkler, hoping to avoid being typecast as a “greaser,” passed on the role. Osmond, fearing the rebel transformation of Sandy would hurt her image, also turned her offer down, as did brother Donny who rejected the offer to play the “Teen Angel.” In one of the worst career decisions ever, both Donny and Marie opted to star in the critical and commercial failure Goin’ Coconuts instead.^[5]

5 Ghost: Bruce Willis and Michele Pfeiffer

Who can forget the iconic pottery wheel scene in which Patrick Swayze’s Sam romantically caresses and kisses Demi Moore’s Molly to the soulful rendition of The Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody” in the fantasy thriller Ghost (1990)? Now, picture the same scene with Moore’s then-husband and Die Hard star Bruce Willis and the woman, who a year earlier gave one of her most acclaimed performances singing “Makin’ Whoopee” on top of a piano in The Fabulous Baker Boys, Michele Pfeiffer. It’s an interesting idea that had potential.

However, it was Moore’s uncanny ability to cry on cue, out of either eye, that ultimately won her the part over Pfeiffer, Meg Ryan, Julia Roberts, and Nicole Kidman, among others considered for the part of Molly. Willis candidly admitted he didn’t understand the script when he read it and later considered himself a “knucklehead” for rejecting the offer to star in what would become the highest-grossing film of 1990. He thought the concept of a romance between a ghost and a living person wouldn’t work. Apparently, Willis learned his lesson and starred in the acclaimed The Sixth Sense in 1999, which of all things depicted a child who could see “dead people.”^[6]

4 Doctor Zhivago: Peter O’Toole and Sophia Loren

If there was ever a romantic epic with a greater historical sweep than Gone with the Wind, it has to be David Lean’s adaptation of Boris Pasternak’s novel Doctor Zhivago. With an all-star cast including Sir Alec Guinness and Academy Award-winning actor Rod Steiger, today the film is the eighth highest-grossing film of all time, adjusted for ticket-price inflation.

Omar Sharif, in the title role, never looked more dashing, and Julie Christie as his muse Lara never looked more beautiful. However, neither were Lean’s first choices. Peter O’Toole, who starred in Lean’s previous film Lawrence of Arabia, was his original choice for Zhivago. Producer Carlo Ponti believed his wife, international sex symbol Sophia Loren, was tailor-made for Lara. However, O’Toole had no interest in participating in another grueling epic production. And few believed Loren would be believable playing a young, virginal schoolgirl in the movie’s early scenes.

Reportedly, American filmmaker John Ford recommended Christie after directing her in Young Cassidy, while fellow actor Michael Caine suggested Sharif after reading for the part of Zhivago himself. Regardless, it’s hard to argue with the final casting of a movie that today ranks among the greatest epic romances of all time.^[7]

3 Titanic: Matthew McConaughey and Gwyneth Paltrow

I’ve often wondered why so few seem to notice that Kate Winslet as young Rose in Titanic (1997) bears little resemblance to a young Gloria Stuart, who played the elderly version of the same character in the film. Perhaps that’s because other actresses were considered for the part of Rose DeWitt Bukater long before the British actress secured the role.

A leading contender who director James Cameron considered to play the heroine of his fictionalized historical epic was an actress who was only one year away from winning the Academy Award for Best Actress, Gwyneth Paltrow. As a slender blonde with an aristocratic bearing, Paltrow would have seemed a much stronger physical match for the actress who would play her as an elderly woman.

To play Jack, a part that elevated Leonardo DiCaprio to superstardom, Matthew McConaughey was strongly considered. Ultimately, Cameron deemed McConaughey too old for the part and went with DiCaprio, who could have passed for a teenager in 1997. After campaigning heavily to play Rose, Winslet’s screen test convinced the director she was made for the role. Eleven Oscars later and with over two billion dollars in profits earned by Titanic, it’s hard to argue with Cameron’s decisions. It’s a good thing, too as I simply cannot picture Jack telling Rose, “It’s all right, all right, all right,” as she promises him she’ll never let go.^[1]

2 Gone With the Wind: Gary Cooper and Paulette Goddard

Never known for subtlety, Cecil B. DeMille’s epic films were as brash and bombastic as the man himself. After the release of his epic adventure Unconquered in 1947, Time magazine called the movie a “Technicolor celebration of Gary Cooper’s virility, Paulette Goddard’s femininity, and the American frontier spirit.” Critic Emanuel Levy later echoed it was “the sex appeal of the actors that made the film popular.”

Perhaps it was this on-screen chemistry that almost led David O. Selznick a mere eight years earlier to cast both as the leads in his epic adaptation Gone with the Wind. Goddard would be the only actress other than Vivien Leigh who would complete a Technicolor screen test for the part of Scarlett O’Hara after emerging as a finalist for the highly sought-after role. Although Clark Gable was Selznick’s first choice for Rhett Butler, Cooper was also seriously considered until producer Sam Goldwyn, who he was contracted to, refused to loan him out.

Considering the massive box office success and long-term popularity of Gone with the Wind, it’s hard to argue with the Leigh/Gable pairing. But if you want to get a glimpse of what might have been, check out Unconquered one free evening.^[9]

1 Casablanca: George Raft and Michele Morgan

It’s the greatest movie of all time—well, after Citizen Kane—if you agree with the American Film Institute’s 1998 “Top 100” list. Whether it is or isn’t, few can question the enduring popularity of Casablanca (1942), a film that has perhaps more memorable lines than any movie ever made. The ill-fated love story of Rick and Ilsa and the chemistry of the film’s two charismatic leads, Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, left an indelible mark on audiences that is still felt today.

However, screen legends Bogart and Bergman were not the original choices to play the parts. Warner Brothers studio head Jack Warner envisioned George Raft in the lead, an actor guilty of some of the worst career choices in film history. Raft turned down lead roles in The Maltese Falcon and High Sierra, parts which made Bogart a major Hollywood star. Meanwhile, Bergman nearly lost out the role of Ilsa to another international beauty not as well known to American audiences today, French actress Michele Morgan. But when Morgan asked for $55,000 for a seven-week shoot to play the part, Wallis balked and scooped up Bergman for a mere $25,000. Not a bad price to pay for a career-defining performance!^[10]