1) The Japanese Man Who Was Hit by Both Atomic Bombings, Hiroshima and Nagasaki
A resident of Nagasaki, Tsutomu Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima on business for his employer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries when the city was bombed on August 6, 1945. He was actually preparing to leave the city on that day, and was on his way to the station when he realized that he had forgotten his "hanko" --a stamp allowing him to travel-- so he had to return to his workplace to get it. At 8:15, while he was walking back toward the docks, the American bomber The Enola Gay dropped the "Little Boy" atomic bomb near the center of the city, which was only 3 km away.
The explosion ruptured his eardrums, blinded him temporarily, and left him with serious burns all over the left side of the top half of his body. After recovering, he spent the night in an air raid shelter before returning to Nagasaki the following day.
Back at home in Nagasaki, he received treatment for his wounds. Despite being heavily bandaged, he reported for work on August 9, the day of the second atomic bombing. At 11am, just when Yamaguchi was describing the blast in Hiroshima to his supervisor, the American bomber Bockscar dropped the "Fat Man" atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Once again, he was 3 km from ground zero, but this time he was unhurt.
In 2009, the government of Japan officially recognized him as the only person who survived both explosions. He died of stomach cancer in 2010 at the age of 93.
2) The Greek Man Who Was the Only Person in Town Who Didn't Win a $950 Million Lotto
In 2012, residents of the small town of Sodeto, Spain bought tickets for Spain's huge Christmas lottery out of loyalty to the homemakers' association there, which makes a small percentage on the sales.
When the big day arrived, their number came in, making all 70 households winners of at least a piece of the biggest first prize ever, $950 million.
All of the town's residents won a piece of it except for one, Mr. Cotis Mitsotakis, a Greek filmmaker whose house was somehow overlooked that year as they made the rounds, making him the only one in all of Sodeto who didn't win.
3) The Ocean Liner Stewardess Who Crashed with the RMS Titanic, the HMHS Britannic, and the RMS Olympic
In 1911, 23-year-old Violet Jessop was a stewardess on the RMS Olympic, a luxury ship that was the largest civilian liner at that time, until it collided with the old protected cruiser HMS Hawke off the Isle of Wight.
A year later, Violet boarded the RMS Titanic, also as a stewardess, until it famously struck an iceberg, broke in two, and sank. She was later ordered into lifeboat 16 and was rescued by the RMS Carpathia.
Finally, during the First World War, Violet served again as a stewardess on board His Majesty's Hospital Ship Britannic. However, that ship apparently struck a mine and, with all the portholes open for ventilation, quickly sank in the Aegean Sea off the Greek island of Kea with the loss of 30 lives. Violet jumped out of a lifeboat to avoid being sucked into the Britannic's propellers and was eventually rescued, once again.
After the war, Violet continued to work a stewardess! Many years later, in 1971, she died of congestive heart failure.
4) The Woman Who Was Struck by Hurricanes Five Times
Melanie Martinez had lost four homes in the last 50 years after Hurricanes Betsy (1965), Juan (1985), George (1998), and Katrina (2005), but she was still hesitant to leave Louisiana. "I was born here," she said. "It's home, home, home."
Touched by her story, the A&E reality show Hideous Houses selected her home for a $20,000 makeover in 2012. Her luck seemed to change, but just a few months later a category 1 hurricane named Isaac took her brand new home. Everything was lost. "Now I've lost five houses to five storms. Every time a wipe-out," said Martinez, who the media now calls "the unluckiest woman in America."
5) The Florida Man Who Was Bitten by a Shark, Struck by Lightning, and Bitten by a Rattlesnake
Erik Norrie is no stranger to unusual occurrences. After nearly dying in a shark attack, he told reporters that he has also been struck by lightning and has suffered a rattlesnake bite, as well.
Norrie was spearfishing in the Bahamas on July 29, 2013 when a shark came up behind him and took a chunk out of the back of his leg. Norrie's father-in-law jumped in between him and the shark and helped him get to the shore where a doctor from San Diego happened to be vacationing. Norrie used large rubber bands from his spear to create a tourniquet to stop the blood from gushing from his fresh wound.
"Calamity John," as some call him, is a 54-year-old industrial cleaner who might just be Britain's unluckiest man, according to his country's media.
John Lyne's mishaps cover a lifetime, and he has even been known to suffer from two accidents at once.
As a child, he fell off a horse and cart – only to be run over by a delivery van.
When he was a teenager, he broke his arm falling from a tree.
On his way back from the hospital, his bus crashed and he broke the same arm in another place. The date, of course, was Friday the 13th.
Then in 2006, his story hit the newspapers because he was laid up again after falling down a manhole at work.
John Wade Agan made the news in 2011 for being taken to the hospital again, this time after he was struck by lightning while using a landline telephone in his Florida home.
In the past, the 47-year-old was robbed at gunpoint while driving his taxi and got locked in the trunk. He also suffered injuries after being stabbed in the chest with a butcher's knife in 2008. In 2009, he claimed he was bitten by two snakes at the same time.
A resident of Nagasaki, Tsutomu Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima on business for his employer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries when the city was bombed on August 6, 1945. He was actually preparing to leave the city on that day, and was on his way to the station when he realized that he had forgotten his "hanko" --a stamp allowing him to travel-- so he had to return to his workplace to get it. At 8:15, while he was walking back toward the docks, the American bomber The Enola Gay dropped the "Little Boy" atomic bomb near the center of the city, which was only 3 km away.
The explosion ruptured his eardrums, blinded him temporarily, and left him with serious burns all over the left side of the top half of his body. After recovering, he spent the night in an air raid shelter before returning to Nagasaki the following day.
Back at home in Nagasaki, he received treatment for his wounds. Despite being heavily bandaged, he reported for work on August 9, the day of the second atomic bombing. At 11am, just when Yamaguchi was describing the blast in Hiroshima to his supervisor, the American bomber Bockscar dropped the "Fat Man" atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Once again, he was 3 km from ground zero, but this time he was unhurt.
In 2009, the government of Japan officially recognized him as the only person who survived both explosions. He died of stomach cancer in 2010 at the age of 93.
2) The Greek Man Who Was the Only Person in Town Who Didn't Win a $950 Million Lotto
In 2012, residents of the small town of Sodeto, Spain bought tickets for Spain's huge Christmas lottery out of loyalty to the homemakers' association there, which makes a small percentage on the sales.
When the big day arrived, their number came in, making all 70 households winners of at least a piece of the biggest first prize ever, $950 million.
All of the town's residents won a piece of it except for one, Mr. Cotis Mitsotakis, a Greek filmmaker whose house was somehow overlooked that year as they made the rounds, making him the only one in all of Sodeto who didn't win.
3) The Ocean Liner Stewardess Who Crashed with the RMS Titanic, the HMHS Britannic, and the RMS Olympic
In 1911, 23-year-old Violet Jessop was a stewardess on the RMS Olympic, a luxury ship that was the largest civilian liner at that time, until it collided with the old protected cruiser HMS Hawke off the Isle of Wight.
A year later, Violet boarded the RMS Titanic, also as a stewardess, until it famously struck an iceberg, broke in two, and sank. She was later ordered into lifeboat 16 and was rescued by the RMS Carpathia.
Finally, during the First World War, Violet served again as a stewardess on board His Majesty's Hospital Ship Britannic. However, that ship apparently struck a mine and, with all the portholes open for ventilation, quickly sank in the Aegean Sea off the Greek island of Kea with the loss of 30 lives. Violet jumped out of a lifeboat to avoid being sucked into the Britannic's propellers and was eventually rescued, once again.
After the war, Violet continued to work a stewardess! Many years later, in 1971, she died of congestive heart failure.
4) The Woman Who Was Struck by Hurricanes Five Times
Melanie Martinez had lost four homes in the last 50 years after Hurricanes Betsy (1965), Juan (1985), George (1998), and Katrina (2005), but she was still hesitant to leave Louisiana. "I was born here," she said. "It's home, home, home."
Touched by her story, the A&E reality show Hideous Houses selected her home for a $20,000 makeover in 2012. Her luck seemed to change, but just a few months later a category 1 hurricane named Isaac took her brand new home. Everything was lost. "Now I've lost five houses to five storms. Every time a wipe-out," said Martinez, who the media now calls "the unluckiest woman in America."
5) The Florida Man Who Was Bitten by a Shark, Struck by Lightning, and Bitten by a Rattlesnake
Erik Norrie is no stranger to unusual occurrences. After nearly dying in a shark attack, he told reporters that he has also been struck by lightning and has suffered a rattlesnake bite, as well.
Norrie was spearfishing in the Bahamas on July 29, 2013 when a shark came up behind him and took a chunk out of the back of his leg. Norrie's father-in-law jumped in between him and the shark and helped him get to the shore where a doctor from San Diego happened to be vacationing. Norrie used large rubber bands from his spear to create a tourniquet to stop the blood from gushing from his fresh wound.
6) The Briton Who Endured 16 Major Accidents In His Life, Including Lightning Strikes, an Avalanche in a Mine, and Three Car Crashes
"Calamity John," as some call him, is a 54-year-old industrial cleaner who might just be Britain's unluckiest man, according to his country's media.
John Lyne's mishaps cover a lifetime, and he has even been known to suffer from two accidents at once.
As a child, he fell off a horse and cart – only to be run over by a delivery van.
When he was a teenager, he broke his arm falling from a tree.
On his way back from the hospital, his bus crashed and he broke the same arm in another place. The date, of course, was Friday the 13th.
Then in 2006, his story hit the newspapers because he was laid up again after falling down a manhole at work.
7) The American Who Was Robbed at Gunpoint, Stabbed in the Chest, Bitten by Two Snakes, and Struck by Lightning
John Wade Agan made the news in 2011 for being taken to the hospital again, this time after he was struck by lightning while using a landline telephone in his Florida home.
In the past, the 47-year-old was robbed at gunpoint while driving his taxi and got locked in the trunk. He also suffered injuries after being stabbed in the chest with a butcher's knife in 2008. In 2009, he claimed he was bitten by two snakes at the same time.
