It's a small world, and nothing proves this more than when you randomly bump into a friend or someone else you know (or used to know) accidentally.
I've bumped into old friends at my local library, gym, and Starbucks. It's not all that strange, and if we used to be good friends, it's nice to catch up.
However, sometimes, we bump into friends in weird places or through some strange coincidence. I switched workplaces and apartments a few months ago. On my first day, when I took the train home, I bumped into a co-worker at my previous workplace.
We didn't know each other too well, but it turns out we live in the same neighborhood and take the same train home!
Redditors have some stories about randomly running into friends in weird places as well, and are ready to share.
It all started when Redditor Eshoosca asked:
"What was the weirdest place you bumped into a friend?"
Other Side Of The World
"I was on a train in the Beijing Metro. It pulled up to a stop and the door opened at a random station and a friend from the UK stepped on."
– Theduckbytheoboe
"And to state how even more impressive that is, Beijing metro system has 478 stations!"
– luketas
"Happened to my dad on the Great Wall, ran into a friend he hadn't seen in a decade. They were there with 2 different tour groups. He used to joke he never met a stranger but running into someone he knew on another continent was impressive even for him."
– misoranomegami
Saw It Happen
"Not me, but I witnessed it in one of the big lifts coming up from Russell Square station on the London Underground. Two Australians in their 60s or so; one was working as a professor, the other on holiday with his family. Hadn’t seen each other in about 20 years from what I could gather, was so lovely to see!"
– arrowtotheaction
Bumped Into For A Drink
"I met a friend from Aberdeen, Scotland in a bar in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan."
– Mission_Progress_674
"I agree. People running into each other at airports or major tourists destinations is not so weird.. But this? Yeah."
– sterofGandalf
Getting In Trouble
"A coworker of mine here in Sweden told me she once had a boyfriend from the US who was here playing ice hockey. He only lived here for about a year. Almost 20 years later she was travelling in the US as a tourist, and somewhere in the endless corn field that is Illinois she got pulled over for speeding. Guess who the cop was that pulled her over?"
– Livid-Natural5874
Thinking Of You
"I was backpacking in Malaysia and met this cool english chick; we spent a week travelling together."
"3 years later, I had a layover at Changi airport. Singapore reminded me of her and I wondered what she was up to as I walked through the airport."
"I didn't have to wonder for long as she was a few gates down from me, waiting for a flight back to London."
– abe_froman_king_saus
That's Lunch
"During winter break I was coming home from snowboarding and stopped at a random McDonald's in the middle of nowhere. I'm waiting for my food and in walks 2 of my friends from college. I'm like an hour away from where I live and they're like 3 hours away from where they're from. Apparently they were seeing a football game and heading back and we all just happened to go to the same McDonald's in the middle of nowhere at the same time."
– pops992
From North Carolina
"My Dad and I went to play golf at a nice course in Ireland. Since it was just two of us, we were paired with 2 other random players."
"The 3rd was one of my Dad's former college roommates from the University of North Carolina (where I went as well) and the 4th was a similar aged guy who went to NC State."
"So we're in Ireland and all of the players were from the same part of North Carolina. Most bizarre coincidence of my life."
– councillleak
Kitty Reunion
"I went to visit my sister when she was living in Queens, NY. I hopped on the subway near her apartment and sat down next to the girl I had given away my cat to when I left college a few years earlier. It turned out she lived one stop away from my sister and they both worked in Times Square. I stopped by her apartment the next day to give my old cat a scratch."
– arothmanmusic
Nothing Like College
"I’m visiting a friend in the large freshman tower of her big school."
"We’re in a tower of about 500 dorm rooms, chilling in her room and all of a sudden, my cousin busts through the door yelling “I.m so sorry, hey can I hide I’m running away from the security police…. Wait cuz! That’s you!?!? What’s up Jamie?!” We’re like wait, how did you find us?"
"He had been in a field party, the cops came and sprayed tear gas to disperse, he stole the keg and put it in the back of his VW. He then drove to the freshmen towers, because he didn’t have anywhere to sleep and thought he could sleep on the communal furniture. When he realizes there is security at the front he walks by them and they start to chase and then he is in a multi floor chase with them! On the like 10th floor, he just randomly had just tried any dorm door"
– Pawpaw-22
If Only He Knew
"My girlfriend wants to take me to a burlesque show. I know two girls from high school that are involved in stuff like that. Names are passed along, no match, we're good. We get there and I've just sat down when one of the girls comes up behind me and says "Oh my god! Fox, is that you?""
"Apparently I know at least three girls from high school involved in stuff like that..."
– FoxtrotSierraTango
Yikes!
"Was a stripper. Weirdest moment was when my dad walked into the bar I was dancing at…"
"Told him he had to leave and he did"
– Fragrant_Jelly9198
Comment In Passing
"My wife and had only been married a couple of years in 1989 and went on vacation the same week my Dad went on honeymoon with his third wife. He lived in Tennessee and we lived in Florida. He was going to Virginia and we were staying in the mountains in West Virginia. None of us had cell phones in those days, but we joked before we all left that we should meet up since we'd be a lot closer than normal. On a whim my wife and I decided to go to Washington DC for the day and we ran into them at the Capitol."
– DistantKarma
Where Are They Now?
"Not a friend per se... I went to a drama/dance camp when I was 13ish. It was a lot of fun, and one of the camp leaders was a regional actor. This camp was about 2 hours from my hometown. Fast forward over 10 years later, I'm in a completely different city (90 min in another direction), taking an elevator in my work building. On steps this guy...dressed as a clown, carrying balloons. I'd recognize him anywhere. I got to tell him how much that camp meant to me, and it seemed to make his day. Until..."
"Him: "So what do you do now?""
"Me: "I'm an accountant.""
"He seemed disappointed LOL""
– Roopie1023
"He was disappointed in you for being an accountant? What a clown!"
– Superfly_1963
You Are Where I Am
"I don't know about weird, but me and my one friend have bumped into each other several times completely by random and we live nowhere near each other. One time we were both driving on the highway and came to a light, looked at each other at the same time and were both surprised. Another time was in the middle of Manhattan walking on the sidewalk through thick crowds. We literally bumped into each other."
– DisThrowaway5768
Fated To Be Friends
"Met a guy at the Mexico City airport in 2017, Paul. He's from Spain, I'm from Texas but living in Guatemala. We're both just at a layover, we smoke a cig or two together and chitchat about music and whatnot."
"Fast forward to 2019 (pre pandemic), met him again at Pacifica Sole (a beach resort in Guatemala). Totally random."
"Fast forward AGAIN to 2022. He was staying at the same hotel in Aruba with his new wife. We exchanged numbers finally cause at that point it was just weird..."
"Sh*t, he's probably reading this... hey Paul!"
– GladCricket
I want to meet a fated friend!
Do you have any similar stories to share? Let us know in the comments below.
