Coincidence is God's Way of Remaining Anonymous Quiz

Answer: July 4 was also the day that the Declaration of Independence was first ratified

Both men died on July 4, precisely fifty years after the Declaration of Independence was ratified, a document both were involved in drafting.

Although Jefferson and Adams were bitter political rivals throughout their careers both were unquestionably dedicated to the cause. Their shared love of country eventually overshadowed any personal enmity, both had great respect for each other.

Answer: Yorkshire Plantation and Appomattox Courthouse were home to the same man, Wilmer McLean, at the time of the events

Wilmer McLean just happened to own and occupy each property at the time of the events. He moved to Appomattox to get away from the war but it found him still. Lee and Grant fought across many miles of territory but managed to end up right in McLean's front room. McLean is said to have remarked, "The war began in my front yard and ended in my front parlor." Unfortunately for McLean, Union soldiers took many of his belongings as souvenirs despite his protests and paid cash as compensation.

Answer: False

The Mayan calendar divides eras into 52 year cycles starting with Toltec Era 0 in 1168 ACE. Quetzalcoatl's return was predicted to occur in the 13th Toltec Era which would have been from 1844-1896. 1519 would have fallen in the 6th Toltec Era, long before the time foretold. The prophecy does not give a specific year, only the era.

It was widely believed that the Aztecs mistook Cortes for Quetzalcoatl which contributed to the empire's fall. However, most historians now dispute that claim and attribute that story to later writings.

Answer: The Archduke's driver took a wrong turn and stopped the car just outside the café where Princip happened to be eating

Having already survived an attempt on his life, the Archduke insisted on going to the hospital to visit those injured in the blast. Unfortunately, the driver took a wrong turn and stopped in front of a café. Princip had given up when he heard of the failed plot and decided to get something to eat on his way back. He finished his meal and saw the Archduke's car just as he was leaving.

Ferdinand's assassination might be one of the greater misfortunes in history. Though by no means an enlightened reformist, the Archduke's views were more liberal than those of his peers and predecessors. He advocated compromise and aimed to peaceably address the grievances of the region's many ethnic groups. Who knows how things might have turned out had he survived? On the other hand there were already many forces pushing Europe to war. There were many reasons for the conflict and by the time of the assassination the specter of war was already looming on the horizon. A great conflict may have been unavoidable anyway.

Answer: No

Fleming himself stated that the story was not true but rather, "A wondrous fable". It was also not penicillin that saved Churchill. Churchill's personal physician, Lord Moran, was responsible for treating his ailment using the antibiotic Sulphapyridine.

I have not been able to trace the origin of this story. It can be found in various versions online.

Penicillin is one of the great developments of modern history. It was the first antibiotic that effectively combated many of the time's serious sicknesses such as syphilis, gangrene and tuberculosis. It is responsible for saving countless lives. Penicillin and its derivations are still widely used today.

Fleming's discovery of penicillin was actually accidental. He is quoted as saying, "When I woke up just after dawn on September 28 1928, I certainly didn't plan to revolutionize all medicine by discovering the world's first antibiotic ... but I suppose that was exactly what i did." Fleming was also the first to discover that bacteria could build up resistances to antibiotics. I encourage everyone to read further on the subject.

Answer: The man was Edwin Booth, John Wilkes Booth's brother

It is almost unbelievable that the man who assassinated Lincoln was brother to the man who had saved Lincoln's son, but that is just what happened and only a short time before the assassination.

Edwin Booth was a Unionist and was reportedly a kind man. An excellent actor, some even consider him to be one of the greatest American actors of the 19th century. He was deeply ashamed to be associated with his brother's infamy although he did later say that it brought him some peace to know that he had helped Lincoln's son.

Credit to Correspondguy for introducing me to this fact. Check out his quizzes, they're quite good.

Also, never-nude is just a little joke from the TV show "Arrested Development" which no longer airs. Find it and watch it. It's a good thing.

Answer: They all occurred on the 21st of the month, the day that the astrologer had warned of

All three events took place on the 21st of the month. I haven't been able to verify the existence of the prophetic astrologer, though. The story may have been a later invention. Astrologers were relatively common at the time and I'm sure many sought the King's attention.

It's plausible that one of them happened to make that prediction and emphasized it afterwards. Though, the fact that these three crucial events all occurred on the same day might be interesting enough.

Answer: The first fleet was also destroyed by a severe storm, as it would be years later

The first invasion fleet had also suffered severe damage from a storm. Before the invaders were forced to turn back they left a deep impression on the Japanese defenders. Their combat tactics were something the Japanese had never encountered before. In stark contrast to the highly ritualized tactics employed by the Japanese, the Mongolians did whatever proved to be most effective, which included mass volleys of arrows and tight groups of soldiers protected by shields, similar to the Greek phalanx.

The shogun was so concerned about a possible second invasion attempt that he had ordered the construction of a large number of coastal fortifications and tried to improve organization within his army. The second invasion force was much larger than the first, containing 900 ships and 40,000 men with a further 10,000 men sailing separately. The Mongolians would surely have overwhelmed the shogun's forces with eventual Japanese capitulation highly likely. Like the first fleet, this one too was devastated by a storm saving Japan from almost certain defeat.

Historians now believe there was another significant factor in the fleet's destruction. It seems that most Mongolian ships were of poor construction and not suited for ocean travel. Some ships were the wrong types entirely, being flat-bottomed river vessels.

Answer: Kennedy's favorite horse as a child was named Ford and Lincoln's favorite horse was named Dallas

The story about the horses is something I made up. However, it has just as much veracity as the other three since they are all wrong. The presidents never employed secretaries with those names, Booth was born in 1838 and the description of their attempts at escape really stretches the meaning of "warehouse" and arguably "theater".

There are many more examples of apparent coincidences. A decent number of them may be factually true but their significance is superficial while others are just incorrect. Snopes.com has a good piece analyzing the numerous claims. It's also an interesting website in general for the skeptical or just plain curious.

Answer: They happened to contain a good number of D-Day code words such as Utah, Omaha, Mulberry, Juno and Overlord

Leonard Dawes had been creating crossword puzzles for London's "Daily Telegraph" newspaper for over twenty years. Remarkably, his puzzles in the weeks prior to D-Day included several highly classified code words associated with the invasion. He was detained but eventually released when it became clear that he knew nothing of the plan. Of course, it is completely plausible that one or two words appeared but the odds of so many appearing and so close to the invasion date must be astronomical.

So far, I've only been able to find one recreation of one the puzzles here: http://marnanel.livejournal.com/341864.html