Right place, right time

Incredibly lucky people: This man cheated fate 7 times!

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Whether you swear by fate and never leave home without your lucky charm or think luck is just a matter of chance, one thing is certain: some people are just luckier than others. If you still have doubts, here are 10 unbelievable stories of incredibly lucky people!

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Sometimes luck isn't about being in the right place but about not being in the wrong one. That was certainly the case for Maarten de Jonge, a Dutch cyclist who escaped death on two separate occasions.

Several years ago, two Malaysia Airlines flights were involved in tragic accidents: one was shot down near Ukraine, and the other mysteriously disappeared over the Pacific. Maarten de Jonge had tickets for both flights but made last-minute changes to his plans, choosing not to board. That's following your instinct!

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Selak, famously known as "the luckiest man in the world," didn't just cheat death once or twice; he miraculously survived seven close encounters with death!

This Croatian man survived a train derailment, a plane crash, a bus accident, two car explosions (wow!), and even got hit by a bus! And that's not all. Once, while driving, he swerved to avoid a truck, but his car skidded off the road. He was ejected from the vehicle, landing safely in a tree. His car? It fell 300 feet off a cliff. We still can't decide if Selak was the luckiest man alive or the unluckiest!

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If you're skeptical about luck, just wait until you hear what happened to Edwin E. Robinson in 1980. A retired 62-year-old truck driver, Robinson had lost his sight and much of his hearing after an accident. But 9 years later, everything changed.

He was in his backyard as a storm raged when, suddenly, lightning struck him. If you think it was all bad for Edwin, just wait! When he came to, not only was he unharmed, but he had regained both his sight and hearing! What!?

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Imagine winning a free car; just a dream, right? Well, for Heather Hoffman from Vancleave, Mississippi, it became a reality not once but twice!

The first time, Heather entered a sweepstakes where prizes included a grocery shopping spree or a car. Not expecting much, she participated. A few days later, she received the call: she had won the car! A couple of years later, while walking through a dealership with her husband, Heather entered a drawing for a new car by placing her name in a barrel. When she received the news on April Fool's Day, she thought it was a joke, but it wasn't; she had won again!

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Winning the lottery may be all about luck, but some people deserve every bit of it. One of them is Virginia Bruschi from Pennsylvania!

Virginia had just bought her first lottery ticket when her sister called with urgent news: she needed to travel to California to treat her youngest child. Without hesitation, Virginia took unpaid leave from work and immediately flew out to California, where she spent a month helping her sister care for her two nephews while their little brother recovered. When she returned home, she found she had won the lottery!

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Speaking of the lottery, it seems the game has its favorites, and one of them is Joan R. Ginther, who won not once, not twice, but four times!

Between 1993 and 2010, she hit the jackpot four times, and these weren't small prizes: she accumulated a total of $20.4 million. Sounds incredible, right?

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Often, luck strikes when you least expect it. And so it did for Barbara Liposchak and her husband. They were living in a tiny apartment, searching for their dream home. One afternoon, after visiting their daughter, they happened to stop at a garage sale. The sale was in a beautiful house that had all the features they had been looking for. "Too bad this place isn't for sale," they expressed, when the owner replied, "It is for sale, starting Monday." They couldn't believe it. But that wasn't all: Not only was the house close to their daughter's place, but it was also $40,000 underpriced!

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Harrison Okene faced both misfortune and fortune in the same event. In 2013, the ship on which this Nigerian cook was traveling sank. Although the vessel was submerged and fully covered by water, Okene managed to find refuge in an air pocket within the wreckage.

Amazingly, he survived for 60 hours and was eventually found by rescuers, who couldn't believe their eyes. He was the sole survivor of the tragedy and all thanks to an air pocket!

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Vesna Vulović, a Serbian flight attendant, survived an accident that specialists deemed "impossible to survive." In 1972, Vesna was on a plane that exploded. She fell from 33,000 feet without a parachute and miraculously survived! Despite multiple fractures and months in the hospital, her story is considered a miracle.

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In 2012, Norwegian Anders Helstrup was skydiving with the Oslo Parachute Club when something extraordinary occurred. As usual, he had a camera on his helmet, but when he reviewed the footage, he couldn't believe what he saw. As he was falling, something similar to a rock passed a few meters from him without hurting him. Upon investigation, they discovered it was a meteorite!

Discover these celestial treasures

Journey to the wonders of outer space with these 10 astronomy idioms!

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The night sky has fascinated humankind since the dawn of time. Think about all the constellations, stories, and myths that revolve around the stars above. Our species has always looked to the sky in wonder, gazing in awe at the thousands upon thousands of stars, planets, and comets that can be regularly seen. In that sense, it seems only logical that something so profoundly significant would influence the way we communicate with one another. With that in mind, we have selected 10 of our favorite astronomy-related idioms, hoping to convey some of the wonder the sky has to offer. Enjoy!

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As we mentioned, the stars above have been a source of wonder for humankind throughout history, so it stands to reason that we would associate something as magical as our luck with them. The phrase "thank your lucky stars" is fairly self-explanatory: it is used to express gratitude to something greater than ourselves for our good fortune, especially when we narrowly avoid a bad situation.

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Have you ever seen a blue moon? Probably not, considering how rarely our beloved satellite takes on a bluish tint. It is precisely this rare occurrence that gives the idiom its meaning: "Once in a blue moon" describes something that happens only on rare occasions. For instance, you might see your in-laws or a distant relative once in a blue moon. This idiom originated in 19th-century England, where the idea of seeing a blue moon was considered borderline absurd.

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In ancient times, constellations told stories. These distant dots in the sky wove tales of legendary heroes, fearsome monsters, and thrilling adventures. Many of those stories have endured to this day. Some of us routinely check our horoscopes to see what the stars reveal about our future. In that sense, the idiom "written in the stars" describes an event that seems destined to happen. It conveys the idea that whatever is written in the stars—whether good or bad—is inevitable.

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When it comes to setting goals, what could be higher than the sky itself? The phrase "shoot for the stars" is deeply inspirational—it means to set ambitious goals in order to reach our highest potential. Interestingly, this idiom is similar to another sky-related phrase that is also known for its motivational message: "The sky is the limit."

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Have you ever felt so incredibly happy that it seemed like your feet were lifting off the ground? The idiom "over the moon" captures a similar sensation—though it takes things a bit farther. It describes an intense feeling of joy or excitement. While the exact origins of this phrase are unknown, many believe it stems from exaggerating the small, joyful jumps one might make when feeling ecstatic.

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Space seems like the perfect place to drift off and think about nothing, doesn’t it? Granted, we’ve never been to outer space, but its vastness feels ideal for those who want to clear their minds. Anyway, where were we? Sorry, we spaced out—after all, this idiom describes someone who loses focus and stops noticing what’s happening around them. It gained particular popularity in the 1960s, during the height of the space race.

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Similar to "space out," someone who is "living on another planet" is completely oblivious to the events around them or out of touch with reality. For instance, a person unaware of recent news or misinformed about current events might be described this way. Now, whether being the recipient of this phrase instantly turns you into an extraterrestrial is something we can neither confirm nor deny at this moment.

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Like a blazing meteorite crashing to Earth, something that is "out of this world" is simply extraordinary. For instance, an "out of this world" meal is one of superb quality. This idiom first appeared in the 20th century and stems from our long-standing fascination with outer space—after all, anything beyond our planet must be remarkable since it defies our understanding.

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Let’s say you’re working on an assignment, but your friend is spacing out and not doing their share of the work—it’s now your job to get them to focus. Continuing with this metaphor, your friend might be drifting aimlessly through outer space, while you’re tasked with bringing them back to reality. In that sense, the phrase "bring someone down to Earth" means to make someone face reality, even if it involves revealing some hard truths along the way.

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You’ve probably noticed that most of the idioms in this article refer to things visible in the night sky, so why not conclude by honoring the most important celestial body in our solar system? The phrase "everything under the sun" is used to refer to, well, everything—or at least everything found on our planet. Interestingly, this does leave out countless stars and galaxies, but the phrase’s meaning remains too powerful to ignore.