The next time you’re stuck in a traffic jam or step on some dog poop with your brand new sneakers, don’t point your fist at the sky and scream obscenities. Instead, think about the people who’ve had it so much worse, it’s unimaginable. The universe works in mysterious ways, and these guys got the most raw karma deal possible.
Here are some of the most unlucky people ever.
1. Ariadna Gutiérrez: Mistakenly crowned Miss Universe 2015
Who can forget Steve harvey’s monumental blunder while announcing the winner of the Miss World 2015 pageant. Colombia’s Ariadna was even given the crown before Steve finally admitted the error, and one of the most awkward moments in TV history occurred.
2. Ronald Wayne: Apple co-founder who sold his shares for $800 – Today they’d be worth $50 billion
He cashed out of the company after around 10 days because he couldn’t stand to be around Steve Jobs, whom he considered cold and argumentative.
3. John Wade Agan: Struck by lightning, stabbed and bitten by venomous snakes
Florida-man John Agan has had an ‘eventful’ existence over the years. He’s been robbed at gunpoint and stabbed in the chest, he was bitten by multiple venomous snakes, and most recently, he was struck by lightning while talking on the phone. He’s lived through it all.
4. Ann Hodges: The only person to ever be hit by a meteorite
Ann Hodges was napping at her home in Alabama in 1954 when a meteorite the size of 2 cricket balls ball broke through her celing and struck her right in the hip, leaving a massive bruise. Apparently, the probability of this is so low that you have a better chance of getting hit by a tornado, a bolt of lightning and a hurricane all at the same time.
5. Tsutomu Yamaguchi: Was present in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the atomic bombings
Tsutomu walks the line between unlucky and extremely lucky. He was present in Hiroshima when the bomb dropped, but survived with some injuries to one ear. He decided to head to Nagasaki for safety, and a bomb promptly dropped there too. He survived that as well.
6. Jason and Jenny Cairns-Lawrence: Were present at the scene of 3 separate terror attacks while on vacation
This couple really had it bad. They were holidaying in New York when 9/11 happened, were vacationing in London during the 2005 bombings and were, yet again, on vacation in Mumbai during the 2008 terror attack. They survived it all though.
7. Roy Sullivan: Struck by lightning on 7 different occasions
The odds of being struck by lightning in your entire lifetime is 1 in 3000, which made American park ranger Roy Sullivan a bit of an anomaly. He was struck 7 times in his life between the years 1942 and 1977, and survived all of them. The odds of being struck 7 times is around 22 septillion to 1. However, he died at the age of 71 from a self inflicted gunshot wound.
8. Henry Ziegland: Blew up a tree and was killed by a bullet that was lodged in it
This is one of the more far out tales of bad fortune. In 1883, Henry broke up with his girlfriend, who killed herself from sadness. Her brother vowed revenge, and shot Henry before turning the gun on himself. However, the bullet had only grazed Henry and was lodged in a tree behind him, so he lived. Years later, Henry decided to bring that fatefull tree down by blowing it up with dynamite. In the explosion, the bullet lodged in the tree came flying out and killed Henry. Fin.
9. Michael Anderson Godwin: Electrocuted and killed himself on the toilet
Convicted murderer Michael Anderson was awaiting the electric chair in 1989. While sitting on his metal commode in his prison cell, Michael tried to fix the TV in his cell (death row convicts get extra privileges) by biting down on an exposed wire, which electrocuted and killed his instantly. What are the chances.
10. Costis Mitsotakis: The only person to not win a lottery in an entire village
In 2012, the village of Sodeto in Spain with a population of around 200 lucked out in an unbelievable way, with almost everyone in the village winning upwards of $100,000 each, drawing a sum total 950 million US dollars to the village. The only person who did not have a lottery ticket and therefore did not make any money in the entire village was Costis Mitsotakis. That’s gotta sting.
11. Frane Selak: Almost drowned twice, fell out of a flying plane, shot himself in the testicles and has had 3 major car accidents
Croatian man Frane Selak has been dubbed the “World’s luckiest unlucky man”. Frane’s first brush with death was in 1962, when his train flipped into a river, drowning 17 people. The next year, he was blown out of a malfunctioning plane door while flying and landed in a haystack, while 19 people died in the crash. In 1966, he survived a tragic bus crash. 1968 saw him accidentally shoot himself in the testicles. He also lived through 3 major car accidents in the subsequent years.