Coincidence is God's Way of Remaining Anonymous 2 Quiz

Answer: World War II - Hitler's Operation Barbarossa

Tamerlane, or Timur the Lame, was one of the most successful conquerors in history. He claimed lineage to Genghis Khan and his tactics of mobility and instilling fear were reminiscent of those that made the Mongols so successful. From the 14th to 15th century, he conquered vast swaths of land in and around Central Asia. He was also a great patron of the arts and his territories flourished under his reign. His grandson Babur eventually founded the Mughal Dynasty of India. Interestingly, he is not commonly spoken of as much as other conquerors. Perhaps this is because his victories did not involve Europe, which was responsible for the writing of much of today's historical records.

As the tomb's inscriptions warned, Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa on June 22, 1941, just a few days after Tamerlane's exhumation. This invasion of Russia would last until 1945 and cost millions of lives. This stands as the most lethal military operation in history.

In November 1942, the Soviets re-buried Tamerlane with full Islamic rituals. Shortly after, Russia emerged victorious at the Battle of Stalingrad. Tamerlane's tomb rests at the Gur-e Amir mausoleum in Samarkand, Uzbekistan where it can still be seen today.

Answer: China

Tamerlane died of fever in 1404 while the circumstances of Genghis Khan's death in 1227 are debated. Some say he fell from a horse and others think it was due to an old war injury.

Though China would eventually fall to Genghis' son, Kublai Khan, it was twice saved from disaster by the timely deaths of two of its greatest threats. By the time of Tamerlane's planned invasion in 1404, the Ming had succeeded in driving out the Mongolian Yuan dynasty and reestablished a Chinese dynasty. China might have had to endure the rule of yet another foreign power had Tamerlane not died.

Answer: Robert Lincoln was near or present at each president's assassination

Incredibly, Robert was at the deaths of three presidents. He went to his father shortly after the shooting. Robert was serving as President Garfield's Secretary of War and was an eyewitness to the President's shooting. In 1901, President McKinley invited Robert to the Expo and arrived shortly after that assassination.

Robert's reply to subsequent invitations was, "No, I'm not going and they'd better not ask me because there is a certain fatality about presidential functions when I am present."

Answer: They were the very first and last British soldiers to be killed in the war

The two soldiers, John Parr and George Ellison, were the first and last British soldiers killed in combat, respectively, in World War I. In their area of the cemetery, their graves are the two largest and face each other surrounded by smaller graves. The "Independent", a British national newspaper, confirmed with the cemetery's management that the placing of the two graves was purely coincidental.

The fact that it was happenstance makes even more moving an already poignant symbol of a terrible and destructive war.

The article can be found online with a search for "Two soldiers linked in death by a bizarre coincidence".

The Battle of Mons was Britain's first major operation of World War I. The British inflicted significantly more casualties on the numerically superior Germans but were eventually forced to retreat along with the French. The battle has become a symbol of resilience against a larger foe.

Answer: Twain was born and died at the same time the comet's two appearences

Halley's Comet is the only one that appears frequently enough, about every 75 to 76 years, for one person to see it twice in their lifetime without the use of telescopic equipment. The appearance of the comet was recorded as early as 240 BC. It is named after the astronomer Edmond Halley who first calculated the cycles of the comet's appearances.

Twain was born on November 30, 1835 during one of the comet's appearances and died on April 21, 1910 just as the comet returned.

Twain said, "I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don't go out with Halley's Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt: 'Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together."

Answer: Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor was the only president who died in office that was not elected on a "cursed year". President Reagan, having survived a shooting, was the first to break the streak, followed by George H. W. Bush when an attempt was made on his life in 2005. From 1840 to 1960, there have been seven presidents who fit the pattern.

The origins of the curse lay in President Harrison's battles with the Shawnee while he was governor of Indiana. His victory over Shawnee leader Tecumseh at the Battle of Tippecanoe earned him the nickname "Old Tippecanoe". It is said that Tecumseh's brother set a curse on Harrison and all subsequent presidents elected in those years.

Answer: They were father and son

J.G. Tierney was a surveyor who drowned on December 20, 1922 and his son, Patrick W. Tierney, died on December 20, 1935. Both died while working on the dam on the same day thirteen years apart.

The Hoover Dam, completed in 1936, rests in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River and provides hydroelectric power to the surrounding area. A concrete structure of that size had never been built before and many techniques used were still unproven. It took thousands of workers five years to complete, an amazingly short time for a project so large and complex.

If you've seen the Hoover Dam and ever wondered why it is curved then you might interested to know that it is called an arch-gravity dam. This is a mix of two designs, the arch dam and gravity dam.

The arch is an extremely stable and resilient shape and has been used in all types of construction. The middle of a straight shape is its weakest point whereas the middle of the arch is actually its strongest. The force pushing on the arch, either the dam's water or a buildings upper levels, actually compresses it to create even more stability.

The gravity portion refers to how the dam slopes towards the water reserve as it the dam gets higher. This employs gravity to prevent the water from toppling the dam over. Imagine a log placed upright. It would be very easy to tip it over, especially if pushed from the top. Now imagine the same log with another piece propped up diagonally against it like you might lean a chair towards a door to block it. If you push the log against the piece that is propping it up, it becomes much more difficult to move. This is basically how the design of a gravity dam works. The water pushes against the dam wall that is supported by its slopped side opposite the water. I'm not an engineer; this is just my understanding of it.

If you actually read this far without getting bored then cheers to you. It's not the most exciting topic but, personally, I'm always interested in learning about how things in life work.

Answer: They had to be rescued four times because all three ships sank while they were on board

One version of the story involves no less than five shipwrecks including the Mermaid. Briefly, it goes like this. The Swiftsure was first to the rescue but ran aground. Next was the Governor Ready, which caught fire and was abandoned. Then came the Comet, which hit a storm and was also abandoned.

After that, the Jupiter found the survivors, it sank. Finally, the City of Leeds picked up the unfortunate sailors and brought them home. Some records only mention three sinking ships but have few other details. Three wrecks still makes for a strange story.

Answer: The Louisiana Purchase

El Cazador's treasure was supposed to support the New Orleans economy, which had become a drain on Spain's resources. The loss of the ship meant that the costs of maintaining the territory continued to rise and the already pressed Spanish government was beginning to reconsider the value of holding on. Eventually Spain sold the Louisiana Territory to France. Napoleon had imagined an empire in the Americas and saw New Orleans as a vital center for trade. However, the rebellion in Haiti and an impending war with Britain forced him to abandon his plans. He decided to concentrate his resources in Europe.

President Thomas Jefferson saw the importance of American control of the territory and approached France with a deal. Napoleon, now eager to get rid of the burden, sold the entire Louisiana Territory for about four cents per acre. The territory expanded over 828,000 square miles and effectively doubled the size of the United States. It was one of the largest and cheapest land deals in history.

If El Cazador had not sunk, Spain might have been able to maintain their strength in the region and who knows how things might have turned out then.

An article about this can be found on www.howstuffworks.com in the history section.

Answer: Yes

In 1805, Wellington and his older brother were on their way back from India aboard HMS Howe. They stopped at St. Helena, which had become an important stopover for those sailing from Asia to Europe. Wellington stayed on the Briars estate, which would later be occupied by Napoleon for two months as he waited for his permanent residence to be prepared. Quite an interesting little coincidence!

Wellington enjoyed his stay and thought the climate was wonderful. Napoleon on the other hand complained often about the climate. Then again, he complained about many things but I guess a man exiled to such a place has a right to be a little grumpy.