You never know how one supposedly insignificant action or decision in your life can snowball and spin out of control.
And that’s where we get the term “the butterfly effect” from.
I’m sure you’ve experienced something like this in your life at some point. And we’re about to get some wild “butterfly effect” stories from people on AskReddit.
Let’s take a look at what they had to say.
1. Best decision ever.
“4 years ago a kid I barely knew from school invited me to a Six Flags. I was a bit of a loner at the time and I heard rumors about this kid being weird, so I intended to not go.
On the day he wanted me to go, I was feeling extra bored and decided on a whim “why not?”. So I went and met this kid and two of his friends I’ve never met at a Six Flags.
4 years later and that kid is my best friend, and I have 3 other very close friends I met through him. Not only that, but I also met my first girlfriend because of the connections some of my new friends had. It transformed my high school years from being alone to having an amazing group of friends I could do almost anything with.
I intended to ask my best friend to be my best man one day, and I don’t intend on ever getting out of touch with any of them. I’m home from college now, and we are going to have a lot of fun together. Best decision I’ve ever made.”
2. Funny how that works out.
“The older I get, the more I am constantly cognizant of the vast cascade of seemingly insignificant decisions and actions that led me to where I am.
For example, a decision 25 years ago to change a refrigerator light bulb before going out resulted in my being at the “wrong” time and place so as to get mugged, which resulted in my decision to move out of the city I had been living in, which resulted in my meeting my wife, and from there to having all my kids and the whole shebang.
I would have had a different whole shebang had I not changed that lightbulb that afternoon, but the path to the present leads through that (and a thousand other) similarly trivial decisions…”
3. Career fair.
“At a university career fair and just has a long day taking to companies and heading out when I see a Honda booth. Designing cars would be awesome but there is a huge line, it has been a long day, and what are the chances?
But wait! They are giving away hats and shirts and model cars! So I talk to them. A day later I get a callback for an online assessment. I fill that out and don’t hear anything back for a month or so, the I get a call one night saying I was an alternate and someone cancelled last minute so they want to fly me up for on-site interviews.
I go and end up getting and accepting an offer. After graduation I move about 1000 miles away from home for my new job where a few years after I meet my now wife and we have 2 kids. I never would have crossed paths with her otherwise.
So the entire course of my life was shifted because Honda gave away good swag at their career fair booth.”
4. Wow, your parents sound awful.
“My parents dream was to have a “famous child”.
When my older sister’s figure skating career ended in her early twenties, the spotlight shifted to me. I was a fine oboist, and took private voice lessons with intent to audition for the local music faculty (opera?). In any case, there was a lot of pressure, and while I was successful at school and classical music, it was never enough.
At 17, before senior year began, my sister gifted me a kitten. My parents had given her 2 in her senior year and the implication was that it was my turn. When my sister dropped me off, my parents locked me out, saying that if i wanted my own pet I needed my own place.
So I found one – that night. I worked 3 jobs to support myself through senior year and graduated with entrance scholarships to both of the local universities.
I couldnt afford a music degree while living on my own, even with the entrance scholarships. And good thing. Entering the work force showed me how much I love active jobs. 3 years later, I enrolled in college and became an industrial mechanic/millwright, to my parents great shame.
After a few years of this I landed a sweet contract where I work on Saturdays and Sundays but receive a full week’s pay. Although I am a living beacon of disappointment, I comfort myself with my 100k a year job, 2 day workweek, and 2 cats.
Being kicked out over a kitten saved me from wasting years chasing an improbable career just to please my parents.”
5. The film biz.
“My wife got an email from her old colleagues the day we returned home from our honeymoon, asking if she wanted to star in a short film they were doing for fun.
She said sure, and asked if I could come along, as she knew I had an interest in movies, but at the time I worked in life insurance and was miserable.
It was more than an interest- I had always wanted to make films, but never made the right connections with people and didn’t know where to start.
I made friends with the producer of that short film my wife was in, and 11 years later filmmaking and video production is my career. I’ve shot feature films, short films, video for tv and web, and all over the world because of that one email to my wife. Changed our lives!
Oh, and that original short film never got finished.”
6. Old friends.
“I sent a friend from secondary school (who I had a huge crush on) a message saying happy birthday a couple years after we left school. Did the whole ‘we’ll have to catch up soon!’ thing, not expecting much.
He replied with ‘how about Monday?’. I saw him that Monday for a coffee. Next month will be our 6th anniversary. Best thing that ever happened to me.
My friends joke I’m ‘queen of escaping the friend zone’.”
7. Sounds like Jim and Pam.
“I was always super flirty with the girl from HR, but we were always seeing other people / don’t date at work so when she left the company I was bummed. A year or two later a coworker asked me to search my email archives (that was a thing back then) for something he needed.
I ended up stumbling across the “farewell to my work-friends” email from HR girl and she sent it from her personal email address. I reached out to her, we had coffee, then a date, then many dates, then I love yous and I put a ring on it ASAP.
12 years later, extremely happily married, 2 goofy kids, 2 evil cats, and she still puts up with my bullsh*t.”
8. What a story!
“I chose to rearrange the sequence of classes slightly before starting my education. By doing this, I had to commute to a different branch of the school in a different town than the one I was originally signed up for.
On my first day there, I helped a girl who had managed to break both of her arms in a drunken shopping cart accident, I learned later.
This girl, whom I would absolutely never have met had I not changed my classes around, is my wife through 14 years.”
9. Still here.
“My friends took me to mMalaga in Spain for a long weekend to cheer me up after my mum died.
4 years later I’m still here and have never been happier. I owe them everything for that spontaneous trip.”
10. Close call.
“In Afghanistan, wasn’t done with my coffee, so I passed on a trip from one base to another (there was another convoy a few hours later).
Most everyone died who took the 1st convoy. My 2nd cup of coffee wasnt even cold when I found out.”
11. That burns!
“Burned my arm on an extremely hot plate working at a restaurant in NYC.
New manager didn’t like that I told him we were out of towels to hold hot plates, had a vendetta against me.
Six months later, found a reason to fire me.
Friend got me a job working on the set of a low budget movie, met a woman named Dorothy who was key PA.
A full year later I ran into her on the street, she asked if I still worked in production, got me a job on reality tv.
Worked 9 seasons on a renovation show, learning finish carpentry and eventually becoming an on screen carpenter.
New PA on set. Beautiful, sassy, amazing.
Ask her out (was just a key PA at the time)
Two years later we move to New Orleans together, a year later we move back to NYC and have our first child.
Three years later we move to Montreal. Been here for three years.
I now have a wife, two kids, and a successful contracting business all because I burned my arm on a plate ten years ago.”
12. Isn’t that funny?
“Ordered some shirts off the internet, company sent a size too small. Emailed them and they sent the correct size and let me keep the other ones too.
My grandpa’s house was being redone, noticed one of the workers liked a band i did and gave him the shirts that didn’t fit. Years later working and having a smoke break, guy overhears me and a friend discussing a concert we were going to, asked about it and said he had some old shirts I could have. Met up with him after work to hang out. They were my shirts from a couple years before.
We start hanging out and he is dating this girl, she says she has a friend that she thinks would be perfect for me. We hook up. Been married for almost 10 years with 2 kids. All for a few shirts that the company sent me the wrong size for.”
13. The girl with the mohawk.
“I was dating a girl in college. I didnt actually go to college as I was doing an apprenticeship instead.
One day I had a day off midweek and figured I would pop into college to see my old friends and chat to this girl I was dating. At the time I was very I to skateboarding. So I take my skateboard into the building but had to leave it in the reception bit.
As luck would have it a girl saw me (with bleached blond hair and a pink mohawk) place the skateboard and decided she was in love with me. She went to the local skate park after school until eventually she found me. We swapped numbers and now 15 years later we are married with 3 kids.
Also my skateboard was stolen by someone and by the time I made my way out of the college my brother had noticed someone carrying my board and stole it back for me. As I walked out and noticed it was gone my bro came in and asked if I was looking for my board.
It was a wierd day that I had no idea would impact my whole life to this point.”
Do you have any interesting butterfly effect stories that have happened to you?
If so, please share them with us in the comments.
We’d love to hear from you!
The post People Share the Wildest Butterfly Effect Stories From Their Lives appeared first on UberFacts.
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