The world's unluckiest people: struck by a meteorite, thrown from a plane, quit Apple, and survived 2 nuclear explosions

To some, spilling coffee on a manuscript, a failed hard drive, or missing the bus might seem like bad luck. But after reading about the people in today’s article, you’ll be convinced that there are those who have experienced truly unbelievable misfortunes. These unusual accidents and coincidences are not only unexpected but also, at times, oddly amusing.

Fran Selak – the man who cheated death 7 times

Search for “the luckiest person in the world” or “the unluckiest person,” and one name appears in both results: Fran Selak. His life story includes seven brushes with death—earning him both titles. He is considered the unluckiest for encountering such danger, and the luckiest for surviving every time. Here are the incidents that marked his extraordinary life:

1. Train accident, 1962 – A train Fran was traveling on derailed while passing through a snowy gorge and plunged into a river. Seventeen people died. Fran survived with a broken arm and hypothermia.

2. Plane crash, 1963 – A year later, due to a mechanical failure, the door of the plane he was on flew open mid-air. Fran was ejected from the plane and landed in a haystack. The crash killed 19 people.

3. Bus crash, 1966 – While traveling by bus, the vehicle veered off the road and plunged into a river. Four passengers drowned, but Fran escaped with minor injuries.

4. Car explosion, 1970 – Tired of public transportation, Fran opted to drive himself. One day, his car suddenly burst into flames. He escaped just before the gas tank exploded.

5. Another car fire, 1973 – A malfunction in the fuel pump of another car sprayed hot oil into the engine, causing a fire. Fran survived once again, though he lost all his hair.

6. Pedestrian accident, 1995 – At the age of 66, Fran was hit by a bus while walking down the street. Once again, he suffered only minor injuries.

7. Car crash, 1996 – While driving on a mountain road, Fran lost control of his car and went over a guardrail, falling 300 feet (90 meters). Not wearing a seatbelt turned out to be a lifesaver: he was thrown from the car and landed safely in a tree.

Henry Ziegland – killed by a bullet 20 years later

Texas man Henry Ziegland’s story is straight out of a bizarre tragedy. After breaking up with a girl, her brother sought revenge and shot at Ziegland—but the bullet missed and lodged in a nearby tree.

Two decades later, Ziegland attempted to cut the same tree down and decided to blow it up with dynamite. During the explosion, the embedded bullet was propelled out of the tree—and struck Ziegland in the head, killing him instantly. In the end, the bullet found its mark.

Melanie Martinez – the woman whose home was destroyed by hurricanes 5 times

American Melanie Martinez might be one of the unluckiest homeowners in history. Living in Louisiana for 50 years and working as a school bus driver, she lost her house not once but five times—all to hurricanes. Martinez holds an unfortunate record for losing her home the most number of times due to natural disasters in the U.S., with each storm demolishing everything she had built.

James Howells – the man who threw away $800 million in bitcoin

Imagine buying 8,000 bitcoins—only to accidentally throw away the hard drive they were stored on. That’s exactly what happened to James Howells. He is now asking Newport city officials for permission to dig through a landfill to find the drive. But his request has been repeatedly denied.

Today, those bitcoins are worth over \$800 million. He could have been a multimillionaire. But he isn’t.

Roy Sullivan – the man struck by lightning 7 times

Have you ever met someone who was struck by lightning? Not just once, but seven times? A man named Roy Sullivan was struck by lightning on seven different occasions between 1969 and 1973. Statistically, the chance of being struck once is one in half a million. So how unlucky must a person be to get struck seven times?

He holds a Guinness World Record as the person who survived the most lightning strikes.

A similar case is that of Walter Summerford. He was struck by lightning four times—and on the fourth occasion, lightning struck his grave. It seems bad luck followed him even in death.

Ronald Wayne – the Apple co-founder who missed out on billions

While Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak are celebrated as Apple’s co-founders, the third founder—Ronald Wayne—is far less known. He designed the company’s first logo and gave early technical advice.

But just 12 days after co-founding Apple, Wayne sold his 10% stake for only \$800. In a 2017 interview, he said he didn’t regret it—claiming he didn’t like computers and doesn’t even own an Apple product.

Still, if he had kept his shares, they would be worth over \$200 billion today. He could have been one of the richest people in the world. Like it or not, that makes him one of the most unfortunate decision-makers in business history.

Adolphe Sax – the inventor who shouldn’t have survived childhood

The life of Adolphe Sax, inventor of the saxophone, was riddled with near-death experiences. As a child, he fell from a three-story building and was presumed dead—but survived. At the age of three, he drank sulfuric acid, mistaking it for milk. Later, he swallowed a needle. Sax also fell onto a hot stove and suffered severe burns, then at ten, he hit his head on a rock while swimming. He even survived an explosion in his father’s workshop.

His mother once said he was “a child of misfortune” and doubted he’d live long. But he defied all odds—and went on to change music forever.

Tsutomu Yamaguchi – the man who survived 2 atomic bombings

At age 29, Tsutomu Yamaguchi survived two atomic bombings in just three days, making him the only officially recognized survivor of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

In Hiroshima, he was two miles from the epicenter. He sustained burns and a ruptured eardrum. Three days later, after returning home to Nagasaki—unbelievably—he was exposed again during the second nuclear explosion.

Is he the unluckiest man alive for enduring both blasts, or the luckiest for surviving them? That’s up for debate.

He was granted the rare title "niju hibakusha"—“twice bombed.” Despite enduring humanity’s greatest horrors, Yamaguchi lived to the age of 93.

Anna Hodges – the woman hit by a meteorite

Anna Hodges holds the strange distinction of being the first documented person struck by a meteorite and surviving. While resting in her home on a calm autumn day, a meteorite crashed through her roof and hit her. She wasn’t seriously injured—just left with a large bruise and lingering pain.

Scientists later found that the meteorite weighed 3.8 kg and was estimated to be 4.5 billion years old.

So, does that make her one of the unluckiest people in history—or one of the luckiest? After all, she lived to tell the tale.

Before you call yourself unlucky, remember—at least a meteorite hasn’t fallen on you.