provided by constative.com
We often think of history as the product of careful decisions made by great leaders after long deliberation. But you’d be surprised how often chance, luck, and sheer coincidence played the bigger role. From coin tosses that named entire cities to lucky breaks that saved space missions, fortune has often shaped outcomes more than willpower. On this list, we’ll explore 25 times luck—not strategy—changed history.
#1: Portland, Oregon’s Coin Toss (1845)
When two New England settlers founded a new city, they couldn’t agree on a name. One wanted Boston, the other Portland. A coin toss settled the matter—and thus Portland, Oregon, was born. Imagine if the flip had gone the other way: today we might be talking about “Boston, Oregon.”
