Double Trouble

it seems timing was everything. When we think about Napoleon, we think of an emperor, his hand tucked into the front of his uniform and his diminutive figure perched atop a dark horse crossing the Alps in paintings we've seen all over the world. He didn't get that way by acts in it, though. Napoleon and his ambitious rise to power, had to start somewhere. Born in August of seventeen sixty nine to Italian nobility, he eventually moved to France when

he was just nine. He graduated from French military school at sixteen as a second lieutenant in the artillery. Napoleon rose through the ranks from second lieutenant to brigadier general, winning battles across Europe for the French army. In eighteen o four, his military prowess paid off in a ceremony at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Pope Pious the seventh declared the thirty five year old Napoleon Emperor of France.

This was the uh crowning achievement of what is known as the Napoleonic Era, a period of roughly sixteen years when Emperor Napoleon conquered countries across continental Europe and things went well for the young emperor. Following his coronation, he established the French Empire and began a lengthy crusade to expand it as far as possible. Eighteen o nine saw his victory against the Austrians at the Battle of Wagram. The clash lasted only two days but resulted in a

devastating loss of life for both sides. The Austrians, unable to bear any more casualties, surrendered Vienna to Napoleon's forces. His ambitions only grew larger after conquering Vienna. French forces sought occupation in Spain and Russia as well, but the opposing armies were prepared there. It was at eighteen twelve when Napoleon witnessed the first of several crucial defeats. He invaded Russia to enforce a stricter trade system and to

expand his empire, but was forced to retreat. In fact, that's what the period became known as the Great Retreat. He battled for several years after that, but each battle saw his forces pushed back even farther. Napoleon had lost the territories he'd taken, and by April of eighteen fourteen, the time had come for a new ruler. Louis the eighteenth took over on the throne and poured defeat in Napoleon and was banished to an island in Tuscany. You know,

people like Napoleon don't come around every day. In fact, they're often one of a kind. At least that's what people thought for over a hundred years. It wasn't until nineteen thirty three when shades of Napoleon started to appear across Europe. That was the year Adolph Hitler became Chancellor of Germany one hundred twenty nine years after Napoleon's coronation.

Five years later, Hitler's forces took over Vienna and turned it into a Nazi territory one twenty nine years after Napoleon's invasion and eventual conquering of Vienna in the name of the French Empire. And in nineteen one, Hitler sent over four million Access troops, the largest force in history, to take on one million Soviet soldiers in Russia. You might assume that that much firepower would mean a quick defeat for the Russian forces, but the Nazis hadn't counted

on the harsh Russian whether to slow them down. The Soviets used the muddy to reign to their advantage and beat the Germans back in a glorious defeat, marking the beginning of the end of Hitler's power in World War Two. Oh and can you guess the span of years between Hitler's defeat in Russia and that of Napoleon's. If you guessed one nine years, then you've been paying attention. It seems to leaders with over zealous plans for Europe had

more in common than we thought. Could Hitler have been Napoleon reincarnated, his lust for power unquenched even after one years? Or is the answer much simpler than that. Perhaps this strange coincidence is nothing more than a perfect example of history repeating itself. Anyone with a sibling knows the typical struggles they face. One it's more attention than the other. The younger sibling always has to tag along behind the older one, and the copying whatever the older sibling does

just has to be imitated by the younger one. And twins, you might say, have it worse. They are only too aware of the nature of their close relationship. Twins have been known to share secret languages or every waking moment together as each other's best friends. In some families, twins can be highly competitive. One will not let the other outdo them in a particular sport or activity. Everything becomes a contest to show who can do it better, who

is the superior twin. You might also be surprised to know it's not uncommon for twins to read each other's thoughts. One can know what the other is thinking. They can finish each other sentences too. There are even stories of twins connections being so strong one knows when the other is injured or in trouble. It's hard not to think that might have been what happened with a pair of seventy three year old Finnish twins over fifteen years ago.

One brother had been riding his bicycle in the town of Rage, almost four hundred miles north of Helsinki along the western coast. This wasn't an unusual ride for the man. He rode his bike everywhere, navigating suburban streets and busy thoroughfares with ease. However, on this day, only weeks before the snow would give way to springs budding flowers, fate had caught up with the man. The elderly gentleman would

never arrive at his destination. While crossing a busy road on his bicycle, a road he'd crossed hundreds of times without incidents, he was struck and killed by a passing truck. It's not clear why the truck hit him. We don't know whether the old man hadn't been looking where he was going, or if the driver of the truck had been distracted. But in a split second, the poor finished

man and his bicycle we're gone. Police arrived at the scene and established a perimeter, questioning witnesses as to what they'd seen just before the accident. It was odd, They noted. Though the road had been infamous for its high traffic levels, accidents were rare, especially involving pedestrians or cyclists. The police had not reported the man's death to his family just yet.

There was still more to investigate. While crews cleaned up the road and prepared the body for transport, no one other than the first responders, the truck driver, and the witnesses at the scene knew what had transpired. But like I said, twins are known to possess a kind of sixth sense between them. One always knows when the other

is hurt or scared, or in deep trouble. There's an inexplicable connection that comes from sharing a womb with another person, which is why it's not so hard to believe the man's brother had some idea of what had happened. It's possible he'd been on his way to see his brother when the truck collided, or maybe he'd felt a sudden loss of life, the shifting of the air and the clouds darkening above him, a twang of pain in his heart,

like a string snapping on a guitar. He had to go see what had happened for himself and so he mounted his own bicycle and headed down the same stretch of road. Two hours after the collision, the victim's twin brother, only one mile away from the scene of the accident, crossed the same road on his own bicycle, and, in a twist of fate too impossible to believe, he too was hit and killed by a passing truck. Such coincidences have an almost supernatural feel, like someone or something is

playing a sick game with our lives. What befell the twins was, without a doubt, a tragedy to tragedies in fact, but it cements the relationship between twins better than anything else. Wherever you'll find one, the other isn't far behind. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how

Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can learn all about it over at the World of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.