reply to post by screamo
It's called the "law of series" - or "seriality" - and it was actually investigated almost 100 years ago, by Kammerer. (He's the one who named
it, too, unless I am mistaken.)
I have certainly noticed the airplane thing. As somebody else said, that observation has been around forever. But it must be said that there is an
airplane accident almost every day, it's just that the great majority go unreported.
See here:
A.C.R.O.
Trains also seem to derail in series.
And for actors, it would actually be around 2 - 5 days.
IMDB Dates
(Some might argue that many of the actors listed are unknown to them, although that's hardly the point. From the people listed in the OP, I only knew
- and loved - Pollack, the other two I've never heard of before today.)
So, in some respects it could appear that it's just a matter o perception.
But I think deep down we all know that, in reality, that isn't exactly true. (And Kammerer was no idiot himself.)
On a more personal level, one of the most remarkable "series" I recall is the December 31 1997 - January 15, 1998, period: on December 31st, Kennedy
had a fatal ski accident (by crashing into a tree); a few days later, exactly the same fate befell Sonny Bono; and 10 days later a friend of mine also
hit a tree during skiing (she survived, but was severely injured and disfigured).
Some might say "big deal: it was winter, that's when people ski".
Indeed they do - EVERY YEAR. And yet, how many "series" of this particular accident have you detected...?
[edit on 30-5-2008 by Vanitas]