Kobe Bryant + Kyle Busch =/= Abraham Lincoln + John F. Kennedy

As a kid, I remember an old “Abraham Lincoln / John F. Kennedy” novelty penny. It was a standard Lincoln penny engraved with JFK’s likeness in the dead space.

And the penny was glued to a card that contained Lincoln-Kennedy “coincidences” that read like some vast century-long conspiracy. Both men had seven letters in their last names. Both men were succeeded by a President named Johnson. Both men were killed by anarchists.

That kind of thing. It’s the kind of novelty that, if you think long and hard about it, you realize that someone had a lot of free time to create this kind of synchronicity. And that, in the end, it’s all balderdash. It’s the same as using quirks and recording mysteries in Beatles records to postulate that Paul McCartney died in 1967 and has been replaced by a doppelganger all these years.

Well, apparently this morning it’s back. At least as far as my Facebook feed seems to believe.

OOH, this looks spicy. The hand of Big Pharma struck against those who would challenge them. But there are clues to those who know – the true believers. I mean, Kobe Bryant wore #8 in his career, Kyle Busch drove a #8 car. Both Bryant and Busch have “KB” as their initials. And both won lawsuits from pharma companies. And both died at the age of 41.

Okay, Scooby-Doo, let’s lay off the Scooby Snax for a second.

Kobe Bryant did win a settlement against a pharmaceutical company – because that company infringed on his “Black Mamba” trademark for a line of nutritional supplements. And as for Kyle Busch, his suit against an insurance company was because they commingled his funds into a different investment account. And it was his WIFE’s lawsuit, not his.

“But, but, the #8 … that has to mean something, right??”

Yeah, they both wore / drove #8. But Kobe Bryant switched from #8 to #24 later in his career. And Kyle Busch started in the #5 car, then spent most of his career in the #18, and finished his time in the #8. So all that means is that both men changed their numbers either to fit new driving teams, or for a change in their careers.

“But, but, they died at 41. Doesn’t that mean something?”

Yeah, they both died at the age of 41. You know who else died at age 41? Alan Turing. Jane Austen. Mata Hari. Wanna put something together with those people? Go right ahead.

In the end, just understand that coincidence doesn’t mean confirmation. And some of these “coincidences” are kinda “massaged” into existence, either by people looking for connections that point to some vast conspiracy, or because they have nothing better to do with their lives.

Kyle Busch died from sepsis. Kobe Bryant perished in a helicopter crash. Neither event was guided by the hand of some nefarious medical conglomerate. Take off your tin hat.

Now if you want a TRUE coincidental conspiracy … let’s talk about how Elvis Presley left clues in his records that he’s actually alive. I mean, he did begin his 1970’s concerts with the them from 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the year of his supposed death – August 16, 1977 – if you add 8+16+1977, you get 2001, so that’s proof that Elvis is still alive and living on a ranch in Arizona and enjoying his life with Marilyn Monroe and their grandkids … </hahaha>