Really, what are the odds?

I kind of half-way looked this up on the Interwebs by starting out with basketballs getting stuck on the rim. But there aren't really any stats on that, nor odds of it happening, so I gave up. Unless you think unlikely shit happens everyday, or just aren't impressed with the strange little things that happen in life, then this is going to blow your mind.

I was throwing the ball to Boba the other day. I have a few of those Chuckit! balls and I like them because they bounce high and they are pretty durable. I like to throw them long and/or hard and watch Boba catch the ball on its first bounce. He's pretty good (when he tries) and it's a fun game.

Well, yesterday I was tossing the ball and had a bit of a janky throw. The ball soared a bit behind me and was heading toward some tree limbs. The ball hit a branch and I was expecting it to pinball down the tree but it just stopped... THUNK! It stuck between a fork in the branches and stopped dead in its fall. What are the chances, right?

But wait, there is more!

So this morning I had the bright idea of getting Will's soccer ball to throw at the branch and loosen the Chuckit! ball from the branch's hold. Boba was pretty interested in the soccer ball which only slowed my efforts. And then one of the neighbor kids (one of the Australians... GRRRRR!) came over and stuck his nose in my business. About 15 throws later, I fired off a pretty good throw that deflected off the branch and GOT STUCK BETWEEN A FORK IN THE BRANCHES AND STOPPED DEAD IN ITS FALL!

What are the odds of that happening? I mean, I couldn't simply throw a ball into a tree and expect it to get stuck up there within any reasonable amount of time. And I certainly couldn't expect it to happen twice. Two balls stuck in one tree within 24 hours! Holy hell, seriously, what are the chances?

(Sidebar: I was explaining to the Aussie, as I climbed up the tree, that I was wasting my effort because I don't want to spend another $6 on a pair of Chuckit! balls. After I loosened and freed the two balls, he promptly throws the ball into the common area and is called in by his father immediately after. "Where is the ball?" I asked him as he walked away. Son of a bitch! [I found it eventually])