A real and amazing life story, an unfortunate lucky man who almost died 7 times, and after all this he won one million dollars in the lottery.
This lucky guy is called Fran Selak, who worked as a music teacher in Croatia, Fran began his losing streak in 1962. The train he was on went off the rails, then rolled over several times, then fell into the water and began to sink, 17 people died that day, Fran Selak managed to swim to the shore with a broken arm.
Literally one year later, Fran flew in an airplane, somewhere high, there was a depressurization and the side door of the plane vomited, our hero was sucked right overboard. Selak woke up in the hospital, where he was told that the plane he was flying in had crashed, and he was found in the hayloft.
A few years later, Selak had an accident, at that time he was on the bus, 4 people died, Fran escaped with only minor bruises.
A few years later, Fran Selak's car caught fire, he tried to put it out, but the car exploded.
After 3 years, Fran's car caught fire again, only in the cabin, due to a fuel system failure, Fran burned most of his hair on his head.
After 22 years, Selaka was hit by a bus, he had shock and minor bruises.
And again, a year later, while driving in his car, Fran late noticed a truck that was driving straight at him, by reaction, Fran turned the steering wheel towards the ditch, where there was a cliff in the gorge, he managed to get out of the car, and the car flew down.
7 years later at the age of 74, Selak bought a lottery ticket for the first time in his life and won one million dollars!
Surely many will agree that life is a complicated thing. As trite as it may sound, it is true. Our faithful assistant is luck. She accompanies someone in career advancement, while someone is more lucky in personal life. However, there is also luck, which many of the people consider just a lucky coincidence, an accident. However, when a person's life hangs in the balance, when one wrong step, one wrong movement, or even a spoken word can become an early end to being in this world, absolutely everyone expects some kind of miracle, which is the above luck. Few people manage to cheat death at least once. However, there are those who managed to fool the old woman with a scythe several times. Such people are often referred to as "darlings of fortune."
Frane Selak, the 88-year-old retired music teacher from Croatia who is the subject of this article, is one of the lucky few who have succeeded. According to him, he managed to deceive fate 7 times, having survived several accidents and disasters, while escaping with only minor injuries. Some of the rescues were so miraculous and unimaginable that they ended up in the famous Guinness Book of Records. And already in his old age, the reward for all the trials presented to him by life was a large sum of money won by him in the lottery. Why not the luckiest person in the world?!
short biography
Frane Selak was born in 1929 in what was then Yugoslavia. The birth of the future lucky man happened quite unexpectedly and in an unusual place. The birth took place ... in a boat during one of the father's fishing trips, to which he often went. The baby was also born at seven months old. Vacation at sea was immediately interrupted. The condition of the child did not inspire optimism. The baby was born weak and was on the verge between life and death. The parents took the baby to the hospital, but they felt that the boy could not be saved. But the mother was not at all going to part with her newborn baby. She wrapped him in a shirt and carried him to the church, sprinkling him with holy water. Only after this did the child's condition begin to change. positive side. Thus, the hand of lady luck already then touched the shoulder of the future unlucky lucky one. Since childhood, Frane was fond of music, so the choice future profession was, of course, associated with this particular area of art. He became a music teacher and director of a children's choir. However, fate had prepared for him many deadly trials, which definitely did not allow him to call his life boring.
Case one. History with the train
Frane Selak's games with death began in 1962. In January of that year, he was on a train from Sarajevo to Dubrovnik. Due to the icing of the railway tracks (there was a severe cold), the train derailed and collapsed into an ice-covered river. 17 people were victims of this disaster. Selak miraculously managed to survive, he escaped with hypothermia, bruises and a broken arm. In addition, he saved the life of one elderly passenger.
Case two: airplane
Another unpleasant incident in the life of a Croatian music teacher was an incident on an airplane in 1963. What then happened? A Douglas DC 8 jet airliner flew from Zagreb to Rijeka. Frane, who is not indifferent to the fair sex, decided to have an affair with a flight attendant by unfastening his seat belt. Suddenly there was a depressurization of the cabin and the aircraft door swung open. It turned out that due to dense fog, the Douglas DC 8 accidentally touched the ledge of the mountain, which is why the saloon door opened. Some of the passengers were sucked out, including the stewardess with whom the music teacher wanted to get to know each other better. Fell out of the plane and ladies' man Selak. 19 people were victims of this tragic incident. Frana was miraculously lucky to fall on a large haystack, he escaped with fright and abrasions. The stewardess was also lucky: she fell on the leafy part of the tree. True, it was not possible to get to know the girl better. But he remained safe and sound. This amazing case was listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
Case three. No luck with buses
The next "adventure" of a Croatian music teacher took place in 1966. This time, the trip by bus, which was heading to the city of Split, turned out to be unsuccessful. The driver of the transport lost control - the bus crashed into the river. Four people were victims of this tragedy. Frana Selak managed to get off the bus and reach the shore. And again he escaped with shock, bruises and abrasions.
Case four. Is a car safer?
After 3 previous unpleasant incidents, Frane Selak decided not to take any more risks and got behind the wheel of his own Skoda car, believing that it would be safer to drive on his own. Do you think it got through this time? Not at all. In 1970, the movement by car turned into another unpleasant incident. On the highway, his car suddenly began to smoke, and then completely caught fire. Frane, without delay, immediately rushed out of the car. A few seconds later, he watched his car's gas tank explode. And once again managed to get off with a few abrasions and a slight shock. The surprised friend Frane, who learned about this incident, could not stand aside and uttered a rather memorable phrase: "You are either the unluckiest or the luckiest person in the world!"
Case five. And got off easy again
Another incident in the life of the unlucky lucky man happened already because of his own oversight. In 1973, there was an unsuccessful attempt to repair the car, as a result of which the fuel pump failed, and Selak was doused with a small portion of fuel, which immediately caught fire. Frane did not receive severe burns, not counting the burnt hair. Got off easy, as they say.
Case six. Trouble continues
The next episode in the fate of the "fortune's favorite" is from the category that happens every day in the life of almost any ordinary citizen of our planet. It was 1995. More than 20 years have passed since the last incident, and Frane Selak considered that the black streak of incidents in his life was over. But it was not there. This time in Zagreb he was accidentally hit by a bus. Fortunately, the 66-year-old Croat, he again escaped with only abrasions and fright.
Case seven. Oh, that Skoda...
The last unpleasant incident in the life of the luckiest man in the world occurred in 1996. And again behind the wheel of the ill-fated Skoda. This time, Frane made a trip through the mountains, through a narrow gorge. Suddenly, after the turn, he was horrified to see that a UN peacekeeping force truck was rushing at him at high speed. Turning sharply to the side, Selak broke through the fence with his car. The car hung on the edge of the cliff. The Croatian jumped out of the car seconds before his car crashed to the bottom of the gorge, where it exploded. And this time it was a fright and scratches. Frane Selak's life was saved by the fact that the seat belt was not fastened.
Further fate
To date, the luckiest person in the world is 88 years old. He is a retired music teacher and lives in Petrinja, south of Zagreb. Life gave him many unpleasant surprises. However, at the end of this path of "luck" real luck awaited him. In 2003, Frane Selak decided to try his luck at the lottery. He ended up hitting the jackpot by winning an amount equal to $1 million. An unheard of reward for the long trials of fate. Some would immediately run to put such money in the bank, while others would start spending it.
Frane Selak, who by that time was 74 years old, decided for himself that he was too old to put money aside. Besides, the old Croat was literally deep in debt. And no one canceled the passion for travel. Having paid off his debts, he spent most of the money on a new house, car and boat, and also married for the fifth time.
In 2010, tired of traveling, Frane returned to Petrinha, sold what he had bought earlier, had a hip replacement surgery, and donated the rest to charity. Today, the 88-year-old pensioner is once again swimming in debt. However, the luckiest person in the world does not regret the money spent right and left. He considers that lucky win a kind of gift for the trials that he had to endure. Including for saving the life of an old woman, when in 1962 the train derailed.
Personal life
As mentioned above, Frane Selak has never been indifferent to the fairer sex. What is the case on the plane, which only miraculously ended for him safely. Apart from his many affairs, he was married four times, but all marriages ended in divorce after a while. The last, 5th marriage, was concluded already in old age, some time after that very large monetary gain, and the man is still happy. His fiancee's name is Katharina. She is 20 years younger than Frane. The Croatian pensioner himself considers his wife the biggest success in his life.
How to determine who is lucky and who is not? This is not an easy question. There is a horoscope of luck, you can trust its conclusions. Lucky names have been identified by sociologists. And the happiest person in the world lives in Croatia.
The luckiest zodiac sign
According to the so-called zodiac of luck, Aries is called the most lucky sign. Whether there is generally a dependence of a person’s luck on his zodiac sign or not - there are different opinions. Someone claims that only a person himself can make himself lucky, but there are those who believe that a person is born unlucky or lucky.It has been found out that Aries most often wins in various draws. Also, people of this sign are often very successful in their careers, they manage to cope with almost any task. They are accustomed to perceive life itself as an interesting game.
The luck horoscope claims that Aries' luck in games and pranks is related to their perception of the game process. They are interested in the process itself, the feeling of excitement and the resulting adrenaline, and not winning.
Aries is patronized by the planet Mars, as you know Mars is the invincible god of war. It is possible that this also affects the fact that Aries are very lucky people. Another area of luck for Aries is financial. Financial issues, which are considered difficult to solve for many, are solved by them without any difficulties. Having added all the above factors, the luck horoscope concluded that it is Aries who are the most lucky in life.
The luckiest woman in the world
Having gathered to find out which of the women is the happiest and luckiest, applicants should not be looked for at all in an aristocratic society and not among those who are engaged in show business. The luckiest person in the world is a simple Englishwoman who has been unemployed for a long time. In the past, she is a bank employee. Due to health problems, she had to leave her job. Her last name is Liz Denail.When a woman had a lot of free time, she began to participate in various lotteries and contests. To my surprise, the prizes literally rained down on her. Liz always won without difficulty.
Her whole apartment is full of prizes. According to the “lucky woman”, thanks to the sale of unnecessary prizes, she lives comfortably. She managed to win a home theater, LCD TV, a variety of household appliances, game consoles. Once she even went on a trip, thanks to the five-day tourist package she received as a prize in Kenya.
The lucky woman said that there are very strange prizes. As such, she considers made of cardboard in full height cartoon characters. Liz said that participating in contests and quizzes and winning often makes her life more interesting and fun. The existence of people like Liz Denile instills confidence that there are still very lucky people in the world.
Luckiest Names
Scientists and sociologists decided to find out which of the names are the most successful. They studied separately male and female names. The happiest and luckiest woman is considered to be the one whose name is Elena. Even in Russian folklore, everyone knows Elena the Wise. Most often, it is Elena who becomes the leader; women with the name Elena usually have large savings. 
Elena always confidently moves up the career ladder. According to the research of sociologists, fortune favors all the same Helens. If we consider luck from the point of view of the rapid achievement of material well-being, then women named male names, these are Evgenia, Valentina and Alexandra.
The study of male names yielded interesting results. Alexander and Boris are recognized as the most successful names, because their names are translated as "defender" and "glorious in the fight." The greatest success for Boris and Alexander is ensured in business, often they have a prominent position in society. For these men, work comes first.
The names Dmitry and Sergey also bring good luck to their owners. They know how to find compromises, build dialogues, and always confidently move towards the goal. It turns out that when naming your child at birth, you need to take this issue seriously. After all, everyone wants their child to become the luckiest and happiest in the world.
The luckiest person in the world
There is a person who is lucky throughout his life. This is a music teacher from Croatia. His last name is Frain Selak. The whole world learned about him in 2003, when he bought the lottery and won a million dollars. This lottery ticket was the first one Frain had purchased in forty years. Since then, they have been talking about him as the luckiest man on earth. 
As it turned out, luck "haunted" him all his life. He has been in seven disasters, where there were victims, but always remained unharmed. He fell along with a derailed train into icy water, fell from the swinging door of a flying airplane, and was a passenger on a bus that flew off the road into the river. He also got out of a car on fire shortly before the explosion, was hit by a city bus and jumped out of the car, which then fell off a cliff. It's amazing that all this happened to one person. He goes by the nickname "Lucky".
The proverb "fools are lucky" often justifies itself. And the smartest people in the world have to work hard to succeed. According to the site, Englishman Daniel Tammet learned how to divide and multiply multi-digit numbers at the age of four after suffering an epileptic seizure.
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Many people tend to attribute their chronic failures to simply being unlucky. But there are lucky ones who are no better than others, and for some reason fortune loves them. But scientists do not agree that luck is blind, and argue that luck depends on the person himself.
website collected indisputable evidence that learning to be the favorite of fate is quite possible.
After several experiments, the researchers determined how the lucky ones differ from everyone else. So they are:
1. Seeing random opportunities
Former magician and now professor of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, Richard Wiseman found 400 people who considered themselves very lucky or very unlucky, and for 10 years he conducted a study, as a result of which he wrote the book "The Luck Factor" (The Luck Factor). Wiseman argues that there are no chronic “lucky” and “losers”, just some are better than others at noticing random opportunities and taking advantage of them.
The professor conducted an experiment: he asked the study participants to count the photographs in the newspaper. Those who consider themselves unlucky spent 2 minutes on the task, and the “lucky ones” spent a couple of seconds. The fact is that on the second page of the newspaper there was a big announcement “Stop counting - there are 43 photos here”, which they, unlike the “losers”, immediately noticed.
2. Evaluate as good luck even unpleasant events
Wiseman asked all participants in the study the question: "If you were in a bank during a robbery and the robber shot you in the arm, would that be lucky or not?". “No,” answered those who are always unlucky. “Of course, good luck, because he could shoot through the head!” - answered the lucky ones.
You can also test yourself by answering the question: “What do you call a person who was on the verge of death as many as 7 times, but survived? Is he lucky or vice versa - because he always gets into trouble? Such a person really exists. This is Serbian music teacher Frane Selak, and he certainly considers himself the luckiest person in the world. Frane survived a train crash and several car accidents, and once fell out of a flying plane. When he bought a lottery ticket for the first time, he won £600,000. Well, isn't he lucky?
Adversity happens to everyone, but those who think of it as a rewarding experience end up having a positive view of themselves and their own lives. This helps them to be optimistic and look to the future without fear.
After experiencing a failure, do not dwell on it. It is better to ask yourself: how can I use this situation? What did she teach me? What to do to wrap it in your favor?
3. Believe in your luck
Richard Wiseman believes that you need to perceive luck as a character trait that you can cultivate in yourself - it is enough to believe that everything will be fine, make decisions based on intuition, and not dwell on doubts.
The effectiveness of this behavior is also confirmed by Maya Young from the University of California. She found that students who believe in their luck are much more likely to take on difficult tasks and achieve better results than those who consider themselves unlucky, and luck - a mere accident.
4. Constantly trying new things
Richard Wiseman calls for declaring war on routine and constantly striving for new experiences:
- break the daily routine more often, do old things in an unusual way and constantly try something new
- change the circle of communication.
For example, he came up with a task for his students - in order not to communicate only with those with whom you already know at a party and conference, you need to go up and get to know all the people who are dressed in clothes of a certain color.
In 2010, scientists from the University of Cologne conducted a study where they asked students to hit the ball into the hole. The participants were divided into 2 groups - the first group was given a "lucky" ball, with the help of which many accurate throws were supposedly made, the second group was given a regular one. The average result of the first group was a whopping 36% better than that of the second.
In another experiment, students were asked to bring their talismans with them and then taken away to be photographed. After that, the participants had to pass an intelligence test. At the same time, the talismans were given to the first half of the participants, but not to the second, saying that they would return them after completing the task. Students from the first group again showed the best results.
So scientists have proven that talismans help achieve goals: they increase self-confidence, relieve tension and give a sense of control over the situation, which means they allow you to complete the task as well as possible.
6. Enlist the support of others
In another experiment, students had to complete a child's game as quickly as possible: drop 36 small balls into 36 small holes. The group that felt supported (the instructor encouraged the participants with the phrases “May you succeed”, “I am rooting for you”) completed the task much faster than the one that was simply warned when the start button was pressed.
Communicate with those who do not complain about life, but know how to support, who are lucky themselves and are ready to exchange their ideas and positive energy with you. After all, we are those who surround us.
Luck is a state of our consciousness. If we look at life not as an ordeal, but as an adventure, and difficulties as a challenge and enjoy finding solutions to problems, then we will undoubtedly be lucky. Opportunities are doors. Knock and you will surely be opened.
Incredible Facts
These stories seem incredible and fictional, but they are not.
Did you know the only person who survived after being hit by a meteorite?
And what is it like to win a large amount in the lottery not once, but twice in a day?
Although the fate of some of these people fell hard trials, luck clearly favored them.
The luckiest people
1. A woman pulled out a carrot with a long-lost ring.
Working in the garden, Lena Påhlsson pulled a carrot out of the ground with a wedding ring she lost 16 years ago.
The ring, designed by Lena herself, was lost after she placed it on the kitchen table in 1995. It is likely that the ring fell into the fertilizer bucket and later spread throughout the garden. If not for the lucky carrot, it would hardly have been found.
2. The man found his biological mother, who worked with him in the same store.
Steve Flaig has been searching for his biological mother since he was 18, only to find out in 2007 that he was mispronouncing her name. New searches ended in success. Luckily, Chris Tallady, a 45-year-old cashier who worked with him at the same store, turned out to be his mother.
3. Winning the lottery twice on the same day.
Virginia Fike has always played the lottery with the same numbers: the day of her wedding anniversary and the age of her parents, divided by the year they got married.
In 2012, confusion at the box office resulted in her writing numbers on two tickets instead of one. Later, on TV, she saw that two tickets matched five of the 6 numbers in the lottery, and each of them reached a value of $1 million. The woman looked at her mother and said, "It would be funny if..." and then couldn't stop laughing until she reached the bank.
Survival Stories
4. Tsutomu Yamaguchi survived two atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Tsutomu Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima on business when the bomb was dropped, damaging his eardrum, causing temporary blindness and burns to his upper body.
Despite his injuries, he ended up in Nagasaki for work three days later. Yamaguchi was discussing the Hiroshima bombing with his superior when sirens sounded and another bomb was dropped. He officially became one of the few who could survive these two nuclear bombings.
5. A man survived three days underwater by crouching on an air bladder after his boat capsized.
Nigerian sailor Harrison Okene was on the toilet when his boat suddenly began to sink at 5 a.m. The ship sank almost 30 meters under cold water. Okena, wearing only her underwear, managed to survive thanks to an air bubble in the cockpit. It was only discovered after spending 60 hours underwater.
6. A man was skydiving when a meteorite almost fell on him.
Anders Helstrup captured a close-up of a meteorite on a camera attached to his head as it jumped to the ground.
He himself did not even suspect that he had narrowly escaped death until he watched the footage. " I had a feeling that something happened, but I did not notice what happened", - said the Norwegian.
Lucky people of the world
7. The only survivor of a plane crash.
In 1971, Juliane Koepcke became the sole survivor of a plane crash in the Amazon of Peru.
Koepke fell from a height of 3,200 meters while strapped into her seatbelt when her plane crashed in the Amazon rainforest. She walked through the jungle, teeming with crocodiles and piranhas for 10 days, until she was discovered by lumberjacks.
8. Two days inside active volcano.
In 1992, Chris Duddy, Michael Benson and Craig Hosking spent two days inside the crater of the active Kilauea volcano after a helicopter crash.
The helicopter lost control so suddenly that pilot Craig Hosking didn't have time to call for help. When the helicopter crashed into the hot crater floor, it narrowly missed the seething lava lake, and all three escaped with only minor cuts. While the men were waiting for rescue and heard the lava gurgling beneath them, they had already mentally resigned themselves to a terrible death.
9. Sailed away from the world's highest tsunami on a fishing boat.
On the night of July 9, 1958, an earthquake in Alaska led to the formation of a tsunami wave that was twice as high eiffel tower(more than 500 meters). The boat of Howard Ulrich and his 8-year-old son was swept away by a wave that was approaching the bay at a speed of 160 km per hour. Surprisingly, the ship was lifted to the top by a wave that carried them over the trees and lowered them back into the bay.
10. The only person in history who was hit by a meteorite.
While this sounds like extreme bad luck, don't jump to conclusions until you've heard the whole story.
Late in the morning near the city of Sulakoga in Alabama, USA, a young woman Ann Hodgesdozing on the couch, covered in a blanket, when a grapefruit-sized meteorite crashed through the roof of the house, bounced off the radio, and hit her in the thigh, leaving a pineapple-shaped scar. If not for the blanket and the radio, the meteorite could have hit her in the head.
