Six Degrees of Separation (AKA It's a small world!)

[Eimi]

So, I think I can now say with certainty the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me at a wedding...

I went to my friend's wedding, which was wonderful and beautiful and fascinating because it was a traditional Japanese Shinto wedding!  And of course, after the ceremony at the shrine, we then had the reception.

I sit down at my table with four of the bride's friends, who over the course of the evening became my friends.  Yay friends!  So I sit down, and I look over at the table next to us.  There's a man sitting there who looks very familiar.  It takes me a second to place him.  He looked like Shinzo Abe, who was prime minister of Japan for a year back in 2006.  I picked up the seating chart since I didn't quite believe my eyes, and I looked at the name.  Though my kanji's pretty bad, it definitely said Abe.

I turned to the girl next to me and asked "Excuse me.  Why is Shinzo Abe sitting at the table next to ours?"

She simply replied, as if it were perfectly natural, "Oh, he's going to give the wedding toast."

"Oh, I see," I replied.  

Over the course of the evening I found out the reason for this.  Apparently the bride is part of a marathon running club, and he is somehow affiliated with the club.  He was invited to give the toast, and he accepted.  But honestly, I spent a lot of time thinking over the course of the evening about the idea of "six degrees of separation" - or the idea that everyone in the world is connected through six people.  I couldn't help but think, as I chewed my blowfish sashimi, about all the people this now connects me to...

Who all are you connected to?

[Noola]

Ooh! Neat Question! I'm gonna have to give it some thought. LOL

[emma]

Okay - this is tenuous to say the least ;)

I take it you've all heard of the musical version of War of the Worlds???

Well... My Great Uncle Harry, who died well before I was born had a sister.  That sister, Doreen, married Jerry Wayne, father of Jeff Wayne, who wrote War of the Worlds. So that's my claim to fame.

[Chelle]

Don't have any idea, at least about the six people part.
I do know though, that my Uncle's father is somehow related to Wild Bill Hickock of Wild West gunslinger Deadwood fame. And that somewhere up the line, I am descended from *the* John Hancock. o.O

That's all I got though.

[Eimi]

Probably one of my strangest instances of "six-degrees" was when I was trying to explain to a Japanese teacher the very concept.  I told her the story of one of my friends as evidence.  The story was this:

I was telling my friend about this concept and she laughed, telling me that she had heard about it before from a former Assistant Language teacher she had taught with in Nakatsu city.  They had talked about how he had actually studied at her university, Kyoto Gaidai, at the same time she had been a student there.  They found a couple connections of professors or people they knew.  They had in fact been separated by one a degree or two, and then they ended up working together.  What were the odds?  And then she said "And you know, he's from Washington State too!"  Being from Washington State, and well acquainted with the international student community, I knew they only school in Washington state that had an exchange relationship with that school was MY school.  So I asked the guy's name.  His name was Rich.  I didn't know him, but I instantly knew a good friend who had told me to look out for his friend "Rick in Nakatsu".  We got so excited about it because we also were connected and hadn't know it!

So I told the teacher this story and she was amazed.  And then she said, "You know, I had a student who went to Washington State back in 2001 with Asia University.  I can't remember the name of the school."  I remembered two students who came from this prefecture in 2001, so I asked her, "Was her name Akiha?"  And she said "Yes!  That's it!  Her name was Akiha!  Did you know her?"  I couldn't stop laughing!  I told her that I knew her well when she lived in America!

It's scary just how true I've found that theory to be!

[Bree]

My funniest story is when I found out that Becki has been hanging out with the guy I went to prom with at NANO events. LOL I discovered it via twitter!

[Eimi]

When real life and Triad collide...  DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUN......   :lichmalignus: