A bizarre coincidence left many passengers in stitches when Neil Thomas Douglas, a photographer from Glasgow, boarded a Ryanair flight to Galway in October 2015 and discovered someone already seated in his spot. But the mix-up wasn’t what surprised him most—he had found his exact lookalike.

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The Unexpected Encounter

When Douglas arrived at his seat, he encountered Robert Stirling from London sitting in what should have been his own. The two men shared not just similar red beards, but also matching haircuts, facial structure, and a broad smile. Douglas later said, “When the guy looked up, it was uncanny—I thought: ‘He looks like me.’”

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From Seat Swap to Mini Reunion

After realizing the resemblance, the two struck up a conversation, took selfies, and amused the people around them. Things got even more surreal when they discovered they were staying in the same hotel in Galway later that night. They later bumped into each other again at a pub, prompting more laughs and astonishment from locals.

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Media Buzz & Viral Photo

A friend of Douglas’s wife, Lee Beattie, shared a photo of the pair on Twitter, which quickly went viral. The “#BeardTwins” selfie drew thousands of retweets and sparked numerous news stories.

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What It Tells Us

• Coincidences are real: The striking physical similarity, combined with a chance seating mix-up and later hotel overlap, make this more than just a meme-worthy moment.

• Shared human joy: The story resonated precisely because it’s light-hearted, amusing, and relatable—two strangers, accidentally united by looks.

• Social media’s role: A simple selfie and amusing incident can spread quickly, reminding us how these moments capture public imagination.

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Conclusion

The story of Douglas and Stirling isn’t just fabricated or exaggerated—it really happened. It’s an example of how uncanny resemblances can lead to memorable, viral encounters.