Strangers Who Met Through a Wrong Number Text Have Spent the Last 4 Thanksgivings Together

Wrong number texts are not a rare occurrence. We have all received a nonsensical text that was not meant for us. But most of those texts don't result in lifelong friendships. For some, though, a wrong number text is much more than a momentary nuisance. For some, one accidental text resulted in surprising but totally fulfilling relationships with people who used to be complete strangers.

Take for example Wanda and Jamal, whose friendship started four years ago with one wrong text. Wanda accidentally texted Jamal about her family's Thanksgiving celebration instead of her actual grandson. This exchange with a stranger ended with an invitation to Thanksgiving, and thus, a friendship was born.

Their story went completely viral, but luckily for all of us, that's not where it ends. Each year since, Wanda and Jamal have gotten together to celebrate Thanksgiving. Since the first year they met, Jamal has met and moved in with his girlfriend, and Wanda, who was a grandmother at the start of their friendship, has become a great grandmother. Through all of these life changes, the friendship between the two former strangers has grown stronger. 

Jamal told 3 TV that he helps Wanda figure out how to use her smartphone and, this year, he cooked Thanksgiving dinner for Wanda and her family so she could sit back and relax. It's a match made in wrong number text heaven! 

Jamal and Wanda's story is one of a thoroughly modern connection, and while it's a special story, it isn't totally one-of-a-kind. There are a couple other hilarious and heartwarming stories of total strangers who accidentally ended up on a text chain with one another and then met up in real life. 

Perhaps the most visually hilarious is the story of when an invitation to a wedding, including time, date, and location, was sent to the wrong person. But that wrong person was intent on coming to the party, saying, "You have the wrong number but me and my boys will be there." And oh, he and his boys definitely showed up. 

I truly believe this photo belongs in a museum. Seriously, the Mona Lisa has had her moment. Let's take her off the wall in the Louvre and put this photo up instead. She will understand. 

Occasionally, the wrong text isn't the fault of an individual but an entire company. In this case of this next story, it was UPS, the package delivery service, who accidentally sent a group text to 20 people in the same neighborhood to let them know that they missed a delivery and that their package could be picked up at a nearby UPS location.

UPS was, of course, not supposed to send the message in a group text. But they did, and it quickly turned into a hilarious chat group that planned a meet-up in real life. 

Four people begged to be removed from the chat, but that left 16 total strangers who thought it was hilarious that they were all included in a UPS group text and decided to get together at a bar to meet each other. They all wore name tags with their phone numbers to identify themselves. And now they're all friends.

The lesson here is that getting a text from a wrong number could actually change your life for the better. For Wanda, Jamal, the wedding crew, and the UPS club, their lives were enriched by the strangers who pinged their phone when they were least expecting it. Next time you get a text from a wrong number, don't see it as a confusing mistake. View it as an opportunity to make a new connection!