(I realise you're joking, but...) it's most likely a form of the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon. In this case, of course the <insert obscure subject> is not an ever

(I realise you're joking, but...) it's most likely a form of the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon. In this case, of course the <insert obscure subject> is not an everyday topic on HN, but we all have enough of these running concurrently in our lives that sooner or later, they coincide with HN. And due to the perceived, impossibly low odds, people tend to really focus on it when it happens.