  I was one of the six people most closely involved in the discovery of the
first magnetic white dwarf in 1970, now 50 years ago. Thinking back on this
event, I have realised that the discovery occurred when and how it did because
of a series of lucky coincidences along a strange and winding path. In this
paper I recount the events as I recall them, and reflect on how those unlikely
coincidences helped us to succeed.
