The fact that it carried the powerful Graves mystique and surfaced unexpectedly only added to its value.

FORBES: Inherit the whirlwind

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for the quarter was unexpectedly revised down to only 2.8% from the previously reported 3.2%.

FORBES: Looking Like A Good Time To Sell Into Strength

Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit, the executive who led the bank through the financial crisis, unexpectedly resigned today, only a day after Citi reported strong quarterly figures.

FORBES: Citigroup CEO Pandit Abruptly Quits After Guiding Bank Through Financial Crisis

Exploiting wars between France and Austria to acquire the rich northern part of the country, the Piedmontese king was faced with a startling fait accompli when the revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi, initially leading an expedition of only a thousand men, quite unexpectedly conquered the whole of Sicily and southern Italy.

NEWYORKER: Booted

After all, the coalition, between her centre-right Christian Democrats and the centre-left Social Democrats, came about only because she and her party did unexpectedly badly in last September's election.

ECONOMIST: Germany's government

Senior advisers dispatched ground-game gurus such as Michael Whouley and Ace Smith on missions to unexpectedly threatened or newly critical states -- only to discover grass-roots, Web-driven Obama efforts firmly established.

CNN: Analysis: Why Clinton's bid failed

In 2009, when talks between Russia and America were going full steam, Mr Putin unexpectedly thwarted them by saying that Russia would join only with Belarus and Kazakhstan, with which it has a customs union.

ECONOMIST: Russia and world trade

And indeed since that meeting economic reports have improved significantly, including the surprisingly strong jobs report for July, unexpectedly positive housing reports, retail sales up 0.8% in July after declining 0.7% in June, industrial production rising 0.6% in July after rising only 0.1% in May and June, consumer confidence unexpectedly rising in August, and so on.

FORBES: Troubling Times Ahead As Euro Politicos Finally Finish Vacations