In the greatest case of coincidence or the most profound proof of human telepathic ability, just days before Dennis the Menace began to torment his next-door neighbor Mr. Wilson, his cousin in Britain, also called Dennis the Menace, and also every bit the mischievous schoolboy, appeared in a UK comic. The British Dennis came with in issue of the Beano children’s comic, by the publisher D.C. Thomson.

On this day, July 29, in 1938, the Beano children’s comic, a sister publication to the already successful Dandy, was released. It would introduce many iconic British characters, including Dennis — who survives to this day.

Dennis did not make his debut until long after the comic’s debut. The strip first appeared in issue 452, dated 17 March 1951, which put it just five days after the debut of his American counterpart.