The fact that it's mathematically impossible for it to be 99% with a sample pool of only 45 presidents aside...

Yes, because I was obviously being literal there. Not just pointing out that it's very rare.

it's quite bizarre that two separate presidents within 20 years of each other have not won the popular vote, not even accounting for the other two outlier presidents.

What is bizarre about it? This is like choosing to play chess for hundreds of years, being perfectly fine with all the rules until the same move beats you 2 times in 2 decades, and then start throwing a fit about the rules of chess and wanting to play a different game. It's silly.