Cambridge Coincidences Collection

As of the 23rd May 2022 this website is archived and will receive no further updates.

understandinguncertainty.org was produced by the Winton programme for the public understanding of risk based in the Statistical Laboratory in the University of Cambridge. The aim was to help improve the way that uncertainty and risk are discussed in society, and show how probability and statistics can be both useful and entertaining.

Many of the animations were produced using Flash and will no longer work.

Well I Never!

Professor David Spiegelhalter of Cambridge University wants to know about your coincidences!

Phil

I have had 4 separate incidents/accidents relating to riding a motorcycle on a Friday 13th. I am not superstitious and it was only after the second incident this occurred to me. This happened over a period of years and as my use of a motorcycle infrequent it seems statistically improbable. My birthday this year is a Friday the 13th, needless to say it will avoid any contact with the offending objects :-)

strange spiritual phone call/ time

The phone call or time itself were not spiritual, but the happening of them was. I tore up my knee (torn acl, mcl, lcl, fcl, and meniscus) about two months ago while skiing in colorado. I moved home in MI for the recovery. I have had lots of free time, which I have used to learn guitar, watch movies, make art, etc. But I have not read a single book since I've been home. Today for some reason I decided to pick up a book in the middle of the day. My friend gave it to me after my crash to take home but I never was interested until today. I grabbed ice for my knee, and began to read. 50 pages later I was surprised of the deeper impact the book had just revealed and how much I could personally relate to the characters, thoughts, situations, etc. I was especially surprised that this character was facing a reawakening in his career as an elite athlete- extremely similar to my predicament going from racing at an elite level to an injury which makes me read this book, on this day. I sat in awe for a little while, trying to take it in, then got up and walked on to my back porch.

Italian meets a Greek in France and years later again in Germany

I am Italian and a few years ago I as attending a conference in Cargese (Corse, France) where I met many colleague from all over the world. We spent the days working and the nights drinking beer and chatting, as usual. Among them there was this Greek guy (I don't remember his name now). We never kept in touch afterwards. No email, no work connections, etc.<br /> A couple of years after I was in Berlin on vacation, on a S-bahn train. Suddenly at a station the train stopped for same technical problem and they asked us to leave and wait for another train. It was peek hour, so there was a large amount of people getting down. Suddenly I heard someone calling my name. This Greek guy was coming out of the next carriage and recognized me. He was in Germany for work reasons and on his way to the university. We spent the remaining of the trip chatting about how incredibly strange and amusing was the coincidence.<br /> Renato

Movie coincidence

I was thinking in my head about a movie or TV show and the within the next couple days it was on TV. This has happened multiple times.

Charge Minutes

I was in the common room of my fraternity dutifully applying linseed oil and turpentine to the woodwork when I came across a shelf of black bound volumes labeled CHARGE MINUTES. These were reports going back sixty and more years detailing the achievements of members. I cracked a volume open at random and read for a few minutes the report from 1902, dominated by brothers Frank and Tim. Perhaps five minutes after I had resumed renovation there was a knock at the front door, and a wizened old man shuffled in ... it was Tim!. I led him to the bound volumes, frantically riffled through the pages, and read aloud from the 1902 report. I was quite dizzy from the coincidence of it all, and my chin began to quiver when he said "Frank. Great guy. I really miss him." He turned to shuffle out, and I did my best to restrain him. "Please wait. The guys will be back shortly, and I want them to meet you." He was determined to leave, but I got between him and the door. He looked up at me with blazing blue eyes. "It won't do you any good, you know." I was baffled.

St Ives and China

Whilst working in Hong Kong I took a trip on the train to Beijing . At a small hotel, I hired a bicycle and teamed up with a couple on Honeymoon from Rome . The bride turned out to originally be from St Ives in Cambridgeshire who had gone to the same school and had the same teachers.

My neighbour has the same name and same birthday as me !

Found out today that my next door neighbour shares my birthday although she is older than me but also remarkable is the fact that she has the same first name ! My previous next door neighbour where I used to live not only had the same birthday as me but also was born in the same year ! I seem to attract neighbours who have the same birthday as me ! Both moved in next door after I had already moved in ! Incredible !

Filmpathy

Its been almost 9 years. I think of some movie scenes and within next 2 days that movie is on TV showing me the same scene of the movie. I kept a vigilant watch to understand that I don't see the names of the upcoming movies on TV that illusions me of having thought of that movie or a particular scene. Its become very repetitive now a days.

Hitch-hiker connection

On my way to Cornwall, I picked up a hitch-hiker on the outskirts of Aberdeen. He was heading to Dundee to meet a friend to go climbing. In conversation it came out that he actually lived in Edinburgh. I was stopping at Edinburgh to meet an old flat-mate. The hitch-hiker said that, though he currently lived in Edinburgh, he was actually from a small town called Aberfeldy (pop. 2000 at the time). My old flat-mate came from Aberfeldy, and, indeed, the hitch-hiker knew her and had been in the same sports team as her. More, my flat-mate had just moved into a new flat, on the same street as the hitch-hiker.

Phoning my sister, and holiday in spain..

I telephoned my sister who lives 280 miles away, Me in Ashford kent, she lives near Liskeard Cornwall,. I dialed the number, the voice the other end was very harsh, I said, " that's not Trev is it " the reply, " no it's not Trev" so I then thought , and asked , is that Fred,, " yes",,,," Fred #####", it was my cousin I hadn't seen for over 30 years,, randon... We were in Spain, someone commented " isn't it strange when you go away, you see people who remind you people at home " just then my wife's brother wife and two grown up kids walked in, neither of us knew the other was going to Spain, let alone the same Hotel,, and not a close family either,,, Life..

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