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!

Furniture removal

I was given a white second-hand chest of drawers by my mother-in-law which i decided to paint a stencil design of tulips on. I used it for a couple of years but then gave it to a friend of mine. This friend who lived quite near me moved about 170 miles away. After I separated from my husband I decided to move to the area she now lived in and was allocated a council house in a nearby village. I became friendly with my next door neighbour who one day showed me her decorated bedroom. In the bedroom was the chest of drawers!. I asked her where she had got it from and she explained from a recent car boot sale. I then talked to my friend who explained that she hadn't wanted the chest but was embarrassed to tell me so had sold it at a car boot sale. Coincidences; Being randomly housed next door to someone who bought the chest of drawers at a car boot sale especially after it had travelled 170 miles. Weird.

Life's full of them

I seem to collect coincidences in addition to the two already posted. On a London bus I sat next to a girl who turned out to be the sister of my roommate at University 12 years previously. In a country pub in the tiny village of Overbury in Gloucestershire, I literally bumped into a man who had just arrived from Milford, Iowa - a town of fewer than 1,000 people where my mother lived, and he knew her. I was in my office in London showing a girlfriend visiting from the States some pictures, among which were some of my former Irish lover living in Chartres whose marriage and two children finally convinced me I should call things off around 6 years earlier. Just as I was pointing to a photo of Jack taken in France, the phone rang. The receptionist said it was for me and the next sound was Jack's voice. He was in the lobby. We'd both never stopped thinking about each other, but I'd also married and now had a baby. One of those 'if only' moments, but we never saw, spoke, wrote or loved again.

The name game

When I was 15 I met my first boyfriend, Paul. We parted four years later while both at different universities. I moved to London in 1969, knowing nothing of Paul since 1962. I married, he married and that was that until 1979 when I got a call out of the blue from Paul. Now he didn't know my married name and didn't know where I was in the UK. But when he became CEO of a company in Zug, Switzerland, he often came to meetings in the UK. On the off-chance, during one visit he looked up my maiden name, V. Valentine, in the telephone directory. He called the only one listed and got Virginia Valentine who, unbelievably, was a copywriter as was I, working for the same ad agency as I was, with the same art director and in the same office as me - Valerie Valentine. Wow. </p> <p>A few years later I began working for an agency in Gloucester on the Kraft business. Kraft's headquarters then were in Cheltenham, practically next door. I went to a meeting, Paul who's business was buying coffee and cocoa for Kraft, went to the same meeting, and we met up again in 1987. Doubly coincidental.

Neighbours

Born in Oak Park, Illinois, I moved to England in 1969. I decided to visit Hampton Court via the then Green Line coaches. There was always a queue, but this time I began chatting to the girl behind me. Having established that she was also American and also from Oak Park, she suddenly said 'your name is Valerie and your mother is Lillian. She owns Lillian's Beauty Salon.' It turned out that although I lived at number 46 Lake Street and she at number 48, and even though her mother and mine were best of friends, she and I had never met owing to the fact that I went to the public schools and she to the catholic ones. We'd lived next door to each other for 20 years and never knew it.

Are They Really Coincidences(2)

Carrying on from earlier post. Went out this afternoon (9 Oct.) on my normal cycle ride (for exercise) I do around 10-12 miles each day along a variety of different routes. Today I was out west of the town along quiet country lanes (nicer to ride as no traffic). On way back around 5 miles from town -- yep, that silver Mercedes..

Are They Really Coincidences ?

My mother never believed in coincidence and often talked about these things that others referred to as coincidence as just normal life but sadly I did not really take much notice until recent years, as I've reached middle age - and thought more about the meaning of life etc. as I suppose one does at this time.

I was Born This Way on this day.

I was born on August 10, 1977, 6 days before Elvis died. Madonna turned 19 on this day. My Grandmother died on my birthday when I turned 25. (Madonna was 19 and I was 25. Like 6 years difference and like 6 days apart from Elvis was me.) My grandmother also died 5 minutes after the time I was born on August 10, 2002. I've always felt the connection to famous musicians. My grandmothers birthday was March 28th. Lady Gaga birthday is this same day as my grandmothers and I feel we live a parallel life. I have made over 25 other discovery about Lady Gaga and me.

Same birthdays

I am the second child in my family and was born on my parent's wedding anniversary. Just before marrying my husband, my then future brother in law got married on the same date as my birthday. Several years later his wife gave birth to their second child on their wedding anniversary. So we all share the same date for celebrations!

Double birthday coincidence

nanny came for interview - she has same birthday as me, her son has same birthday as my daughter (she gave dates first and didn't believe me)

Birthday Coincidences

I have just gone to university in Wales and my opposite flat mate has exactly the same birthday as me and her sister has exactly the same birthday as my sister. And we are both studying psychology. How random is that!

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