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.

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Well I Never!

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

Same name

Ok when I was younger every man I met in a romantic sense was called dan or Daniel, after a lot of heart ache I decided I'd never date a dan again, after that every man I met was called Steve! After yet more heart ache I decided no more Steves and now currently I only meet men called Paul! This drives me insane, I have No idea why it happens but I can pretty much tell you know if I decide no more Paul's ill meet men all with a new name which will be the same until I decide no more. I find it really baffling. Other weird things about it is even my customers will have that name and it's even spelt Paul in my scrabble letters just last week.

Occurrences at inopportune moments

Driving down a little travelled country road, I see a runner is on the side of the road to my right. I go to swerve a little into the oncoming lane, to draw a little away from the runner, but just then another car is approaching in the opposite direction and I have to instead slow down as we meet three abreast, the runner, the other car and me. Then after passing the runner there isn't another car in sight and the road is once again empty of traffic. Now anytime I see a runner in the distance on a quiet road, I've come to expect the other car and 8 times out of ten without exaggeration there it approaches meeting three abreast. When I listen to a favorite song or there is a favorite moment in a movie, times I don't want to be interrupted, I know the phone will ring at those moments and it usually does.

Land and Sea around St Kilda

Back in the late 1960's I was in the British Army and was posted to the Royal Artillery rocket range in the Outer Hebrides. As a part of our duties we were expected to serve on Hirta, the major island in the St Kilda Archipelago, which is about 40 miles west of the Outer Hebrides. After a six-week stint on Hirta, I returned to Benbecula (the outer Hebridean island where the army camp was) and then immediately went on leave to my parent's home in Southampton. This trip home involved flying from Benbecula to Glasgow and then catching the train from Glasgow to London and then to Southampton. On the train journey from Glasgow, I spent the night in a carriage compartment with what turned out to be a naval officer who was a submariner who had - would you believe it - - - spent the last six weeks involved with navla submarine exercises - - around St Kilda - - - - .

An Eye for an Eye

Dear Professor, Hello. -I was fishing off Ardmore, on the coast of Ireland around 1976 with my Australian cousin. The seals had chased the mackerel in so instead of casting our rods and just waiting, as we'd normally do, we cast the rods and immediately reeled them (the rods) in; called strawk hauling (sp?), knowing that the German sprat ('a metal bait that swivels and glimmers when drawn through water') would affix itself to something, given the high number of fish who were just jumping out of the water. Sure enough it did, catching the eye of a mackerel. Being small (the fish) my cousin carefully removed the eye which was 'lost' (of no further use) and throwing the fish back, he affixed the eye to the hook as 'live bait' (not a pretend bait, like the synthetic German Sprat). After a short period, my cousin got another bite, the same fish (now one eyed) had baited himself on his own eye. Uroborus. My cousin was a bit of an idiot back then but I'm confident that played no part in the story. Kind Regards, Martin.

4 same digits

I discovered that 2 of my friends use the same 4 digit number but in different sequence. Julia: 7211 Kasia: 2117 Alex: 7121 We are all from different countries and are close friends. What are the odds that we would all pick the same 4 digits? Thank you,

The Piano Man - Part 2

So to sum up the coincidence - I flew half way around the world and ran into a complete stranger playing a piano in a hotel lobby - who's daughter, as it turned out, had been working only ~ 3(vertical) meters away from me in an office building (half way around the world) for the past several years. I don't know what the odds of this coincidence might be ... but would think that it might be greater than winning the National Lottery.

The Piano Man

I was on a business trip in Mumbai, India and staying at a hotel. In the downstairs of the hotel was a large dining area and adjacent lobby. As I entered the area around dinner time, I heard and the saw a gentleman playing a piano. Eventually we started chatting and he asked me where I was from. I told him that I was Canadian and lived in Toronto. He said that he also spent time in Toronto and that his family was residing there presently. He asked me when I was returning back home and so I told him. He asked if I would be so kind as to carry a letter back with me that he had just written for his daughter. I said that I would. He mentioned the name of the company where his daughter works and I said that the particular company had an office in the building where my company is situated. He asked me the address of that building and so I told him. He said that that is the address where his daughter is employed at. It turns out that she worked one floor up from mine and that her desk was almost situated directly over mine.

Out of the blue part2

I forgot to mention something important regarding a recent post . I am resending the story with the part I left out I had a freind that died unexpectedly . We didn't talk to each other over a 4 year period, due to a falling out. A week before he died, I had out of the blue wondered what impact it would have on me if I got a call saying that my freind passed away. It was just a weird thought, but I was thinking that maybe it was a sign that I should try and revive our friendship. He was a very important person to me , at a very crucial part of my life. He was a freind that I would go to at any time , day or night and knew I could count on him. He was very in tune with me. He and I were not involved romantically, it was just a unique friendship . Something happend a long time ago that made me upset , I felt it was more of a betrayal between us, so I decided to end our friendship . It was hard and It basically changed my life. I blocked emails and just made it impossible to communicate. I would think of him every so often, realizing that I found myself thinking of all the good times. When I had the weird feeling about him dying I emailed him.

Out of the blue

I had a freind that died unexpectedly . We didn't talk to each other over a 4 year period, due to a falling out. A week before he died, I had out of the blue wondered what impact it would have on me if I got a call saying that my freind passed away. It was just a weird thought, but I was thinking that maybe it was a sign that I should try and revive our friendship. He was a very important person to me , at a very crucial part of my life. He was a freind that I would go to at any time , day or night and knew I could count on him. He was very in tune with me. He and I were not involved romantically, it was just a unique friendship . Something happend a long time ago that made me upset , I felt it was more of a betrayal between us, so I decided to end our friendship . It was hard and It basically changed my life. I blocked emails and just made it impossible to communicate. I would think of him every so often, realizing that I found myself thinking of all the good times. When I had the weird feeling about him dying I emailed him. I told him that I just wanted him to know that he was and always will be an important person in my life.

The strange tale of Mr Hay and Mr Weisner

Some twenty years ago my wife had an Australian friend (Mr Hay) visit and stay with us in How Wood near Watford. He'd never been to the UK before. During one of the days of his stay he decided to take a day trip into London. London is some 15 miles in from Watford. I had no friends there but travelled there every now and then for a night out. When Mr Hay arrived in London he decided to go to the nearest pub he saw for a drink - which was the "Wetherspoons" pub in Leciester square. He struck up a conversation with the guy sat next to him at the bar and explained that he was staying just outside of Watford. The stranger noted that he was from Watford. "You may know them then" said Mr Hay. "unlikely" said the stranger. "The couple are Neil and Lisa" said Mr Hay. "I know a Neil and Lisa, Neil is my best mate" said the stranger, introducing himself as Mr Weisner. To complete the view of coincidence, Mr Weisner lived in Watford, travelled to London rarely, so the chance of them both meeting and having a conversation that allowed them to note the coincidence is I think extremely low.

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