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!

MAD

My boyfriend and I seem to call, text or messenger at the same time or about the same thing. Why ?

Irrational urge to cook has fortunate consequence

Some years ago I had a very strong urge to cook a lemon surprise pudding, a desert made from fresh lemons among other ingredients. It also needs butter. Though quite late at night I went to the kitchen and found that there was no butter, only a type of vegetable fat. My wife said not to try to make the pudding because I didn't have the right ingredients but I decided to continue nonetheless. I started, and got out the electric lemon squeezer. The top bit of it was missing, however, and I spend about half an hour looking for it. Eventually I found it in some wrapped up newspaper in the bin. My wife had accidentally thrown it away. One day later and the rubbish would have been thrown out and taken away - including my lemon squeezer top. I only saved it because I insisted on making the pudding. What made it such a powerful experience was that I didn't really have the right ingredients but persisted nonetheless. The coincidence was the strong desire to make a lemon pudding at just the time that this urge would lead me to rescuing something that had inadvertently been thrown away and would not otherwise have been spotted.

Crystallographers - The Braggs - "Multicoincidental"!

Yesterday afternoon, 28th November 2013, my elderly neighbour was telling me over tea about the Radio 4 programme that morning -Melvyn Bragg's, In Our Time - the subject being "The Microscope". She knows little about science but was fascinated by the discussion on the electron microscope. I am a scientist, and our general conversation wandered around the subject and happened to extend to me telling her about the subject of crystallography and about William and Lawrence Bragg, father and son, who jointly won the Nobel prize in 1915 for their pioneering work in the subject. </p> <p>That evening I happened to watch the quiz programme - "Eggheads" on BBC2 (Series 10, Episode 124, first broadcast January 2010). One of the five contestants who each declared their names and occupations identified himself as a crystallographer (a pretty unusual occupation to declare!). This was the first, but minor coincidence. </p> <p>Then, of the various possible subjects that feature (History, Music etc), Science happened to come up and the crystallographer, being the scientist on the team, elected to compete against a resident Egghead.

Significant Other Simultaneous Notifications

My name is Marcus and I live in California. My significant other lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Needless to say we text and call each other a lot in order to communicate and keep the relationship strong. However during the 6 months that we have dated there have been several odd occurrences where we have either texted or called each other at literally the exact same moment. These simultaneous occurrences have happened at all times of the day and continue to happen. They don't happen every single day but I would say it happens on average at least twice a week sometimes 3-4 times a week. We joke with each other and say its a sign that we are meant for each other but we actually think it's very bizarre that it happens so frequently. I'm not sure if there is a science behind it but its definitely interesting to us.

MEETING AN OLD ENEMY

In 1954, my Dad attended an advanced military course. Also open to NATO forces, he shared a table with an Italian officer. Comparing notes on their activities during WWII, they noted that they had been at the same Italian village. With the American advance, Dad led his infantry platoon into the village where they became pinned down by small arms fire. The Italian officer told him that he was providing the small arms fire to cover for his unit that was trying to escape the village. So, Dad had now met a man that had shot at him.

OLD TIES

In December 2012, we called a local church (we had never attended) to make a contribution, and were told a member would come to our house to pick up. When he arrived, we thought his name was familiar and found that my wife and I met at his 50 miles distant grandparents house 50 years ago. Further, his uncle was best man at our wedding in 1964. Gary

ACROSS US CONNECTION

In 1964, my wife and I were married in Alexandria, VA and traveled across the US to a new life in Sacramento, CA. As new members of a local church, we were asked to speak as half of the program for the evening. When we got to the church, we found the other half of the program was another new couple... recently arrived from Alexandria, VA. My wife had been their baby sitter in Alexandria. Gary

WHO WAS THAT ACTRESS?

In October 2013, watching TV, my son was surfing and stopped on a showing of North and South. The scene had an actress which I recalled but couldn't remember her name. I departed into the bedroom to pick up a Carl Hiaasen novel to read and on the second page it referred to a Morgan Fairchild Look Alike Contest. Although not relevant to anything else in the book, it was the actress whom I couldn't identify. Gary

Family Connection

In about 1952, when I was 10 years old, my family planned a trip to the Los Angeles area from Sacramento to visit my mother's aunt, who lived in Alhambra. My father's mother reminded him that he also had an aunt in the Los Angeles area well and that he should consider visiting her as well. He told her that he didn't know where she lived but that he would call her when we got down there. When we got to mom's aunt's house, she wasn't home, so we went into the back yard to wait for her. My brother found a ball and began kicking it around, and kicked it over the fence. Dad went next door to retrieve it. A woman came out of the house and it was his aunt! Mom's aunt and dad's aunt had lived next door to each other for 20 years and never knew of a family connection by marriage (Mom and Dad). Gary

My Wife's Family

When my future wife and I met in 1986 we got to know each other a bit, and then, had about a two year break when we didn't see each other hardly at all (she thought I was too shy and timid). In 1988, we met again through a mutual friend and began dating seriously. We found many similarities in the names in our families: Her mother's name is Della Mae- my grandmother has the same name. She has two nieces- Missy and Mandy. I have two cousins- Misty and Mandy. Her nephew's name is Galen. I have an Uncle Gaylan. Guess it was just meant to be!

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