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!

Weird Persian Spring

In the spring of 1970 I was working on a University of Chicago archaeological dig in Khuzestan (south west Iran). The dig lasted longer than our visas, so we went to an officer in Dezful to extend them. The official was very friendly: "Ah, you are American. I know an American." Think "I may just have to apologise for not knowing his friend. There are rather a lot of Americans." He "Yes, he is a really nice man. He teaches chemistry at the local university. His name is Burns." Think "Coincidence, my high school chemistry teacher's name was Burn." He, "Yes, Ray Burns." Me, "I know Ray Burns! Ten years ago he taught me chemistry in Batavia, New York." He (without a pause), "Yes, isn't he a nice man?" A month later the dig was finished and I was driving my Volkswagon around Iran, exploring its glorious archaeology with a friend. We stopped in a small village where my Ph.D. supervisor had been excavating. Walking through the village we were accosted by the local postman, calling out in excitement, "A foreigner, a foreigner!

thinking

Reading a magazine and the story was about a woman who had an accsident. Her image changed after the accident. My thoughts " based on image for a split second gross" id never walk round like that... One week later i had a similar Accident. And have the same injury. Call it bad luck.

Inexplicable double-coincidence

As a teenager in NJ in 1973, I knew Pat as an adult friend of my parents and frequent home dinner guest. I grew up, off to college, & job in Seattle. In 1983, job sent me to Fort Worth, TX to work at customer site for 2 weeks. That was my only ever customer site visit. My contact at customer site in TX was Bob. Discovered Bob was married to ... Pat, who had divorced & moved. Hadn't thought of Pat in 10 years, assumed she was still in NJ, and hadn't thought of her again after 1983. That's a basic enough coincidence and worthy on its own of your blog here. Good for a smile. Fast forward another 8 years. I've moved to Boston, & then back to Seattle for another new job. First day at new job in Seattle and who occupies the office next to mine but .... Pat, who has moved on again. No fore-knowledge, no connections, no communication, just the odds of coincidence, but the odds of a second once-in-a-lifetime coincidence involving the same person?

The Lido Shuffle

On Saturday, Sept. 21st, 2013, my wife and I were heading to the "The Moose" restaurant here in town. On the way, “The Moose” FM radio station was playing Boz Scaggs’, “Lido Shuffle”. No coincidence there. I commented that this song reminded me of an old public school teacher that we once had, (who liked to dance to this song with his wife at local social functions back in the 70's). He sadly passed away a couple of years ago here in North Bay. Once we arrived at the Moose, and placed our order, we noticed that the restaurant was filling up quite nicely and that pretty much all of the tables had been taken up and the level of the crowds conversation increased in typical fashion. While waiting for our order, we chatted casually about trips and such and my wife mentioned Las Vegas, and how she would like to go there someday. I casually asked why and she mentioned that ever since her sister had went with her boyfriend, at the time, she was curious to see what it was like.

multiple encounters

I'd gone to the theatre in Rome on the 15th of September 2012 - 'As You Like It' by Shakespeare was playing. A play about hidden identities, feigning and love, of course. After the play my father had bumped into someone he had worked with, a young postgraduate named Matthew. We were introduced and he looked strangely at me. I went back home and thought about this man I'd met. I liked him, but I left it at that. A couple of days later he adds me on facebook. I do not accept the request but send a message asking if he'd tell me, in complete honesty, why he added me. To this he replied as I had asked, in complete honesty. And told me he had been struck by me and wanted to see me again very much. I was flattered and remember feeling that there was more to this. I agreed, but a week later he said I had misunderstood everything, he had a girlfriend. I replied if things go in a certain way, we must perforce believe it was the right way. I went abroad for a couple of months, returning to Rome in december.

Shared aquaintance

So, I am at this year's Boomtown Festival, 35000 attending. I have foolishly lost my tent, and all my belongings, and become separated from my friend. For 12 hours, no money, no phone, no keys. I ask a few people if I can borrow their smartphone, so I can get onto my webmail contacts lists, to find the mobile number of my friend. But fail due to drained batteries and no mobile signal. Having all but given up hope, I randomly ask a lass if I might borrow her smartphone, same reason. Fortunately, she has battery and signal. In casual conversation, I explain that I'm trying to obtain mobile number for my friend, who's from Falmouth. The lass says she too is from Falmouth. I know a few names of my friend's Falmouth crowd, though not what they look like. So I ask her name. She introduces herself as Ilka. Immediately I recognise the name as being one of the aforementioned crowd. And being an unusual name, I ask if she might happen to know my friend's name, Matt Hepworth. Ilka replies, yes indeed! And that I won't need to check my contacts list, because she has Matt's number anyway in her phone address book!!

Friday the 13th

I do apologize for posting this not in all respects frenetic story again, but the one posted yesterday - on the 13th, Friday - remained full of mistakes . (It can be considered as my personal disaster on such a gloomy day. ) ... This is the second time within less than 2 years that I traveled on a Friday on the 13th. There is absolutely nothing "mystical" about this. These were cheap flights and because lots of people are superstitious they are reluctant to choose such a day. Consequently a flight on the Friday on the 13th is, as a rule, cheaper than a flight on the 12nd or the 14th (Thursday, Saturday ). I don´t attach much importance to this and wanted the cheapest possible day. --- (It was on the 13th of January 2012 when I last time traveled on the Friday the 13th. That was the day of the Costa Concordia disaster.)

A convenient flat rental.

In the late 90s I worked as a doctor in Queensland for a couple of years. I'd let my flat in Gosport but with several months to run the tenants gave notice to move out. I wasn't going to let the flat again, preferring to leave it empty as I would be returning in a few months. Then someone told me that an Australian doctor (whom I'd met a few times) at the local hospital was going to England in the near future for a few months, and might be looking for somewhere to live, so I called him and let him know I had a flat that would be available shortly. He asked where it was and I told him 'Portsmouth area' (as that might be more familiar to an Australian than Gosport), he said that was a shame as he was actually looking for somewhere in Gosport. It turned out that the practice he was talking to about working with was the nearest one to my flat, and I knew them very well, having done locum work for them many times before I went to Australia. The flat became available just before he was due to go to England so he ended up renting it, and it just so happened that he only needed it until shortly before I returned to England for good.

school and canal boats

In 1992 my husband & I commissioned a narrowboat from the Calcut Marina, nr Napton Warwickshire. After it was fiited out we arranged a mooring at the marina next to an old narrowboat and found the owner (ian) had attended the same school (William Morris Technical School) as we had in Walthamstow, London. Ian was some years older than us and had been there in late 1930s. My husband had left in 1949 and me in 1956, so none of our paths had never crossed. We lived in Hampshire and Ian (now deceased) lived in Sussex. Ian & his wife eventually sold their boat and it was moved away. The berth was taken by a new boat being fitted out by its owner. He (Blaine) turned out to have been a teacher at the same school in the 1980s. Blaine lives with his partner Gerry (Geraldine) whereas our names are Elaine & Terry. So how's that for coincidence?

birthday coincidence

My two sons share the same birthday, 5 years apart, 12th October. My older brother was also born on the same date and last year his son, my nephew, became the father of a son on 12 October.

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