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!

Birthdays

Hello, I'm just watching your tv program, my late grandmother and two brothers all have there birth date (April 19). My birth date is also the same as my cousin. John

Australian meeting

I went backpacking in Australia in 2003 with a friend. We bought a van in Perth, done it up for,2 weeks and set off on our travels north to Darwin. After around 4 days driving north and miles from anywhere we stopped at a service station to fill up. Whilst in there another van pulled up along side us and out stepped a young man with a Middlesbrough shirt on. To our amazement it was somebody who I played Sunday league football with in my home town 10 years earlier! What's the chances of that?

Family death day!

My grand mother, father (her son) and step mum (dads wife) all died of natural causes, in different years on July 27. we all now check we are still alive at the end of that day!!!!

44 on 4/4/44

On the 4th April 2004 my mother turned 44.

A mentor's number

When I was age 26, after working as an employee, on and off, for about eight years, I bought my first retail franchise. In my office I kept a plaque which read “L V SALES LTD.”, the business shingle passed on to me by the family of my late mentor and friend, L V. L had prospered in the post-war years of the 1950s and 60s as a clothing supplier. I met him at church through his grandson. During the 1990s, and until L’s death later that decade, he encouraged us to develop, among other virtues, responsible financial habits. With two years as a business owner under my belt, I was asked to operate an additional store. The available site’s ID number was “7696”—propitious to me because L’s telephone number ended with those digits, in that same order. An omen, or coincidence? I’m not sure. The event certainly brought L to mind more than a decade after his death. I accepted the offer, and operated both locations until the company folded two years later.

2222 the story of chance

This is what happened: On the morning of 01/10/2012, me and my wife and son woke up, and my wife asked me did I have \$2.00, she said she wanted to give my son money for lunch,she stated all she had was \$2.00 and I stated all I had was \$2.00 in all I believe we had 2 sets of 2 or 3 sets of 2. this is what occured, after dropping my son off at school we went to publix and my wife purchased her play 4 and cash 3 tickets, as she got back in the car, she ask was I going to get my play 4 . I said no I wasn't and she said listen we are going to 7-11 and we are going to purchase the tickets (2222) . as she exited the car she asked me do you want the 2222's for day and evening and do you want 2 sets of the 2's or 1 set?. I did not want to loose twice on that number so I just said get one for day and one for the night drawing. at I'm guessing. at 1:45 or 2:00 pm my wife called and she was like whispering with some what excitement and she asked " james, did you see the numbers for the day drawing and I asked why, she stated I think we won!" I was so shaking about now I looked at my ticket and yelled.

The curious incident of the lost tigger

When I was 6 or 7 years old I used to play touch rugby near where my family lived in Surrey. My younger sister used to come along to watch and always brought her soft toy- a Tigger from Winnie the Pooh. One day, very sadly, she left the teddy bear behind at a rugby game, and while we came back later and spent a long time searching for it- it couldn't be found. Fast forward 6 years or so, and we have moved house to a small town in West Sussex. We go to visit our next door neighbours, who have a daughter the same age as my sister, and she sees a Tigger soft toy and remarks she used to have one like that. Our neighbours say they bought it at a lost toys auction at a rugby club in Surrey, and it turns out to have been the same toy, any my sister is reunited! It's hardly uncommon for a family to move from edge of London suburbs to a more rural setting, particularly once they start to have children. Sussex and Surrey are not so far away from each other. But it still seems an amazing coincidence that they should be our next-door neighbours!

Brendan Fraser

I was working in a video store in 1994. I was recommending a film called 'school ties' to a customer, and who should walk in Just moments later?? the star of the film- Brendan Fraser!! he had stepped into the store to get out of the pouring rain. After I had stopped screaming-'aaaahggghhh I can't believe it!! Brendan Fraser !! i was only just talking about you', he stopped for a quick chat, signed the School Ties video box sleeve, then asked if i had a brolly he could have - i said 'no' and then he left the store. I couldn't believe it. What a coincidence!

split second timing

Having not had any comunication with someone in 6 months, both parties texted each other at the same moment to say the exact same thing.

Amendment - Same name wrong person!

In case anyone reading my submission thinks this made up, I just wanted to add the our name is so unusual that I would be easily identified, so perfer not to do so. I also wanted to add the fact that the called had obtained our number via Directory Inquiries; he did not had a UK telephone directory!

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