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!

Musical Coincidence

Many years ago I was listening to some CDs at home with some friends. It was a time way before Google and search engines existed. One particular track ('You're just too good to be true') was sung by the artist Lauren Hill and I asked my friends "who was this originally sung by?". We didn't know, so after a long time of pondering, I called Capital Radio to ask them. But it was late at night and there was no answer. So I called my friend who is a DJ, but he didn't answer either. So we went to bed not knowing. In the morning, I called another friend and asked "who sang the original version of 'you're just too good to be true'?". To which he answered "What this one you mean?" And he cranked up the radio he was listening to and lo and behold, it was Andy Williams singing 'you're just too good to be true'! Freaked me out for a very long time that did! Out of all the people I could have called and all the songs I could have asked about, and all the radio stations that my friend could have been listening to, what are the chances of the actual song being played at the exact time that I called?

Future husband?

One summer , off work from being a school teacher in Miami, Fl. I worked at a restaurant and fell in love with the manager. We had a quick courtship and wedding. At the wedding our parents met each other for the first time. After comparing family histories, they found out that we both lived in Memphis, Tenn when we were small. And we were very close friends. My husband, 4 years younger than I , was fascinated by a six year old girl down the street ( me). My mother ran to the photo albums and found pictures of me (6) and my husband (2) on my lap sitting on the porch. We had met by coincidence, 20 years later, not knowing our past connection.

Same workplace

In 1993 while on holiday on a small Hebridean island (Colonsay), my husband and I went on a boat trip with the only two other tourists on the island. The only other person to come along was the island's resident naturalist. During the trip we found that the naturalist, one of the other tourists and I had all worked at South East Derbyshire College, a small college 400 miles away which was only in existence for about 15 years.

Lloyd Jones

A friend of mine stopped his car on Llanfairfechan prom and while listening to the Remembrance Day service on his radio he happened to glance at his milometer, which stood at 111111.

I'm OK, you're OK

In 1998, I was teaching in Argentina. The phone rang one evening. It was my mother. She told me mmy dad had died. At that time, I was studying for an M Ed by distance learning. There was a reading list open on my dining room table. My eye fell on a title that I had never heard of by one T Harris - "I'm Ok, you're OK". My dad's name was Tony Harris. I always felt it was a message.

Lottery 7 11

I bought a lottery ticket on the way to work and picked my own numbers, on arriving at work my friend was carrying a lottery ticket . I asked him what numbers he picked while holding my ticket , as he called out his numbers I said yep, yep , yep, yep, yep except for the last number which was 7 and I had eleven!! This was also when the 7 or eleven lottery advert was being screened . What are the chances of that ?

A birthday coincidence

I was born on 12th October 1979, my brother 12th October 1981 and my sister 13th October 1983. Friends often comment on how bizarre this is when we celebrate our Birthday's together. I often have coincidences and have read about these before in the Celestine Prophecies by James Redfield. --Rachel

Knowing the same person

In the late '80's I was in Munich with the BMW Car Club of Great Britain on a Factory Visit. Members had come from all over the UK and one of them brought his father. Chatting one evening he asked what I did and I told him I worked for Marconi in Chelmsford at their Research Centre. When he was a young lad, one of his neighbours and playmates, who he'd not seen since his teens, was a clever lad who later went on to work for an electronics company, which he seemed to remember was Marconi and maybe it was Chelmsford? Did I know him? At that time, we had around 10,000+ people working for Marconi in the Chelmsford and surrounding areas so I said it was possible but pretty unlikely. He told me that chaps first and surname, not a common name, and it turned out to be my Manager, who confirmed the coincidence.

Birthday coincidence

My birthday is on the 1st my daughter's is the 2nd. My wife the 24th my son the 23rd. My brother the 9th his son the 8th. My sister-in-law the 4th her daughter my niece the 5th. My Mum the 5th my dad the 6th and lastly my Dad and my father-in-law were both born on April 6th but not the same year.

Cuban coincidence

9 years ago whilst on a tour of Cuba I was walking across a square in Havana. I was catching up with the rest of the group I was touring with so I should have already crossed the square. As I crossed the square I met a colleague from our French office. I was not awae of his holiday plans and neither was he of mine. I was only in Havana for 3 of my 16 days in Cuba. We were both so shocked that we just laughed and promptly continued our separate vacations. Something similar occurred this year wheni bumped in to a former German based colleague I had not seen or worked with for about 5 years whilst crossing a square in Bristol. I hadn't been in this square for a while and my former colleague had only arrived that morning for a year long secondment in Bristol.<br />

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