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!

Birthday coincidence

Kathie was my daughter's boss eighteen years ago. At that time, they discovered a common interest in quilting, which I share too. About ten years ago Kathie and I joined a quilting group in our city. It was then that we discovered that we share the same birth date, July 23. Last year, grandsons were born to both of us within six months of one another. Both were named Gavin by their parents. Anabeth

Birth day coincidence

It's always amazed me and I often wonder how likely is that? My sister Rosie, brother Tommy(deceased) and I Kathy, all share the same birthday...but all in different years, its the 26th of August!

Holiday conidence

15 years ago on holiday in wales from our home in Essex we climbed mount Snowdon, at the top there is a big concrete/ stone pile that every one want to climb to be the higherst person in Britain, When My eldest son climbed up there he was surprised to have someone bang him on the foot and say dont I know you from the Square? ( a music venue where we live) . So hundreds of miles from home, the only person on top of a mountian and some one from home knew him!

Husband coincidence

I am interested in family history and often look at old census. I recently found that my my first and seocnd husbands who are 20 years different in age and whose families both ( as far as they knew) came from London - one beig born in London one in Harlow Essex both had Great Great aunts who lived next door to each other in Cheshunt Herts( 10 miles form where we live now) in 1861. Neither of them knew they had any family history in Cheshunt

Family relationship

Many years ago having acquired my very first P.C. and internet connection plus having reached a certain time in life, I decided my first jaunt into the world wide web would be tracing my paternal ancestry. Some 5 years down the line I hadn't really got anywhere, despite posting on family history sites such as Ancestry.com, when I was contacted by a gentleman from London (we live in the Midlands) who shared my surname. He also was tracing his ancestors and helped me to find my family back to my great great grandfather who originated from Devon, as did his ancestors. Through eventually acquiring relevant certificates I was able to go back one more generation. I relayed this to my 'helper' who then contacted me with the startling news that our 3 x gt. grandfathers where brothers, making us related. To add to this we then discovered that we were both born in the same year, 3 weeks apart. Further discussions between us also revealed that he was born and lived in Aldershot, his father being the store manager of Woolworths, moving from the area when he was about 4.

Son's born on the same day

I have an old school friend that has remained one of my best friends although we lose touch for years, then meet up again. We had lost touch and one day she turned up at my house with her new baby that was 3 weeks old. It was her first child, a son, born on 18th Feb. I invited her in to see my new baby daughter, who was 2 weeks old. My first child, a son, had been born on 18th Feb five years previously. Still sends tingles down my back that we had babies born on the same day although 5 years apart.

Chance meeting in Istanbul 1974

In 1974 I was living in Greece with my husband and we decided to go to Istanbul for a week. I can't remember why we decided on Istanbul as we were on an island south of the Peloponnese and Greece and Turkey were not the best of friends. We were walking through a garden in front of the blue mosque when 2 people from our home town in Hertfordshire walked towards us. They were on their way to India on the "magic bus" and it had broken down. This forced them to stay in Istanbul 2 nights rather than a quick stop over. If their bus hadn't broken down we would never have bumped into them.

birthdates

My ex husband had the same birthday as my nephew and my mother in law and sister in law the same birthday as me. day and month only not year. It looked like a match made in heaven but wasn't!

birthdates

My ex husband had the same bithday as my nephew and my mother in law and sister in law the same birtthday as me. day and month only not year. It looked like a match made in heaven but wasn't!

Janet Helen Karnovski

I found out, whilst researching the family tree, that one of my uncles was sent from Wales to a Home for Crippled Boys in Kensington, London. I was close to the area so went to see if the home still existed. Unfortunately, it had been demolished and in its place was an hotel. A couple of years later I was asked to do a favour by driving a friend up to London to take a suitcase to an air stewardess who was delivering it to someone in South Africa ( all above board, I assure you!!) Imagine my surprise when we stopped in front of that same hotel which had once been the Home for Crippled Boys. That same uncles grandmother, my great grandmother, had lived in Cowbridge, Wales and I visited the cemetery to try to find her headstone. I had been searching for ages and eventually, looking up to the sky I said "please nan help me. Give me a sign". With that, I tripped over part of a grave and landed on the one next door and when I looked at that stone it was hers!!! I wouldn't have found it had I not tripped because I had already passed it and missed it!!!

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