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!

finding object

About 20 years ago just arrived at Holiday Cottage in Devon, after breaking down on the journey, with a bored 5 year old. We had never been to the cottage before, so I suggested tongue in cheek that we go on an elephant hunt. We had not gone 500 yards abd said 5 year old comes running up with a plastic elephant that she has just found!!! She was very pleased with herself and still remebers it.

Family birthdays

The four members of my family have birthdays which occur on the same day of the week each year. Our dates of birth are 10/12/52, 24/09/55, 08/10/89, 06/08/91. This year, the birthdays will all be on a Monday.

Devils Advocate

Whilst editing a wedding video at a friends house (he had the computer). I put on the 'video' the Devils Advocate starring Al Pacino. Basically it was on in the background and when the video was rendering and converting to video I would watch the film. The film finishing coincided with me completing the wedding video but as the titles ran on the video I pressed 'stop' and live television was about 1 minute behind so repeating the final seconds of the film before the title ran. FREAKY!!!

Lost wallet

In Jan 1999 i lost my wallet on a bus in Colchester (visiting my cousin while i was living in plymouth). tried everything to get it back but no luck. For the previous christmas i was given a daily horoscope book for 1999, not believing in horoscopes particularly i didn't really look at it. then picked it up one day I think in May and it said "something you thought lost will be returned to you". the next day there was a knock at the door and postman delivered a parcel containing my lost wallet complete with £5 note, stamps, drivers licence etc still in it.

Mrs Debbie

Birthday coincidence .My son from my first marriage shares his birthday with my 2nd husband which is the 16th March, My birthday is the 17th March, neither my husband or I knew when our birthdays were when we started dating.

Lost Mobile Phone

My brother in law lost his mobile phone in a London cab after a night out. The next day he rang his number and a guy sitting in the back of the taxi answered it as the taxi driver hadn't realised it was there. The unbelievable coincidence is that the guy that answered was my brother in laws best friend who was in London visiting from his home in Brighton! It still freaks us out as how many London cabs are there and what was the chance of Rich (who is hardly ever in London) picks it up!!! Thanks Kathryn

Meeting my future husband

On 26 August 1986 I was driving from the South Coast of England to the Midlands, to a music festival. I was going to meet my older sister there, who was coming from another area of the country. About half way between home and the festival, I passed a hitch-hiker. I didn't stop and pick him up because I was 19 and alone, so not sure about the safety of picking up strange men! I felt a bit bad about it but drove on to my destination. I arrived before my sister; when she pulled up in the layby where we'd agreed to meet, she had a hitch-hiker with her - the same one that I had passed on my route. He was going to the same festival as us. He evidently forgave me for driving past him - we kept in touch and were married in 1989 (and yes we are still married 23 years later).

Telephone Box Coincidence

24 years ago when attending Chester College I had called my father from a public phone and he had called me back. One saturday evening on at the start of a lad's night out I was walking into town and as I passed the phone box it rang, a friend answered it and imagine our amazement when the caller asked for me by name and sure enough it was my DAD

Chicken Pox

While my twin sister was pregnant I caught Chicken Pox ( I was 29 yrs old at the time), When I was pregnant (aged 40yrs) she caught Chicken Pox.

Evacuee and the postman

My mum was evacuated at the start of WWII from Birmingham to worcester In 1986 I got engaged to a man in Bristol who come from Bury in lancs. when my mum wrote to the grandson of the lady to whom she had be evacuted she told him all about it. It turned out that the grandson had been my fiances post man for many years when he was living at home in bury.

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