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!

Unexpected Encounter

My husband and I were going down an elevator in a huge hotel in Rome, Italy at the end of a bus tour in June 1998 ; when a woman( who was not on the bus tour ) and I thought we might know each other. Turns out she was currently a nurse on the same medical ward at the Edmonton General Continuing Care Centre in Edmonton Alberta Canada, that I worked on as a chaplain.

The number 137

Can't be a coincidence ... the number 137 is constantly coming into my life ... raffle ticket wins, house key code number, tax code, countless, constant seemingly insignificant incidences (code given for car park on daughter's wedding day, torn scrap of paper sticking out under friend's oven - catalogue page 137 etc etc) - then Radio Times requested people write in with stories of inexplicable events and I was wondering whether they would be interested in my '137' events. The page number with the contact details?? ... page 137!!

Saturday Morning TV

Was watching a children's Sat morning TV programme many years ago, before even videos. I commented to my husband that it would be interesting if they had identical twins on the programme. Later, just as the programme was ending, the presenter (I think Noel Edmonds) requested that any identical twins watching get in touch as they were making a special programme about them. I fell off the settee!

Sad Story

Sad story but incredible. Was passenger with brother and sister, driving to register my husband's death. They were talking and I drifted and was thinking 'Give me a sign you're still with me Dave' then, immediately, a lorry came towards us with the initials 'DGL' on the front. My husband's name was David George L. Behind it was a second lorry - 'DHL' - we used to joke it was our company: Dave and Helen Lawson! Then, going around the roundabout we were waiting for a fire engine and white 'Cancer Research UK' van. My husband was a fireman and died because of cancer.

Driving Home

Driving home from work one morning I was remembering how much I loved a friend in Spain's rescue dog - possibly a Schnauzer - and would like to kidnap him. I was thinking he was too curly so maybe a mixed breed and decided: maybe a poodle. I wondered if there was such a thing as a half Schnauzer, half poodle. I then forgot all about it. That night I watched a documentary on Doris Day, that I had taped, and towards the end she introduced her dogs - mostly poodles ... and then her 'Schnoodle' - a poodle/Schnauzer mix!!!

A brother, girlfriend, friend, room mate and wife

A girlfriend of mine from sixth form, there weren't that many so I haven't skewed the chances here, went off to Univerisity [Bristol I think] and, unsurpirsingly, became friends with a boy there. I went off to a different univerisity and met another girl whom I dated and later married. Her roommate and best friend turned out to have a brother who, you've guess it, was the bloke who was a friend of my ex-girlfriend.

an aviation coincidence

I'm not sure that this really qualifies as a coincidence, but given that the end result would not have happened were it not for an error earlier I feel that it should be considered. Iwas piloting an scheduled airline flight into an Italian airport one winter a few years ago. There had been a lot of snow there and on this approach there was considerable fog too. We were cleared to make an approach by the ATC approach controller who advised us to conatct the tower controller for a landing clearance once we had the runway lights in sight. This happened quite close to the runway so we landed, only to be asked after landing by the tower where we were. We advised that we were on the ground, and apologised for not seeking a landing clearance, but due to the late sighting of the runway lights etc we missed the call. That was ok was the reply, except that if we had actually requested a landing clearance it would have been refused and he would have told us to go around, as there was nowhere for us to park owing to the thick snow cover on the parking area. In the event we were accommodated.

New York Encounter

Just before our visit to New York in Spring 2006, we were watching the news at home in Cumbria and they were interviewing people at Newcastle Airport who were flying out to New York for the Easter Parade. We were interested given our forthcoming trip and watched as they interviewed a mother and her grown-up daughter saying how they were looking forward to the parade but afterwards thought little more of it as we made final preparations for our own trip. In an unusually warm NYC a few days later, we were in need of a stiff drink - we'd ridden to the end of the line to explore and ended up in an area that tourists laden with 'I love New York' bags probably shouldn't visit (we learned the area had seen a drive-by shooting later that evening) and back in Central Manhattan, needed our nerves calming. We ducked into an Irish bar just west of Grand Central Station and ordered cold beers. As we chatted, we vaguely noticed two other people take seats at the bar next to us. My partner went off to find the men's room and as I awaited his return I glanced to my left only to feel I recognised the two women sat next to me.

Unexpected meeting

I left Cambridge Univ when I graduated in 1962 and went to the USA. Two or three years later I briefly went on business to Palo Alto, CA, and while I was there my hosts took me to party. Another man at the party came up to me and said "You look familiar; were you in the Royal Marines?" I said I was (as I did two years of National Service between school and Cambridge) and we found we had served together. I was in Palo Alto for the weekend - and so was he! I don't recall where he lived, but it was not in CA. And I had grown a beard starting on the day I was discharged from the Marines; he had never seen me with it.

Mrs Manktelow

My partner, Gordon, was in need of a hip operation and went to have a consultation with his surgeon whose name was Mr Manktelow. He and I were discussing this rather unusual name on the way home. That evening I picked a book of short stories from our book shelf and, as I never read short stories in order, dipped in to the book about half way through. The main character in the story was Mrs Manktleow. Wish I could remember the author (may have been H E Bates).....

Pages