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!

Spain China Canada

In 1980, I lived in Tianjin, China for a year. There were only a few foreigners in the city at that time, so I got to know them all. Many years later, when I was back living in Canada, a Canadian friend of mine went on a sabbatical to Spain. One night, he went to party and got chatting to an American who was living in Spain. During the conversation, it came out that the American had lived in Tianjin, China during the same time as I had! My friend mentioned me... and, of course, the American and I had been colleagues, and had lived in the same compound! Small world.

Great minds think alike!

Neither my Mum nor I liked milk and in the 1970's, we used to grate apple into custard so we'd get some calcium. The habit lasted perhaps only a couple of months. In the 1980's after I'd been married a few years, I was talking to Mum on the 'phone. I told her that I'd just made some custard and grated some apple into it and really enjoyed it! She couldn't believe it because she'd done exactly the same thing!! Strange coincidence!

Surprise viewing

When my Dad was in the army in the Second World War, he was in the Military Police. One day, he was directing a convoy in Belgium and in the back of one of the lorries he saw his brother-in-law (my Mum's brother) waving at him.

Florida coincidence

Every year my family go on holiday to Sarasota, a quiet beach resort in Florida. There are many hotels around but we always stay in the same one. I worked for Marks and Spencer for many years and Suzanne was one of the people I worked with, she left some years before I did and we didn't keep in touch. Our hotel room had a balcony. One morning when I was on our balcony our neighbours came out onto theirs - you've guessed it, it was Suzanne and her family.

funeral meeting

I went to my next door neighbors wifes funeral in Yeovil ,somerset ,2008 and while waiting in the car park, saw my bother in law just about to leave his cousins funeral. We neither told each other previously) Also I saw a driver in a classic ford capri and mentioned to him I also qwned one (albeit parked at home) I was astonished to find he was my neighbours nephew from London. We both went to the reception after and got on well . Had many other incidences with being given items when we needed them. Recently the gas board condemned the cooker and next day we were offered a free cooker from a church we go to. This computer was a gift also which arrived a month before I retired when I needed a newer computer.

Synchronicities

Not sure if these are classed as coincidences but here goes: 1. Whilst playing ‘hangman’ on a pocket electronic word-finder I had the letters l*q*e*r and, at the exact instant I realised that the word was ‘liqueur’ my twelve-year old son entered the room and asked, “Dad – what is Tia Maria?’ 2. Whilst looking through a shopping catalogue I turned to the page which showed the address of the shop which sold the goods to visitors rather than through mail order. At the same time my wife and her father were discussing their family tree. The shop was in ‘Bartlett St’ and the exact instant that I read the word ‘Bartlett’ my father-in-law said the word ‘Bartlett’ as in the surname of someone in the family tree. 3. Back to the electronic word-finder. I was in the process of doing a crossword and searching for words that fitted a certain combination of letters. The TV was on in the background. At the exact instant that the word ‘bathtub’ appeared on the display a person on the TV said the word ‘bathtub’ - not ‘bath’ but the whole word, ‘bathtub’. The examples above are just three of many that have occurred over the course of the last two decades.

Mr. Michael T

I have written down most coincidences I have experienced over the past couple of years. One of the stranger one is as follows. In June a neighbour mentioned she has a house in Greece with availability to rent in August (We had not known earlier about the house). In mid July we decide to rent the house. Our neighbour says friends of hers will meet us at the airport in Greece and take us to the house. In Greece, we were met by the friends and got talking. The husband explains that he was made redundant a number of years earlier and that they decided to buy a house in Greece. Outside, the tourist season things get very quiet, they needed more money and decided to spend six months of each year living back in England. The coincidences are: • The husband tells how they decided to buy and live on a houseboat for the six months a year they spend in England; just before I left for Greece my brother mentioned he had bought a houseboat. • The husband then said the houseboat is berthed in Ely by the boathouse and asked did I know the area. I responded I knew both the area and the boathouse very well as I went to school there (a long time ago).

Coincidental parking

I have noticed during the last few years that when we park our car in large car parks, we often find that as we return to our car, the driver of the car parked next to us ( one side or the other) has also just returned to their car and is also leaving. This seems to occur more frequently then I would have expected by chance.

TWINS AT THE TWIN TOWERS

My husband , two children and I were in New York for a few days several years ago. We had no timetable planned and decided spontaneously to take the Statton Island Ferry to see The Statue of Liberty. After we had returned we wandered up to Manhatton, had lunch and ended up at Ground Zero. As we walked towards the main viewing area I saw my husband's twin brother walking towards us , he was with his wife and two children and one of our nephews. They had spontaneously decided to visit the site. Neither party had any idea that the other was going there or that we would all be in New York on the same day. They were in transit to Texas and had stopped off in New york over night. We were all amazed at the coincidence.

Prom seat

I used to own and live in a house in Clapham which I then sold. Many years later I went to a Prom at the Albert Hall after queuing for a returned ticket. I discovered that the ticket had been bought by someone living in that very house.

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