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!

Same rare auto-immune disease

I shared a flat with my brother's friend in 1992 and we then relocated, each to a different part of London and lost touch with each other. In 2001 I became friends with my partner at the times girlfriend who turned out to be the first cousin of my former flatmate's girlfriend. In 2006 I was diagnosed with a rare auto-immune disease which affects one in a hundred thousand people, Dermatomyosistis, 3 years down the line he becomes ill with Polymyosistis. The only difference being the reactions in the skin that I get. The professor who treats me was really impressed at the odds of that occurring.

Livingstone I presume!

In my mid twenties I took a break between jobs to spend a month with friends of my family who were living in Zimbabwe. During my stay I set out on my own for Victoria Falls. After a couple of days there, and an overnight trip on the Zambezi, I'd got to know a few international backpackers. But I was still very surprised to hear someone calling my name on the main street in Vic Falls. So much so, I chose to ignore the woman's voice. When I'd heard my name called several times I turned to see a really good friend, whom I'd known from Infants School to Sixth Form. She was also visiting Vic Falls for a couple of days, from South Africa, where her British mum had had some work. We'd not been in regular touch since school, as I'd been working abroad, but we continue to be friends to this day.

Birthdates

I had never met anyone with the same birthday as myself until about twelve years ago when I was involved with a group of people who were trying to save a local landmark building (Hill Paul in Stroud, Gloucestershire) from demolition. On the Committee of the Hill Paul Regeneration Group, in order to set up a bank account or something official, we had to give our dates of birth and the chairman asked why I had given his birth date as mine! After all these years (I was in my 50s at the time) I had found a twin! Not only the same birthday but the same year, 29th January 1944! The Hill Paul building still stands! A few years ago, my husband and I were in London on the 28th January when we passed a shop window in which were displayed a rather nice pair of boots at a very reasonable price. We went in and the boots were tried on and found to be very comfortable. My husband declared, "Happy Birthday!" and I said, "but it's not until tomorrow!". There were three other women in the shop besides the owner.

Jane S

I am 76 years old and have lived in this area all my life. Last summer a young couple (25-30ish) moved in next door to me (a 100 year old farm cottage). On getting to know them we discovered that he had been brought up in the street adjoining the street I was brought up in, and most probably played in my mother's garden when he was small as she was a magnet to the local children, and she always had helpers. Opposite my mother's house lived another couple with young children, a boy and a girl, with whom I am still good friends. He was best man at my closest friend's wedding. It turned out that the boy was best friend with my new neigbour, and his wife was best friends with the daughter and was bridesmaid at her wedding last year. Later on in another conversation we were talking about various things and I happened to mention that I had lived in C___efield Grove before buying this cottage. My neighbour asked me what number, and when I said 100 his wife and his faces almost collapsed as they looked at each other incredulously as his closest friend is now living in number 100.

A tangled web.

My ex wife had a habit of writing down poems and song lyrics on odd bits of paper. Some years after we parted, it must have been the early nineties as I got rid of the television around that time. The television was on and I think Blue Peter was showing whilst I waited for the evening news. I decided to clear out a cupboard and I came a cross a folded piece of green paper with some writing in her hand. I unfolded the paper and started reading what she had written: "Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practise to deceive!" At that exact moment the same words were spoken on the Blue Peter program. I still have the piece of paper.

Visiting "Juliet's Balcony" in Verona at same time as an ex!!!!!

Travelling around Venice, Verona etc about four years ago with my daughter I found out a few days after returning that my ex had visited the same place about an hour later!.....what are the chances?

concert coincidences

In December I went to see the show Jersey Boys while I was in Las Vegas. This show is the story of Franki Valli and the Four Season. I come from England and could have seen the show at any time over the years it has been running in London. The next day I received an email from the Albert Hall to say that Franki Valli was appearing at the Albert Hall in 2012. The first time he had appeared in the UK for 18 years.

Ms L

On a Sunday afternoon I went to the College where I teach to bring back a couple of dvd I had borrowed from the Library. It was about 1:30 and when I arrived at the Library I realized that the opening times was 14:00. Nobody was around the place and it looked completely deserted, so I decided to go back home. Suddenly with my great surprise I saw in front of me the librarian who very kindly accepted my dvd.

Long distance small coincidence

I had to fly from the UK to Beijing China for a few days on a business trip in 1998. It was a direct flight with air china. I had to fill in a check in form at the hotel. I reached for my pen and found it had leaked inside my pocket (maybe due to the flight air pressure changes). It was a basic retractable / disposable ball-point type pen. The guy behind the desk gave me his pen to fill in the form....It was exactly the same make / type of pen.

wrong number, but identical name

I needed to have a Gas Certificate for my tenanted property and asked a local Corgi registered person to call my tenant, Will J, to arrange a convenient appointment time. I gave the Corgi man the name and mobile number of my tenant. A day later, the Corgi man rang back and said he'd come to inspect the flat but my tenant was out. He'd then called the number I'd given him and spoken with a Will J who said did not live in that town and had never heard of me. I then set about contacting my tenant, who I'd always found to be cooperative and polite, to find out what had been going on. In the meantime the Corgi man realised that he'd incorrectly dialed my tenant's mobile by one digit, and yet still spoken to a Will J! What a coincidence.

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