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!

Childhood neighbour

Taking a friend on the tube to Heathrow from Kings Cross (where I now live) a week ago, I held open the lift door for a couple with heavy luggage. As soon as they spoke, I could hear that they came from East Yorkshire. When I mentioned the village where I was brought up until I was 18, & where my father was one of 3 single practice doctors, the wife told me which 2 houses I had lived in! She had lived in the village all her life & as a child I had played with 2 close friends who had lived 2 houses away on either side of her home. She was about my age (72) & went to a different school, but we spent the hour-long journey to Heathrow talking non-stop & discovering how our paths must have crossed numerous times with many mutual family contacts etc. for several years in our youth.

Degrees of Separation

In 1998 I met a woman in London, where we were both living, and we began a relationship. Although domiciled in SE London/NW Kent for much of my life, my mother was born and raised in South Wales in the 1920's and 30's, and we used to visit her side of the family there in the late 50's and 60's. My 1998-2005 partner was also born and raised in South Wales, in the 60's and 70's. Back to 1998, and one weekend my partner invited a friend to stay with us in London, as she was travelling from Cardiff on business. This woman had been my partner's landlady for a short time in the early 90's in Cardiff and they had become friends. During drinks and dinner on the first night of her stay, our guest suddenly asked me if I had a cousin called J*****. I was staggered as I do indeed have a female cousin by that name. It turned out that my partner's friend's childhood back garden backed onto my Aunt and Uncle's back garden, and that the two girls had been friends. I had probably even met her 35 years or so previously.

Mr Nick L

In 1998 I worked at Harvey Nichols in Leeds. That year my wife and I enjoyed a fabulous holiday in the states including time in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Whilst in L.A. we stayed in Hollywood. One morning whilst walking from the hotel to Wilshire Boulevard we happened to spot the British actor John Hurt (Elephant Man), driving a rather nifty little red sports car. It turned out he was the only "star" we spotted during our stay. Two weeks later back and work and I was on the ground floor of Harvey Nichols. Imagine my surprise when I looked out of the front doors to see none other than John Hurt standing on Briggate looking up at the HN facade. He then came into the store and spent some time in the bar upstairs. Something of a coincidence I believe.............................

1. Old home/2. Old friends

1. Played bridge last year with a woman who was living in the house (in Kenton, Middx) my husband and I had moved into after our marriage in March1966. 2. The chairman of my U3A Current Affairs group was the best man (50 years ago) at the wedding of a couple I now play bridge with. I also found out that I used to go to the same yoga class as the chairman's wife about 25 years ago. Cynthia D

wrong number right familly

Some years ago, I phoned the direct number of a lady buyer, a man answered, 'I am afraid you have the wrong number!, ''don't worry though you should ring xxxxxx' how did he know?.... it was his daughter.

'Freudian' coincidence!

My daughter and I were watching the film 'Hideous Kinky' from our Sky+ planner (which I had recorded over Christmas) and I was explaining that it was about the Freud family. We talked about them and looked up Esther, Lucien and Ernst Freud as we watched. We read that Ernst Freud's house is now a museum. The film finished and my daughter went upstairs. I deleted the film and the TV switched to the channel it had previously been turned to and I saw a picture of a house and caught the word Ernst. I couldn't believe it that The One Show that day had a piece about the very information we'd just looked up - then a couple of days later I hear about this study.........

Spooky!

My mum died 8 years ago. 3 years ago, on her birthday - 21st November - i was travelling by car from London, where I live, to Manchester to view some market research. The interviews were being held in the old Ferrantis building - where she used to work. Already I thought this was a a pretty big coincidence. On the way I took a phone call telling me that the 1st interviewee had cancelled, so I was going to be too early. I decided to stop off at a service station I would never normally stop at, as it was close to my destination, for lunch. Walking into knutsford services I bumped into my brother, who lived in Bristol, walking out. I was pretty spooked out for the rest of the day.

Lived at the same address

I had been having a year of noticing coincidences. My flat mate and I would say "funny you should say that" every time the other mentioned something they had just done, seen, eaten, experienced or whatever, which was similar to something the other had done. Anyway. This culminated on New Year's Even in our flat. We had a New Year's Eve party. I got talking to a girl at the party and asked her where she was from originally. As soon as she said "Sutton Coldfield" I knew what was going to happen. (I had lived in Sutton Coldfield for the first six years of my life before moving to Essex.) Me: "I used to live in Sutton Coldfield. Where about?" Her: "In a small village near it called Mere Green." Me: "I used to live in Mere Green. Which road?" Her: "It was called Essex Road." Me: "I used to live in Essex Road. Which number?" Her: "Number 29." Me: "I used to live at number 29." I was being very flippant, because as I say I knew what was coming, and of course she didn't believe me.

Dulcie Gray's Death

On 15th November 2011 I woke up in the morning and for no reason the first thing that came into my head was "I wonder if Dulcie Grey is still alive?" Later on in the day I thought about it again and checked on the internet out of curiosity. It seemed that she was still alive as there was nothing to say otherwise. About an hour later I had the radio on and in the news summary it was reported that Dulcie Gray had died that day.

Stephen Grieve

I can recall (could hardly forget) two examples possibly worthy of reporting. 1. Last year at work (a hospital with I think 2,000+ employees), I found an identity swipe card in a corridor. I telephoned the lady in question and arranged to meet midway between our bases. When I handed it over, she remarked that she too had just found a swipe card, and recalled aloud a name that sounded so much like mine that I checked the clip-on card carrier in my pocket. It was empty, and the card she had left in the post room was indeed mine. She works in the EEG department, and I in Clinical Coding. We did not know each other, but I do know and have known a colleague and former colleague of hers, having worked in the EEG field myself (did VERs for Peter Fenwick in 1977). 2. In 1974 or '75, one evening, I thought to try an ESP experiment. I took a pack of playing cards and placed one, facing away from me, against my forehead with eyes closed, and predicted, getting it wrong. It was the King of Clubs. I replaced the card, shuffled, and repeated. I was wrong again, but again it was the King of Clubs. Appropriately surprised, I repeated the procedure, with an identical result.

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