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!

Birthdays and Wedding Anniversaries

My partner's birthday is on my parents' wedding anniversary. My birthday is on his parents' wedding anniversary. It does mean we never forget birthdays or wedding anniversaries!

Home from home

In 1976 my (now ex) husband took up a job teaching at the primary school at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, and I went with him. At the end of 1977, we went to an NUT Christmas Dinner, which was for teachers at British Schools from all over the island and their spouses - probably about 100 people. There was no seating plan. We sat next to a couple we didn't know and got chatting. It transpired that the man's mother lived at No.7 and my parents lived at No. 19 of the same road in north London.

Nursing around the world

In Cork, Ireland in the early 1980's I met a student nurse who was doing her general nursing training in the Cork Ireland, early 1980's I met a student nurse in the hospital where I was working at the time. Glasgow Scotland 1993, I met her again when she was a student midwife and I was attending the ante natal clinic during my pregnancy. Sydney Australia 1997, we met again in the maternity hospital where my youngest child was born. 2nd & 3rd meetings were completely by chance - we hadn't kept in touch - we just happened to be in the same place at the same time.

Ms Lynne E

In 1976 my (now ex) husband took up a job teaching at the primary school at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, and I went with him. At the end of 1977, we went to an NUT Christmas Dinner, which was for teachers at British Schools from all over the island and their spouses - probably about 100 people. There was no seating plan. We sat next to a couple we didn't know and got chatting. It transpired that the man's mother lived at No.7 and my parents lived at No. 19 of the same road in north London.

Piccadilly

I was attending a party some years ago in America in a remote Massachuses town Westport , I think, during the party I was sailing people across a river and back for fun. A family that I didn't know got in and we started to talk about England and it's oddities.....I told them that if ever they visited London that they should walk down Piccadilly where they will meet someone they know. They laughed at this and of course didn't believe it. They were not thinking of visiting England or anywhere else outside America so it was highly unlikely. Some years later I had returned to England and one day was walking down Piccadilly and to my amazment the family I had met briefly back in America was walking towards me! I said "told you so..." we all laughed and after a few friendly words departed to continue on our way. Strange in a way, I thought as it was such a weird meeting we should all celebrate or at least had a drink to talk about it....but no we just said goodbye and went our separate ways......

House fire

About 50 years ago when we lived in London we had a house fire and our bedroom was destroyed. Exactly a year later I was dusting the telephone and thinking 'This time last year I was phoning the Fire Brigade' when the phone rang. It was the Fire Brigade, saying a boy had just phoned to report a fire at our house. Our sons were still babies and in their cots and despite my protestations that we had no fire the Brigade sent two appliances to make sure. A coincidence? I still have an eerie feeling about it!

My name in a crossword

On Friday Feb 14th 1992, I was going on a blind date set up by mutual friends. We knew each other's names and not much more. Keith always does the Guardian cryptic crossword and on that Friday, my name appeared as an answer in the Guardian crossword! Was this fate? He told me about this when we met in the evening, very odd. Dear reader, I married him and although the original paper had been disposed of, my husband subsequently bought me a copy of the Guardian from that day, 14.2.92. What a shame that my name appeared again (after nearly 20 years) as an answer in the Guardian cryptic crossword last Monday, 9th Jan; we would have really liked it to be Feb 14th!!! Naomi (R______son)

Repeated sightings on business trip

As an avid 'people-watcher', a couple of my strangest coincidences have arisen due to me observing fellow travellers when on journeys. The most noteworthy occurred when I was travelling to a meeting in Brussels. I was passing time in Fiumicino (Rome) airport and a couple caught my eye. They appeared to be business colleagues but somehow were very distinctive and caught my eye as there also seemed to be a frisson between them and he was much younger. When I boarded my late-afternoon flight the same couple were sitting in business class near the front of the plane. We arrived in Brussels and as happens, fellow passengers of my flight were quickly lost in the airport throng. I thought no more about any of them. Using the public transport network I made my way to my hotel in the centre of Brussels to drop-off my bags before heading to find a restaurant to eat in. I set out with no plan of where to go and was feeling a little lonesome. After walking up and down the same streets several times and passing many different places which didn't appeal, I found myself drawn to a particular place which looked friendly and welcoming... (happened to be an Italian restaurant!

Met relative of father's colleague.

In the mid 1970s I spent a year working at a clinic in what was then a small spa town, Leukerbad, high above the Rhone Valley in Valais Switzerland. There were about 10 of us and we came from other countries in Europe, Canada and Australia, none of us had met before. I sent some photos home to my parents and my father took them in to the tax office in London where he worked, to show his colleagues. One of his colleagues was surprised to recognise his niece, who lived in Australia, in one of the pictures.

From Russia with love

In the early 80's my wife and a friend visited Leningrad to meet Refuseniks (those Jews refused exit visas) . They got on well with one family in particular. Then two years later whilst on holiday in Haifa (Israel)we heard they had left Russia and lived in Haifa !!! and were given an address of where they were supposed to be living.Having located the block of flats we could not read the residents signboard as all the names were in Hebrew and was just on the point of leaving when one of the residents appeared.We asked him iif he knew the pepole we were looking for. He said no and started to walk off .Then stopped asked to look again at the name and said that the families daugter had been in his office visiting her aunt who worked for himan only an hour earlier. He phoned the aunt who put us in touch wiith the girl and we had a happy reunion.

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