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!

birthday dates and ages

In 1968, my husband was 21 on the 21st of May, I was 20 on the 20th of June and our son was 1 on the 1st of February.

Wedding Anniversaries

On 20th August 1996 my wife and I were standing in line on the quay in SanFrancisco, waiting to take a trip out to Alcatraz. We got into conversation with a young couple in front of us who told us that they were on Honeymoon and had been married on the previous Saturday, August 17th. Amazing we said that is the date of our wedding anniversary too, although we were married in 1968. A much older couple directly behind us then exclaimed- you're not going to believe this, but August 17th is also the date of our wedding anniversary. We really were 3 separate, unknown to each other, never met before couples who were in a line one behind the other ! Michael J W Hastings UK

Birthday.

I put a film on at about 11PM night before my mum's birthday, at exactly 12am on her birthday, someone in the film said 'it's my birthday' at exactly the same time as my mum. It was really weird.

chance connection

I am interested in genealogy and I received an email from a lady in Canada who had seen my name (Overton) on a website and had contacted me in case I knew of a Frank B Overton. She had found that name on a UK marriage certificate (in Darwen, Lancashire) from the 1930s as a witness and wondered if it might give some clue to any living relatives she may have. I was able to tell her that I had no knowledge of anyone of that name in my family. The following week I was sitting in a hospital waiting room (in the Isle of Wight) and the lady next to me mentioned in conversation that her name was (Mrs) Overton. Thinking that she might be related to me I asked what her father-in-law's name was. (I should add than I am not from the Isle of Wight, my Overton family is based the Coventry/Birmingham area). She said his name was Frank B Overton from Darwen. I rang her later that day and was able to confirm the family link to the Canadian lady and get contact details of a living relative in the same Canadian city.

Barbara

This coincidence concerns an experience of my husband's. Before retirement he worked for the Environment Agency as River Pollution Officer. Whilst investigating a pollution, he was tracing the course of a steam which passed through a private garden. When approaching the owner, my husband commented that they shared the same name. They discovered that they were cousins who hadn't met since childhood.

Birthday hospital coincidence.

My Dad had an operation in the University College Hopsital in London. They had one of those all in one tv, phone things by the bed. It was not working. I rang the call centre in Scotland. Whilst waiting for something to happen, the lady on the other end mentioned that she was born in the UCH. I said so was I, I said 1961, she said she was born in 1961. She said April, I replied that was when I was born. I then asked her the date, she answered 7th April. And yes that was when I was born! I could not believe this. She had a Scots accent but moved north of the border when she was do.

When my Mother passed on

Just the other day I emailed a friend to say Hi and then found out she had sent me a text 10 minutes earlier. I also frequently notice the time at 11:11, but the main reason for contributing to this log of coincidences is as follows. When my mother was terminally ill with cancer she would sit looking out at the flowers and birds in the garden. Ever since our dog had passed on the year before, next doors three cats also used to lurk in the bushes at the bottom of the garden looking at the birds. I remember my Mum telling me that she longed to be well so that she could play out there again, making it bright and cheerful, and she hoped the cats would come up to the patio and maybe indoors. We live in Hertfordshire but Mum was admitted to University College hospital in Westminster for an operation a week before she passed on. In the room she was in was one other bed and that woman was from the same town in Hertfordshire as us and my sister had gone to school with her daughter. After the awful even of my Mothers passing, we met the Patient Affairs Officer at the hospital.

Two families linked meet across the globe!

In 1993, when I was 13 I moved from my hometown of South Shields, England, with my parents and sister to live in Vernon in the Okanagan Valley, B.C. Canada. When we went to enrol at the local high school the Principal told us there was another English family, from Liverpool, with children at the school and that their daughters were also called Helen and Emma althought he other way round age-wise. A few days later my Mum answered the phone to a Liverpudlian guy, Mr. O. who informed her that he was the father of the other Helen and Emma at the school. He asked where we were living and then suddenly said "are you on your balcony?" He lived two streets away and could see our house from his kitchen across the park! During the conversation it transpired that there were a lot of coincidences... We discovered that Mrs. O. was also from South Shields. And that Mr. and Mrs. O. just happened to get married at the church on the end of the road where my Mum grew up and where my Nana still lives! It then came out that Mrs. O. actually went to school with my Mum for a few years.

Same Names

My maiden name was Carol Mary Rosborough and my sister's maiden name was Patricia Anne Rosborough. I married Barry Ellis and his twin sisters are called Carole Mary and Patricia Anne! In addition my husband's father and brother are both called Geoff. His sister Pat married a Jeff. Pat's daughter Helen married a Geoff. Imagine the confusion when we all get together!

Mrs. Carole A. Joynes

Some 20 years ago whilst on holiday in California my husband and I were invited to a 70th birthday party given by the birthday girl's four sons. We hit it off with one of the sons and his wife and getting talking we discovered the following: We both have two daughters and a son, Both the wives taught the same year group in our respective countries, We both live in Chesterfield; the American family from Chesterfield Missouri, and ourselves from Chesterfield, Derbyshire, U.K. We have remained friends ever since.

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