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!

dream coincidence

One night I had a strange dream about having a one night fling with Rod Stewart (very odd - as I'm no particular fan of his, and am not prone to have those kind of dreams about famous people!). The next morning I got into the car and turned the radio on. Maggie May was playing on radio 2. That was also odd because usually I'm listening to radio 4 and had obviously had it on radio 2 the night before.

Birth dates

My brother and I were both born on the 26th of the month. His birthday 26th October 1980 and mine is 26th September 1984.

Meeting in the himalayas

When my husband and I were trekking in the Himalayas before we were married we met a Dutch? young man who had been to our friends outdoor partying Surrey.a mutual friend of his and our friend had taken him along.

out of area

We saw our next door neighbours from the South East walking down the street in Edinburgh where both families were on holiday. They mentioned to us the previous Christmas that they had never been to Scotland but were thinking of visiting. We on the other hand would stay in Edinburgh once a year. Our neighbours were in Edinburgh for one day of their Scottish holiday.

Birth dates

We were both born on the 26th of the month. His birthday 26th October 1980 and mine is 26th September 1984.

Same birthday of 3 family members

My eldest brother and his daughter are born on same day - exactly 30 years apart My second brother's son also shares the same birthday with his uncle and cousin

Geoffrey Dannell FSA

In 1962 I was driving a cream-coloured Landrover on a Yugoslav main road returning home from a visit to Greece with my wife. Approaching me, another similar Landrover appeared, and the closing speed must have been more than 100 mph. I saw that it had a UK number-plate - and as it passed I looked in the rear-view mirror - only to see the girl-friend of my own closest friend sitting on the tailgate. She had seen me and we stopped and reversed up. She was on an archaeological trip to Turkey.

African neighbour!

Years ago I met an American in London and we arranged to go on a sightseeing tour of Norfolk. He said he'd love to but he had to wait for a South African friend of his who had gone to the country to see relations. I said fine and asked him where he had gone. To cut a long story short, his friend had gone to see friends who lived next door to my parent's house, the house I grew up in! I thought that was quite an interesting coincidence in that it involved 3 continents which must surely lengthen the odds of that happening!

Dates and ages

On 4th February 1990 my father suffered major industrial injury. At that time he was aged 58 and born in 1932 and I was aged 32 and born in 1958. 32 + 58 = 90!

Births

Daughter-in-law was born on the same day four years after her brother - natural births. She in turn had two girls on the same day two years apart - natural births.

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