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!

World Cup Reunion

I was in germany for the 2006 world cup and went to the fan park with some friends in cologne. We sat down amongst several thousand fans and one friend pointed out to me we were just one row and a few yards away from an ex girlfriend of mine with whom I had had no contact for over two years. We are now happily married having tied the knot last summer

Typhoons travel a long way

I was unmarried working in Hong Kong in 1960 at which time I was due to take my vacation leave. For some time I had arranged to travel by the then normal route to the UK, by sea via the Suez’s canal. Approaching the time I was due to leave I paid a routine visit to the travel agent. Whilst there the clerk whom I had come to know asked me if I would consider changing my route home and take another P&0 ship going by way of the Panama canal. Since this was not going to delay my departure I readily agreed to this arrangement. At about this time a severe typhoon struck the Colony.(June 7th). I was staying in a hotel prior to embarking and with the force of storm the windows of my room gave way and I was evacuated to a safer location in the hotel. Shortly after this, it may have been the following day I boarded the SS Chusan to start my journey home. In the meantime, thousands of miles away, an event occurred of which I was completely unaware, but directly connected with what I was doing which would affect me for the rest of my life. A widowed lady with four young children had made arrangements to leave her home in California and to live for a period in Europe.

8th Feb

I and my two brothers Derrick T and Brian T were all born on the 8th February Derrick in 1945, Brian 1947 and I was born in 1948 All born in Galashiels Scotland What are the odds?

Inca Trail Meeting

I joined a MenCap fundraising expedition to Peru where we trekked to Machu Picchu. There were over 50 in our group from all over the country and while we were ascending a steep point in the trail, I fell into conversation with the guy behind me who turned out to be a fitness instructor. On the topic of sport and fitness, I mentioned that I had run 100 and 200m sprints for my county 25 yrs previously. He enquired which school I had gone to and it turned out that he had gone to the same secondary school and had been in the year below me. It was in a town with a population of around 30,000. Neither of us remember meeting then but of course swapped stories about the teachers and had some acquaintances in common.

The German, my brother and me.

Whilst I was on company business in Brussels in the 1990s, a German colleague of mine got talking to another German, when I joined the conversation I discovered this man had met my brother the week before in Germany at a trade show.

Eiffel Tower

My daughter Ruth met a friend from school at the top of the Eiffel Tower, whilst we were on holiday in Aug 2009.

MATCHING NAMES

My eldest son had a Year 5 teacher called Mrs G and a Year 6 teacher called Mrs R. When he went to secondary school, he was placed in 'Beaufort' house. Around that same I time, I started working for a school with a Head teacher called Mr G and a Deputy called Mrs R. Neither were any relation to my son's 2 previous teachers.

Indirectly Linked Through a Movie

Just over 35 years ago when I was living in Killarney, Co Kerry, I had randomly arranged with a friend one evening to go to the movies. I can’t recall the name of the film but Edward Woodward was in the cast. On meeting up with my friend she introduced me to Michael, a young guy she’d recently become acquainted who was visiting Killarney. Michael was at a loose end that evening and was tagging along with us to watch the movie. At the start of the film I mentioned to Michael that my older brother had gone to Haileybury College at the same time Tim, the eldest son of Edward Woodward, had attended there. Imagine my surprise when Michael said he’d also gone to Haileybury and knew my brother but not as good friends because he was a couple of classes below him at the time.

Mr

A few weeks before Xmas 2012, I bought my first ever Beige Corduroy Jacket and on wearing it on 2-3 occasions was asked by friends jokingly, "when's the chemistry lesson going to start?" or "you look like a school teacher".......I pointed out to them that for the full "teacher look", the jacket needed leather sew on patches on the outside of the elbows.....they all agreed. In between Xmas and New Year my wife and I, had the onerous task of emptying the house of my recently passed Mother-in Law, whilst sorting out one of the rooms, my wife opened a drawer and then excitedly said, "you'll never guess what I've found here", I turned to see her holding an unopened pack of one pair of leather sew on arm patches.......the hairs on my arms stood on end for a moment, before we both burst out laughing seeing this "find" as sign of approval from our departed parents for the task we had undertaken on their behalf.

Name confusion

I have the same name as someone else I work with in a big company. I used to get emails for them all the time - once or twice a week, on occasions several in one day. I changed my email profile to have my job title in brackets, it made little difference, I changed it again - this time to show my business unit. This stopped the problem entirely. This morning I remarked for the first time that I've not had a mis-addressed email in over a year. This afternoon I had one. What are the odds! (and add the odds of my seeing this the same day!)

Pages