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!

random shopping

On checking my bank statement I noticed that ASDA BEARSDEN near Glasgow had deducted the sum of £43.36 from my bank on two consectutve days, as I normally shop each day and spend about £10 I thought that I had been charged twice I challeged the shop and on investigation it was found to be correct. I found it amazing that two days in a row I had higher than normal spend exact to the penny. This happened in 2010 prior to October which is as far as I can access my bank statements so I cannot supply the exact dates.

Baby Song

My daughter was born late at night in hospital by Cesarean. I was alone, with my stunning new born daughter in my arms, for what was a serene and special hour whilst my wife was in recovery. Come the time of departure it was perhaps 2:00 in the morning of a freezing cold day in March. After scraping the ice from the car windows, I sat in the cold car, waiting for it to warm up and decided I'd listen to the radio instead of a CD. As soon as I switched it over to the radio, I heard a baby crying and after after a few seconds a smile came over my frozen face as I realised what I was listening to ... Stevie Wonder's celebration song of his own new daughter, "Isn't She Lovely".

Bus Stop Meet Up

My (NOW) wife Tracy and I were waiting for a bus in a village in Scotland, we had only been there a few minutes, the bus was just coming round the corner, when a family came down a track, they were passing through on a long-distance hike . My wife had met the same family the year earlier when she was on a long distance hike with her ex. We said a quick hello and all went on our way.

Unlikely encounter

Between 1966 and 1968 I was a post-graduate student in the psychology Dept. of Bristol University. Also working there was Jim (I forget his surname), a negro post doctoral fellow from Washington State, USA. I left the University and went to work at Kamuli College, in Namasagali, Busoga District, Uganda. The school had about 400 students; Africans other than 3 0r 4 Gujarati immigrants. I introduced British A Level English into the school. Rehana Minhas was one of my initial students. Rehana was a good student. In 1970 Idi Amin came to power in Uganda. In 1971 he expelled the the Asian immigrants from the country. Rehana was expelled. In 1972 I left Uganda and in 1973 went to work as a civil servant in Scotland. I was sent on an induction course to Wakefield, Yorkshire. One evening I went by myself to Bradford for an Indian meal. The restaurant was full apart from a table where one man was sitting. It was Jim, the negro from Washington State I had known in Bristol.

Halfway round the world - for us both.

My husband & I were on holiday from Scotland in 1991 travelling in the Far East and when in Hong Kong took an evening cruise around the bay. I was chatting to others on board and in particular to one Australian. When it transpired he was in Hong Kong attending a medical conference, I asked which part of medicine he was involved in and he told me Haematology. I said I had great respect for the work they do, as my son had been diagnosed with leukaemia in 1974 and in particular was so grateful for the care and attention he's received from his consultant. I added that unfortunately he'd emigrated to Australia in, I think, the late 70s and laughingly asked that, despite Australia being a big place, did he know him? I named him and the Aussie said, jaw dropping, that he was his closest friend. I was delighted to be able to pass on a message to say my son was thriving and sent him our best wishes.

Ed Sheeran Left and Right

On the tube this morning, I looked left and there was a lady listening to Ed Sheeran (I glanced at her phone to see her selecting songs from his album on her phone). I looked right, immediately, and saw a guy reading the Metro newspaper and on the page that I could see I saw an article about..Ed Sheeran and his nominations in the Brits…bizarre.

Cambridge Coincidence Coincidence

I noticed a gravestone in Newry, County Down that shows that of a mother, a father and a son who had all died on the same date - but years apart. I can submit a photo if required. Michael Toal 13th May 1940 his wife Margaret 13th May 1965 their son Patrick 13th May 1930. COINCIDENTLY............. when looking for the photo on my iPhone, (that has an application to show exactly in the world where a photo has been taken) the world map indicated that I had taken a photo in Nanjing, China (near Shanghai) - I've never been close and it's 5600 miles away. Thought this slightly unusual but then immediately looking at Cambridge Coincidences website and the first story I saw was about someone who had a coincidence in Nanjing - spooky!

Timing is our strong suit.

Some nine years ago I began a long-distance correspondence with a student living (at the time) in London; while we have never met, we shared plenty of 'chats' that usually took place during my early morning hours (her afternoons). One evening I was surprised to find her online - she was up early getting ready for school - and we fell into one of our long conversations. We'd never spoken at that hour before (or since) - and it was strange that it happened that particular morning: July 7, 2005. As a result of our chat, she missed her train to school. If she hadn't, she likely would have been on one of the trains that had been bombed.

Strange meeting

My Mum moved to Birmingham from Liverpool in 1943. In the early 1970s she went by bus from Birmingham to Rugeley to spend the day with my brother - the only time that she ever did this. When she got on the bus, she sat next to a lady and after awhile they started talking. The lady was on holiday in the area and noticed my Mum's accent. As the discussion went on, it turned out that although orginally from the midlands, she now lived in Liverpoool. In fact she lived in Aintree, next door to my Mum's sister!

Mr

I met one of my 3 brothers on a walk in Macclesfield forest. My brothers live on the Chesterfield side of the Pennines , I live on the Manchester side of the Pennines. We both hd not walked in this area and do not communicate on where we are going to walk. he walks about 20 times a year we walk about 20 times a year but mostly in Wales. It was a nice warm day so decided to go for a walk at short notice, he had planned the walk with friends in advance. What are the chances of us meeting on the same day?

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