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!

Uncanny Repetition of Same Events

A few years back my father's promotion got suspended due to the mistake of his colleague. It was a big disappointment as it came and I was cursing our fate and the colleague who did that. Later on the same day I came to know that a close neighbor of mine had died due to liver failure. That was that. But now on may 22nd 2017 again due a foolish mistake of his colleague my father's promotion got suspended which is not a big coincidence (but seriously how could this happen again), and then three days later, uncannily I discover that another neighbor of mine had died on the exact same day as on which my father's promotion got suspended (on 22nd may). And the most striking part is that this time too, he died due to liver failure.

Ill at the same time every year requiring some type of surgery since 2011

Today while extremely ill I realized almost every year since 2011 I get sick two weeks exactly before Memorial Day. I have actually had emergency surgery in 2011 for a burst appendix on Memorial Day. I am sick now and contemplating reaching out to my doctor. I remembered suddenly when I looked at the date that I took leave same day last year for an unusual medical issue not related, surgery followed, same in 2014- gallbladder, same time in 2012 blocked intestine/hernia. I have skipped a year or two in between, but this year I am ill right on time apparently, no more organs that can be removed to my knowledge.

Midas Touch

Last night I was watching Forensic Detectives,which is an Australian Police series which follows real cases. For some reason the song 'Midas Touch' came into my head,which I began to sing. On the TV programme,the police detective explained that the name given to the series of investigations they were doing was 'Operation Midas'! Either it was a bizarre coincidence,or I had just found the reason why the song came into my head!

Book coincidence

I was reading a book in which one of the characters lived in Toronto. A month later I was going to work, stopped at a crossroad, and saw a bicycle – a Toronto model. Later that day I read an article, whose author was a professor at the University of Toronto, among others. At first, this coincidence intrigued me because I was thinking a lot about that character and his role in the book. If I haven’t noticed the bicycle on the crossroad, I wouldn’t probably notice where the author of the article worked. So, I guess, it is us who give a meaning to coincidence we experience. At the end, I am not so sure if there is any meaning at all, because interpretations could be numerous and depending on our beliefs.

Greek chance

In the summer of 1980 my brother and his girlfriend flew to the Greek Islands for a 2 week holiday. Several days after they left for Greece, I rang a travel agent looking for a last minute holiday to anywhere on the Continent .He rang back to say he had a last minute offer of a flight only to Corfu and I took I took the offer. Several days after arriving in Corfu, I flew to Athens and several days later took a ferry to the the island of Ios in the Aegean. On my first night there while walking down a street I happened to glance into a bar at the same time as my brothers girlfriend_ who had her back to the street_ turned around and I went in and met up with them !. Had she not turned around at that exact moment I would have walked on. We had"nt arranged to meet up and they were planning to travel to another island the next day.

Baby switch

There's a family in my village whose baby was switched with another baby at the hospital. They only found out this when the child had a heart condition and they were not compatible with her (this was when she was around 7 years old). Although they decided not to tell her anything, two decades later they were contacted by the other family. Their daughter was also diagnosed with a heart condition and they decided to find their biological daughter. They contacted the hospital and managed to meet with the family from my village. Both daughters stayed with the family that raised them.

The wrong side of a love song

I have a few coincidences in this story but they are all surrounding the same event. When I was 14 I met William he was 15. We dated for about 6 months and then I got shipped off from Seattle to San Francisco and that was the last time I saw him. I was on facebook one day and I remembered him and I looked him up. We talked and we agreed to meet and we started dating again. He relocated for me and we lived together for a short 7 months. I was and still am so in love with him I feel like he is my soulmate. He found out that he had a daughter and he moved back to Seattle and left me. I started watching a show called This Is Us. In this show there is a young couple having triplets. The babies were born on August 31 which is my Williams birthday. I was like oh wow that was cool. Then one of the triplets passes and a little boy is left at the fire station so they adopt him so they can take home 3 babies like they had planned. Well the little boy they adopted went looking for his father and his dads name was William I was like ok.

Water Slide

Yesterday,whilst watching Youtube videos, one of the videos that came up in the suggested to watch list was about the 10 highest water slides,some of which had been closed due to being aged or not complying with modern safety regulations or because someone had been killed on them. Water slide theme park rides are not something I'd normally be interested in,I nominally watch music/science videos or hassle those who post conspiracy/ufo content, but for some reason this video took my attention. Today,the front page of the paper relates the story of an 11 yr old girl killed on a water slide at Drayton Manor,Staffs!

Daily word synchronicities

On a daily or more than daily basis when reading, writing emails or notes, or playing word games on my computer or phone, I hear the same word or phrase being spoken on TV it the radio, or even in person with a friend or family member. For instance, while driving in my car, I heard, "school bus stop" on the radio at the same time I was reading a road sign with the same words, "School Bus Stop".

Chance Encounter?

I met Tia towards the end of 2011. After quite a few back and forth texts and phone conversations, she invited me over to her place. Very early in our growing friendship and one day while hanging out with her at her place, she asked me to share a story of my travels with her. The story below is of me sharing my story with Tia. Turn's out it wasn't just a story about me, but of Tia and I both. PART 1 I began my story with Tia of my adventures before I joind the army. I was 17/18 and had joined a traveling carnival/midway in Texas. I had got hired on with a friend. Well me and him ended up parting ways with the carnival and hitchhiked from Louisiana and ended up in Ft. Walton Beach Florida. The night we got their it was late, cold and rainy. I got an idea that the church would welcome us and give us shelter. We find one but to my complete shock it was closed. We ended up finding a clothing donation box to sleep in that night. About 3am I was awoken by a man who broke open the box. He asked whats a white guy doing in here. I hit my friend and he jumped up from his sleep. The gentleman then asked Whats a brother and a white guy doing in here?

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