Apollo 11

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.

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I was in New York, my wife was sick and I saw a bit in the New York Times that said it was the anniversary of man landing on the moon July 20 1969 and that there was a ceremony at the "Cradle of Aviation Museum" on Long Island. Nobody seemed to know of this place and I can only recommend those that are interested in aviation and space to go there! So, I am on the train from Penn Station .. and to deviate a bit ... I get to the station (Beth Page) and catch a cab to the museum ... there is no one else about so I get the cab drivers number to make sure I can get out of there. I gain entry to the museum and there is a Congressman cutting a cake in front of a lunar module that turned out to be the one that was built for Apollo 18 which never flew. There was a group of people next to the Congressman. I asked the TV journalist (there was no one but me and the TV crews there) who the people were and it turned out they were all retired Grumman engineers. So, I got to talk to the people who hand built the lunar module .. how cool was that? But the coincidence was on the train. I was sitting in an aisle seat reading my paper when I heard the people opposite and across from me talking .. they were Australian and at first I took no notice. Then they mentioned a town (Keith, South Australia) near where I grew up. Then they mentioned a girl that I knew (she in fact, had moved to Perth in Western Australia where I was living). At this point I introduced myself to the man opposite (he was in baseball hat and sunglasses). he was my school captain who I had not seen in at least 30 years!! The school was in Adelaide, South Australia!!! We were on a train on long Island and they were going to play golf at Beth Paige! I was captain of Athletics and he went to the Olympics for Australia!!!
Total votes: 381
Date submitted:Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:24:28 +0000Coincidence ID:7011