Lost and Found

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.

It was a very busy summers day. I was walking through a park area and noticed a lost mobile phone down in the grass. As I picked it up I noticed a large group of teenagers sitting in the sun nearby. I was about to say has anyone lost a phone, then thought better of it as there was a chance it would be claimed by the wrong owner. I decided to try and phone an obvious close contact such as Mum or Dad to ensure the phone was returned to the rightful owner. I was able to access contacts and dialled 'Home' and was surprised to hear my good friends answer machine message. It turned out to be the mobile phone of my friends daughter. My friend and her son and daughter had lived in the same road as myself and my son and daughter. They had grown up together through early school years. We had both moved from the area and had not met up for a few weeks at that time. I used my own mobile to phone my friend's number and when she answered I asked "how are you?" She was franticly looking for her daughter's new expensive mobile phone. Imagine her shock and relief when I said that I had found it!!
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Date submitted:Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:25:10 +0000Coincidence ID:4961