Cambridge Coincidences Collection

Well I Never!

Professor David Spiegelhalter of Cambridge University wants to know about your coincidences!

School friend on holiday

1967. Met a school classmate (12 of us doing A Level French) in a bookshop in Paris. Neither of us knew we were going to France. 2000s. Torremolinos. I slipped on steps. Someone said "careful" and grabbed my elbow. I recovered my posture, threw a quick "thank you" behind me. Only when I got home did I only found out that it had been a firefighter from the local fire station where I am chaplain - he was one of about 90 firefighters on the watches I visit. He hadn't shouted after me at the time.
Total votes: 751
Date submitted:Sat, 14 Jan 2012 08:42:31 +0000Coincidence ID:3513

Birthday Coincidences

My mother and two of her siblings were born in London, on the same day, 30th December, two years apart, My uncle 30th December 1920 My aunt 30th December 1922 My mother 30th December 1924
Total votes: 541
Date submitted:Sat, 14 Jan 2012 08:42:27 +0000Coincidence ID:3512

Same password on two mobiles of two friends

Very recently I picked by accident the mobile iphone, (the same as mine) of a friend and ran my 4-digit (not same number and not consecutive numbers) password and unlocked the phone. At first I did not realise because I thought it was my mobile, until my friend sitting opposite at a dinner table who had seen me taking her phone, said to me. "How did you know my password?" to which I replied that "I did not". And ofcourse we then both realised that we had the same four-digit password in our identical iphones. It is interesting, in the first place, that we found that out about this amazing coincidence, but more exciting was the fact that we had the same four-digit password!!! Now what are the chances of such a thing happening?
Total votes: 682
Date submitted:Sat, 14 Jan 2012 08:42:17 +0000Coincidence ID:3511

Photographer photographed

I photograph families as a portrait photographer, just before Christmas a mother and her adult daughter and husband came for a shoot at my studio, the mother, in passing, mentioned that her, now deceased, husband was a photographer but that it was unlikely that I would know him, of course I asked his name, Godfrey Argent. Surprised I replied, "of course I know him! In fact my father represented him as his agent AND I was photographed by him at the tender age of 16/17 years old! (I am now 52) Sadly they have been unable to find the negatives from the session he did with me, I would imagine because he was doing the shoot as a favour for my father and probably gave him all the negatives, now lost... As a result the shoot was fantastic and great fun.
Total votes: 633
Date submitted:Sat, 14 Jan 2012 08:42:07 +0000Coincidence ID:3510

partner birthday match

My parents have the same birthday (different years). As a child I thought this was the case for all mums and dads, i.e. everyone's partner had the same birthday as them. I now have a civil partner with the same birthday as me (different years), but he also has the same first and middle name as me too...
Total votes: 544
Date submitted:Sat, 14 Jan 2012 08:41:53 +0000Coincidence ID:3509

Three siblings born on the same day 4 years apart!

My father was born on 15th September 1920. His first sister was born 4 years later on 15th September 1924, his second sister was born 4 years later on 15th September 1928.
Total votes: 593
Date submitted:Sat, 14 Jan 2012 08:41:49 +0000Coincidence ID:3508

Sisters

I am one of four sisters. Three of us have the same birthday - 19th May. There's 6 years between me and my older sister and 9 years between me and my younger sister. My other sister's birthday is 19th October.
Total votes: 570
Date submitted:Sat, 14 Jan 2012 08:41:31 +0000Coincidence ID:3507

Friends...ESP?

I am in a group of 5 girlfriends. Xmas 2010 one of the other girls had bought exactly the same present as I had for all the other girls. Xmas 2011..we did it again!..even though I had bought my 'perfect' presents eleven months earlier in January. Also a couple of weeks ago I was walking into a pub for lunch..as I was walking across the car park I was thinking about my friend. At that very moment a car 'tooted' at me ,,she was driving past, on the main road.
Total votes: 614
Date submitted:Sat, 14 Jan 2012 08:41:30 +0000Coincidence ID:3506

birthday conincidence

One Christmas in Cambridge we invited a lonely student to have lunch with us. I asked him where he came from. Later I asked him about his family. I asked him his age. Something prompted me to ask his place of birth and then his month of birth and finally the date. I then said," I've met you before" When my middle son was born in Zambia in 1968 I worried that I may be given the wrong baby. Having looked intently at all the other babies in the nursery. I was reassured. My baby was the only white one.Our Christmas guest was one of the black ones.
Total votes: 523
Date submitted:Sat, 14 Jan 2012 08:41:16 +0000Coincidence ID:3505

A wedding dress

I am from New Zealand and I have been living in Cyprus for 28years. I met my current partner 5 years ago. Last year in Sepetember we attended the wedding of his nephew. There was a woman who was wearing the same dress as myself. I had bought the dress in England on a previous visit in June that year. We had a laugh and made our way to the reception. We had the usual photos for the record and on we went. Later on that evening, the " other woman came up to me and sat down. She said to me " not only do we have the same dress, but the same name!" she went on to tell me that she was Lynley DODD and I am Barbara DODD. She was the auntie of the bride married to Mr.Dodd. My family was originally from England on my fathers side, but there maybe a family connection even so.
Total votes: 527
Date submitted:Sat, 14 Jan 2012 08:41:13 +0000Coincidence ID:3504

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