Cambridge Coincidences Collection

Well I Never!

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

Lost contact

A few weeks ago I had a lot of excess energy from a work call, decided to schedule some catch-up calls with friends I haven’t spoken with in 5-10 years. Thought if I had the number of an ex from (almost exactly) 2 years ago, would reach out to him as well; it was nice catching up with old friends, maybe it’d be nice to catch up with him as well, but I didn’t have it, so oh well. I had deleted his number and text chain/photos a while ago - no contact.

College Coincidence

I live in NC, but went to school in VA. My school is a very small women’s college. I decided to plan a reunion for alumni who lived in my city. I picked a location in downtown, and then found out that the owner’s mother and best friend were alumni of the same school. So, I guess, serendipitously enough, out of all the bars, restaurants and meeting places in the city chose the right one!

Hemachromatosis coincidence

My boyfriend was diagnosed with a condition called hemachromatosis, ie iron overload. Upon receiving this knowledge, I began researching the condition on the Internet, and came upon two helpful looking books, one of which was a cookbook. I need to buy these for him! I thought to myself. Then I began to wonder who the authors were. I googled them. They are leading naturopathic doctors that deal with this condition, and they live here in the town that we live in, and their office is literally less than a mile from his house. I was able to pick the books up in person.

The Girl on the Promenade

My name is Martyn Lee, . I live in Straford upon Avon. In June 1953 my parents booked a family holiday in Devon. It was in a caravan at Looville Holiday Park in Goodrington, Torbay. It’s now a housing development but in the early 50s it was a busy little holiday park packed with static caravans.<br /> I was 6 years old and in my third year at my Infant School in Birmingham. I was in a mixed class of about 36 children. A big class, but these were the height of the Baby Boomer years. My parents plan was to take me out of school for two weeks in term time.

Horse Story

I was visiting Charleston, SC. Where I was staying, there was a beautiful equestrian center. The horses were in the pastures and as I walked down the alleys between the fields, they all started coming up to the fence line. I was struck by the similarities many of the horses bore to the horses of my childhood. I grew up riding at a barn in Maryland called Columbia Horse Center; my barn memories are my favorite memories. Later that evening, I was drinking a glass of wine at the Lodge, and I began chatting with a couple. Where were they from? Maryland.

The Lawyer and His Client

The Facts 1. Many years ago (maybe 13-15 years) I worked at a call center for a phone company. I have not lived in that city for almost 8 years. I am now hundreds of miles away. 2. Three years ago I was falsely accused of a crime. The accusations were about the level of vision I have. I hired an attorney, and we had several in person discussions regarding my case. This happened for a full year. 3.

A Recluse and Friends

I am agoraphobic. I can list the people I know within 200 miles all on one hand. Let me give them fake names. Sarah is like a sister to me. Betty and her daughter Samantha are friends who I am not super close with. Samantha introduced me to her best friend Alice who lives a full hour south of me about 9 months ago. No one else. Not even on social media. Literally everyone I know. I am head over heals about Alice. I have heard about her family and personal issues. We are sort of close. I live in Kansas City, so the population I know, statistically, is very small.

So many coincidences to not even be coincidences

My daughter’s best friends birthday is January 14th, the same date my brother past. Her other friend’s birthday is August 10th, the same date of my dad passing. We know of 2 other children in my small town who are my daughter’s same age who have August 10th birthdays. I recently found out her adult cousin’s on my daughter’s dad’s side birthday is August 10th. This same cousin has a wedding anniversary August 29th which is my birthday. I also recently found out that my newer friend’s wedding anniversary is August 10th.

Day of Song Release

I have been working with a producer who had struggled with my song due to the melody timing and key. But, after persistence, we finally got a completed song that I can proudly release. I have never met her in person as we do communicate completely online and don't know each other. I made some changes to the song, mainly the choruses, and then I sent her a private link to let her hear the changes. She liked them. I had also sent a 2nd message as I forgot to let her know the date of the release. She got back to me and said something like this, "What a coincidence!

Travelling coincidence

Many years ago (too many now! – 1990) a friend and I were travelling to East Africa to visit a mutual friend of ours and to do some climbing (Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt Kenya). We all knew each other from the save university caving club. Being recent graduates, our flights were cheap and cheerful ones with Aeroflot. The route took us from Heathrow to Nairobi via a change at Moscow. At Heathrow our seat numbers were allocated: we were sat together.

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