Cambridge Coincidences Collection

Well I Never!

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Who do you think you are - our family home

Turning on the television randomly one day, we were stunned to see my former family home on the screen as the home of Amanda Redman's distant relative in BBC's Who Do you think you are. Visiting Falmouth to track down her Uncle Percy, she drove down Wood Lane, then Wodehouse Terrace before stopping and pointing to no 38 - "This is where Uncle Percy lived" she said pointing to the house that had been my parents' home for more than 20 years.

A Chinese Connection

This happened to my friend. He was in Shanghai and got talking to a Dutchman in an Irish Pub, the dutch man said he had lived in Ireland. "Where", "Dublin", "Where in Dublin", "Donnybrook", Where in Donnybrook "Greenfield Pk" What Number "Number xx" My friend then promptly reeled off this guys landline telephone number. He had been staying in the house a very good friend used to live in

A dog and a horse

My daughter and I were walking our excitable young labrador up the narrow country path, towards a corner which led to the open fields - at which point the dog would be let off her lead. ''Why can't we take her off the lead now'' she asked. ''Better to wait until we get around the corner and into the fields, since it'll be easier to spot any chaseable objects such as cyclists and horses'' I suggested. ''But we're nearly there, nothing will come'' she told me.

birthday co incidence

I have just heard reference to your research on Radio 4 where you commented that siblings sharing the same birthday years apart is a relative rarity. My brother Simon and I share the same date, I was born on 17th April 1947 and he was born 10 years later on 17th April 1957. For years I joked that he was my twin, with a 10 year gap. Penny

Family

I lived in London, my sister lived in Chelmsford. I had not seen her for a number of years. I was on my way to run a IT course for early one morning and walked past this woman, who, stopped and said, "don't say hello to your sister". I barely recognised her, we had not seen each other for so long. We stopped and chatted. She was in London sitting an examination.

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