Similarity in our sons' lives

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.

Two years ago I was in the hospital in Edmonton, Alberta, having knee replacement surgery. The other patient in the room was about my age and having shoulder surgery, We both were sociable people and ended up talking a good deal, telling the head nurse that our stay was turning out to be fun. And as mothers will do, we talked about our children. I told her my youngest son was teaching English in Korea, and she said, "Oh, my son is also teaching English in Asia, but he is in China." That wasn't too surprising as lots of young Canadians teach English for a couple of years in Asia. Then I went on to say he had married a Korean woman and was living there long term. Well, her son also had married a Korean woman; they just happened to currently be working in China. Then I said something about going to visit Ross, and that's when the coincidence became extraordinary because her son was also named Ross. We smiled at the string of coincidences, expecting them to end there, but then one of us thought to ask for the full name of the other's son. They were both Ross Andrew!
Total votes: 257
Date submitted:Thu, 20 Aug 2020 00:24:35 +0000Coincidence ID:10516