Sister Died

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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.

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It was Christmas day back at around 2005. It was mid afternoon and we were getting organised to get my wife's grandmother (who is called 'Nana" in the family) back home. Nana was ushered upstairs to go to the toilet before the car journey back to her home. I also needed to go to the loo, but of course allowed Nana to go in first. As soon as she came out, I went into the loo. It was the tiniest loo possible - probably three feet wide, and just long enough to fit the toilet at the end so that the door could open and close. In other words, a very small loo! As I was having my wee I had a sudden and persistent thought running through my head. It wasn't a 'voice' but it was that kind of persistent self-talk we do when we repeat something in our heads like "don't forget to set the alarm" when leaving to go on holiday. The words that were repeating in my head were "sister's died, sister's died". This was just after 3pm on Christmas Day. I went back downstairs and told my wife about this. I asked her (sensitive of me, really) if at some point if she had a sister who had died. She said that she hadn't, but said she would ask her mother. I was reluctant to do this, but she did anyway. My wife's mother confirmed that no 'sister' had died in the family. Others gathering to see Nana asked what the conversation was about, so it was shared. I shrugged it off as a random and spurious thought. That evening, with some six or seven family members at the house, the phone rang - at just after 7pm I remember. My wife's mother answered the phone, which was located out in the hall. She came into the room looking white as a sheet. She said "This afternoon, just after three o'clock, Nana's sister died." I still can't explain this, but the people who witnessed this event are still alive and talk about it to this day. Hope that you find this example of a coincidence useful and interesting.
Total votes: 271
Date submitted:Fri, 13 Mar 2020 10:33:51 +0000Coincidence ID:10407