Statistics in a Modern World 800
Coincidences 2000

A coincidence is a surprising concurrence of events, perceived as meaningfully related, but with no apparent causal connection. Should we really be surprised by these coincidences? Remember that when so many "unlikely" events are possible, according to the laws of probability, some of them are bound to happen. Like these...

One time I was walking home from Shenley Park when a car cut me off at the crosswalk and parked in front of the library. I remembered it because it was one of my favorite old boxy BMW's from the early 90's and was red. I came home to my dorm and my friend asked me to help her look out the window to see if Ian was at the library, the guy she was dating at the time. I asked her how she would know and she said because his car would be there in the parking lot where the park and carousel are now or outside the library. I asked what kind of car he drove and she said an old boxy red BMW from the early 90's. I told her I had seen it on my way there and she called him, sure enough it was the same car and the same guy who had almost hit me earlier. (L.J.)

My freshman year of High School I was making friends and talking to a boy named Tom Hahn and found out that we both had the same birthday, January 23, 1987. We ended up going to the first formal dance together later that year. (N.K.)

I'm one of those people that frequently says, "Well, is that a coincidence?" yet I couldn't seem to think of one good story so I'll provide you with three: (1) On Tuesdays I have three classes to attend. In every class a girl announced their engagement!! It was so weird. Then I got home and my sister called me to tell me that my cousin, who just recently married, is now pregnant. Odd. (2) No matter how or where I meet guys I only ever seem to date soccer players. I'm currently three for three. (3) Last Fall I rushed a sorority. This year my neighbor from last year, who lived next to me in Towers, rushed. She ended up in my sorority. Also, 1/2 of her pledge class was from the 18th Floor of Towers, every one of them rushed and ended up in our house. AND they'd made a pack that they wouldn't discuss their choices til the day they signed their bids. They had no idea they'd all chosen the same house! (A.D.)

About six years ago I went to my yearly eye doctor appointment to get my contacts and glasses. When I went up to the front desk to let the receptionist know that I was here. She began to look at me funny as I told her my full name and why I was there. She said that she did not know why I was back for another appointment when I just had one. I told her that this was my first time coming into the office since my last appointment a year ago. She asked me what my home address was. When I told her my address she told me that a girl right around my age with the same name, similar physical features but different home address had just left prior to me coming in. She asked if I had a sister or knew her. By this time about two other ladies crowded around me steering at me and I was nervous. I did have a sister but she did not have a eye problem. I also did not know of anyone else with the same exact name or physical features as me. One of the receptionist and I agreed that it was a coincidence and still today I wonder if I will ever run into that girl. (L.G.)

When I was in 8th grade, me and my best friend use to make fun of a kid who sat across the room in my band class. For some reason we called him Barbie Boy. After that year, he moved to another school distrist. Then, the summer before my senior year began, another friend of mine, who went to another school, hooked me up on a blind date. Turns out "Barbie Boy" was the one I was set up with, but it took us a while to figure out exactly who the other person was. When we did, it sure did strike me as a coincidence. And me and Barbie boy are still together today. (B.D.)

i met this boy freshman year in college that ive never met before. he had a familiar flare to him but i couldnt pin it. the summer before college i was driving down the parking lot of the mall from home and a gorgeous boy caught my eye. i remembered he had a bmw tattoo. long story short this boy and i, well we ended up dating and one day i lifted up his sleeve and i saw that same bmw tattoo turns out that i did see him before i ever met him. he was that boy that caught my eye from the parking lot over the summer. coincidence? (N.C.)

I have had many coincidental occurances in my life, too many to name here! One of my favorites has to do with a good friend of mine named Karen. I had this friend who lived up the street from me for my whole life. We were in the same grade, we were on cheerleading together, and were good friends. I was always the one she went to with any kind of problem she was having, and we trusted eachother with everything. One day, she and I were both kind of bummed. She was having a problem with a boy she was dating, and I cannot even remember what I was upset about, but we both needed to talk. I picked up the phone and dialed her number, and the phone never rang, and there was no dial tone. So I said "hello", and she said "hello" back. I told her I never heard the phone ring when I dialed, and she said that she had called me that I hadnt called her, and she never heard the phone ring either. We had called eachother at the exact same time, and our phones just connected without ever ringing. It was so weird. We were such good friends that we knew the exact time to call one another, like we could feel or sense eachother needing to talk to the other. What a coincidence for two friends to dial eahother at the exact same time. Another story would be between my mother and her step-mother. My mom always goes to Silipada Jewelry parties and orders jewelry. One day my grandma called her and said she was going to a jewelry party and she had been looking through the cataloge and wanted to order a pair of earrings for me for Christmas. My mom asked her which ones, and my grandma told her that she wanted to order me these diamond star dangling earrings. My mom was shocked because the weekend before she had went to the same jewelry party and ordered me the same exact earrings! What a coincidence! Either that or my mom and grandma both have a keen sense of the kind of jewelry i like! (J.B.)

I grew up in Butler, PA, and played tennis for several years, including on my Butler High School girls' tennis team. Apparently, there was another girl named Ashley Green who, although spelled her name differently than mine, also played tennis in a nearby school district. Her name would constantly be on the local radio about how amazing of a tennis player she was. I was only an average player, but everyone thought it was me when they heard her name! (A.G.)

my coincidence happened just a few days ago. It was the night before my birthday and some friends were over to celebrate with me at midnight. We were eating chinese food. I opened my fortune cookie and read it. At the bottom, it had the "lucky numbers," as all fortune cookie fortunes do. This particular one had my personal favorite number, however, which is 33. I always keep the ones with that number on them. On the back of the fortunes, they have an english word and they tell you how to say it in chinese. The english word on this fortune (which i was reading just a few hours before my birthday, and which had my lucky number on it) was "birthday." Obviously, the chinese word is in symbols, but they have a phonetic pronunciation of the chinese word. the pronunciation of the word "birthday" in chinese is "sheng-DAN-jie," my first name being the second syllable. My lucky number, the word birthday and my first name being in the pronunciation of the word birthday were all coincidentally on the same tiny piece of paper that i happened to get with my dinner just a few hours before my birthday. thats my coincidence story. (D.R.)

My grandfather was a Pittsburgh steel worker and belonged to the US Steelworkers Union. When I started working at the Giant Eagle in Latrobe (about an hour east of Pittsburgh), I was informed that my affiliation with Giant Eagle made me a member of the US Steelworkers Union, which is unusual because grocery store employees obviously have nothing to do with steel. (L.B.)

my coinsidence story is about how my sister and her husband met. jessica was working as a pharmaceutical rep in philadelphia (a city of millions) when one of the doctors she visits said "you know, you're a sweet girl - you should talk to my son sometime." jessica was hesitant, but took the phone number the doctor gave her out of courtesy. a month later, jessica and her best friend were at an unrelated dinner downtown when she met this amazingly charming guy. they hit it off and were dating in a week. on their second date, she asked about his family, and he said his mother was a doctor in the new jersey area. jessica told him that she was a pharmaceutical rep, and sure enough it was the same woman. she pulled out the card the doctor had given her, and it was his cel phone number on it. they're married today and tell the story to all of our friends,, as if it were meant to happen. (J.Z.)

I was on vacation visiting my parents in Utah and we had taken a trip to a casino in Nevada. Coming back, we stopped in Wal-Mart in St. George, Utah. While I was waiting for my dad, I ran into an old friend I had been trying to look up just in front of the store. He doesn't live there; he was also just passing through that day. Just for reference, I grew up in Pittsburgh, by my family and I moved out to Utah when I was 18. I moved back to Pittsburgh by myself when I was 22. Therefore my visits there were infrequent and for only a week or so long. The freind I was referring to lived much further north than where I ran in to him. And we almost didn't get off at that exit. (C.B.)

When I first entered High School in 10th grade it was very intimidating, the school had over 2,oo kids for just 3 grades, and it was tough to make any of the teams. I wanted to become a cheerleader, but i heard horror stories, such as there was a new coach who was super strict and would only pick girls who were returning from last year, never pick anyone except Juniors and Seniors,that only 12 girls would make itsince there were only 12 uniforms, that there would only be a varsity squad no JV, that over 100 girls were trying out for those 12 spots, and that tryouts were for 2 weeks until they killed us, and tryouts were based on if you buttered up to the coach and old cheerleaders. The coincidence?? The new coach turned out to be my old gymnastics coach who moved away when i was in fifth grade. She had graduated from college. If she had not moved back, or gotten the job (out of 10 people who applied), HAD NOT CHANGED THE RULES AND WAS OPENING THE SQUAD TO 20 GIRLS EACH FOR A vARSITY AND jv SQUAD, fought for new uniforms, and especially knew me I probably would not have made the squad. She used me to demonstrate the gymnastics moves she was looking for and totally revamped the program, and she definitely was not the buttering up type. She was fair ! What a coincidence she was the coach , since I knew her it made it fun and easier for me o relax and do better. Oh and yes I made it! (J.F.)

The morning of my last classes before finals this spring, I had to go pick up some stamps to get my English portfolio mailed to me after it had been graded. I decided to get up earlier than usual, which I rarely, if ever, do for any other reason than a test, that morning and bought my stamps and an envelope for everything. As I often do, I grossly overestimated the time it would take me to acquire everything I needed. At the time, I was running low on soap and toothpaste, so I decided, though I had the items at home, I should pick them up and not risk going without them for a week. I headed down to Eckerd on Forbes and picked them up. As I started back to the Towers to drop these items off, I noticed a school bus stopped on Forbes Avenue. Looking twice at the bus, I saw on the side the words "Indiana Area School District" - where I had gone to school for thirteen years. I looked into the bus, where the teacher, my football coach and a statistics and precalculus teacher, had noticed me. He told the students, and some opened their windows and started yelling to me. The bus, however, got a green light, and I couldn't keep up. It was a nice surprise for an otherwise dull final week of class. (M.B.)

Hows this for a coincidence--I was born on my dad's birthday. (C.H.)

if this isnt a coincidence i dont know what is first of all, i went to mars area high school, home of the fightin' planets. our fotball team one year made the WPIAL championship game, so our school made spirit tee shirts. that was in 1996, fast forward to the year 2000. I went on a mission trip to africa and a little boy came up to me. He was wearing the same mars planet tee shirt that i owned 3 years back. i know that i gave my shirt to the good will, so it may even be possible that the shirt he was wearing, from my rinky dink town in PA, came from my closet. seeing your school shirt on a child on another continent, that blew my mind (M.L.)

My coincidence story is boring However, I need the points. My cousin and I who were born the same year have the same exact name. (D.W.)

From October 2004 through July 2005 I participated in AmeriCorps*NCCC at the Western Campus in Sacramento. There were maybe 230 kids working in the program there. Most were from the East Coast or the Midwest. A month after the program ended, I began school here at Pitt. A few times during last year, one of my team mates, Dan, from Philadelphia, came to visit me. One time, as he was standing at the bottom of the steps in front of the Towers waiting for me, he noticed a girl walking down the street that he recognized. Her name was Candy, and she had done AmeriCorps*NCCC with us in Sacramento! She also was in Pittsburgh for the weekend to visit a friend! I was so amazed when I came down the steps to see Dan, who spends very little time in Pittsburgh, talking with one of the few people in the program with us, who was also rarely in Pittsburgh! (C.B.)

Driving through West Virignia on our way back from vacation in Florida, I decided I was hungry. Being a vegetarian, fast food places offer little choice, so I asked my parents to wait to find a sheetz. After a few miles, we saw the sign, pulled onto the exit, and came to one. As I waited for my order to be called, I started to walk down the candy aisle where I coincidently ran into one of my good friends from Pitt. She said that she was on her way to the beach with her friends. Neither of us had any idea the other was on vacation, and this sheetz was several hours from either of our homes (we're both from Pennsylvania). (L.F.)

My friend (Mark) and I were in New York City together. We have known each other since we were kids and grew up together. While walking through Grand Central Station, we saw someone we knew from our hometown, who was there in New York "being a tourist" just like we were. We both thought it was very funny, considering the size of New York and the timing which allowed us to pass her by during our visit at that exact moment. (D.B.)

Two summers ago, while traveling through Italy with my family, we were eating at a small restaurant in Florence. When we were leaving, we ran into my dentist and his wife outside the restaurant sitting on a bench waiting to eat dinner at the same restaurant. Coincidence? (C.H.)

Just a few weeks ago I was at a friends house for a party here in south Oakland. After sometime a girl walked into the room who looked really familiar but I couldn't remember if I had ever met her. She eyed me with the same confusion. I asked her her name and I immediately recognized it. She was a really good friend of mine who used to live on my street back home. She had moved in the 3rd grade and that was the last time I had seen her. Over a decade later she's attending Point Park College and she just so happened to be at the same party as I in the middle of October. (B.S.)

This past summer I worked at a clothing store in the mall near my house. The one day one of the girls that I worked with said how she had found 10 dollars the previous day while she was out shopping. I was saying how I was never lucky enough to find money. An hour or so after that I walked to the front of the store and saw what I thought was a dollar or two laying on the ground. I took it back to show the girls and as I unraveled the money it turned out to be one 100 dollar bill, two 20 dollar bills, and four 1 dollar bills wrapped around them. J We were all so excited that I found the money, especially since we had just had a conversation about finding money and then I did. The upsetting part was the district manager of the store was there that day and she took the money. Although I didno?=~@~Yt get to keep it I was still excited that I found it and it was so weird that we had just been talking about finding money that same day. (A.C.)

After class on Wednesday, I was trying to think of a coincidence story and I was struggling somewhat. I was trying to think of a time when I met someone with the the same name as me, because that's a rare occasion, but I couldn't remember a specific example. Then, on my way to my next class I bumped into a friend of mine whom I've never bumped into in between classes. He introduced me to a girl in one of his classes whom he was walking with, and when I told her my name she responded, "Oh, wow that's my sister's name!" What are the chances that on the day I need a coincidence story, one happens? Seems like a two-in-one coincidence deal. (J.S.)

My coincidence story happened two years ago. I was on vacationwith my family on Topsail Island in North Carolina. On our second night at the beach, we went out to a local restaurant for dinner. Midway through dinner, I looked across the room to see both my 10th grand Geography teacher and my 11th grade Algebra teacher (who I once made a wish never to see again) dining with their wives over 700 miles away from our home. (B.B.)

I went to France with my family when I as sixteen, because my dad's boos owns a house there. When I went I met some of their close friends children. They were around 21 years old. They took me out in France so I wouldn't get bored with all the adults. Well one day I was at PNC park and i was trying to find my friend. It was pouring down rain outside and I was running but someone grabbed my hand and started coming closer to me. I was a little nervous but I heard Jessica! Jessica! It turned out to be the boys from France that I hung out with. They were visiting in town and we happened to be at PNC Park, and you know how big the place is, so what are the chances of us finding each other... It was a a good coincidence. (J.P.)

Here is my coincidence story. when i was in grade school i made best friends with a girl who had the same first name as me. Not long after would i discover that she also had the same middle name as me. soon after that i found out that we also shared the same birthday. (J.O.)

When I was about 8, my Dad told us that we were moving to Tennessee from Pennsylvania (we only lived there for about a year and then moved back). Before we moved, we had new neighbors move in, who were from the same city in Tennessee that we were about to move to. (D.M.)

This past Wednesday my boyfriend and I enjoyed a show at the Byham and then breakfast at Kings. In between the two we stopped at our apartment and I ended up changing into some more comfortable clothes, meanwhile leaving our credit card in my dress pant's pocket. When the time came to pay the bill, we realized that I had forgotten our usual method of payment and could only hope that our onhand cash was enough. Our bill was $15.13 and coincidencially that was all of the money we had exactly down to the dime and 3 pennies! The probability of us having the exact amount considering that we rarely carry cash seems small indeed, thus us having the exact amount of funds could be called a coincidence. (L.F.)

About two weeks ago, I began the tedius task of finding the perfect halloween costume. Normally, I hate going into stores where there is no variety and just overly mass-produced costumes, but on this particular evening, I was in good spirits and agreed to go to Party City. While searching the walls for the right costume, I heard my name. As I turned my head, I saw a friend that I had not seen in at least six years standing there before me. She was home for the day, because of her brother's birthday and one of his presents was a new halloween costume. She just happened to be in the same store at the same time as me. (R.R.)

My coincidence story involves almost being arrested. I was pulled over for speeding and after the officer ran a check told me to step out of the car. It seemed to take forever while he went back and forth, checking my driver's license and license plate number. He said that there was a warrant for my arrest centering around drug charges. He seemed pretty skeptical when I told him that that was ridiculous and I'd never had anything to do with drugs. Finally he ran my social security number and found out the warrant was for a different person; a guy with the same first and last name living in the same apartment building I was. He let me go, apologizing for the mistake (but still giving me a warning for speeding.) (J.C.)

It was a coincidence that both my sister and I saw a shooting star on the same day in different states (I in Pennsylvania and she in Florida). Happened over the past summer...might have been because of a metoer shower but I like to think it was random. (B.G.)

I had a bestfriend who lived right next door to me for two years. Then I moved away and never seen her again. Eight years later during my freshman year at Pitt I ran into her at the bookstore come to find out she was also a Pitt student and it was her freshman year too. We both were enrolled in the same Eng comp class and we didn't even know it till the first day. (T.E.)

Last year, while working at my work study job, I was conversing with the other students. After talking, I had found out that another coworker and myself had actually dated the same guy. She dated him her freshman year at Pitt, just as I had been doing. So that was really funny. She gave me the dirt on him, and eventually all the things she said came to light and he and i eventually broke up. (S.B.)

My favorite example of a recent coincidence from my life occurred this June. I was at home, and did not have work, and as such did nothing all day but lounge on my couch. There was a marathon on Bravo that day of one of my favorite shows, "Kathy Griffin: Life on the D List." I sat and watched the entire marathon, about 6 hours of it. This is an excessive amount of television, and I was quite aware of it as I was watching. That evening I finally got off the couch and went out to the local bar I frequent with my friend Carley. The bar is right across the street from a small theatre called The Keswick Theatre. I usually never think to see what's playing at the Keswick, as it is typically small acts no one has ever heard of, or dance recitals, etc. On this particular evening, however, I looked up at the marquee of the Keswick and it read "Tonight: Kathy Griffin" I was stunned. I'm not sure what the exact odds are of having the person who I watched on t.v. for 6 hours show up in person, across the street from me, but I'm sure they must be pretty astronomical. I had no idea Kathy Griffin would be anywhere near my area, let alone at the Keswick Theatre. It was a strange and very funny coincidence. Just to end the story on a happy note: I was able to watch Kathy perform from the back of the theatre, even though me and my friend did not have tickets. So, although I had just seen all of her material on television, I watched her live and had a wonderful time. Yay for coincidence.

My freshman year at Pitt I decided to rush a sorority. I always heard the term "sister" and "family" when other described what a sorority was all about. During rush I met a sister of a certain sorority whose name just so happened to be Brittany also! She even spelled it the same way. We had a great conversation, we really hit it off. During the conversation she mentioned to me that she had a younger brother named Michael! I too have a younger brother named Michael. When rush was over and I was chosen to be in a sorority, it was Brittany's sorority where I am now a sister! (B.A.)

One day, during one of my recitations the professor and I were wearing the exact same shirt and same shoes. (J.T.)

Did you ever have a dream about someone that you havenb into them? That happened to me this past summer at work. I had a dream about my very good friend from high school who I had lost touch with when we both moved to college. The very next day at work I ran into her at the retail store I work at. It was so weird because I hadnbut her and saw her the next day. We stood there and talked for awhile then we realized how much we had in common, we were both going to school and majoring in education, she was still the biggest hockey fan, like myself, and she had recently broken up with a long term boyfriend and I had done the same about a month before, so we ended up catching and realizing how much we had in common and now we are closer then ever. So this coincidental meeting turned into something great! (C.B.)

My dog Dil is 10 years old and I've lived with several strange roommates in that time and yesterday, (Thursday) something coincidental occurred. My last roommate, she used to quote movies and one that she would say over and over to my dog was "out out brown cow!" I don't know where it comes from, never asked. My dog is black, not brown, so it was even more strange. I was telling my partner about it maybe 4 or 5 days ago, that this girl used to say "out out brown cow!" to Dil. She found it strange as well. So my partner and I were shopping at Whole Foods yesterday walking in the dairy section and I was picking out yogurt and she says to me, "Al, look at this!" I looked up and there it was "BROWN COW" brand yogurt! I've been in that yogurt section several times over the past two months that I've lived here in Pitt, never did I notice~E. (A.P.)

(H.M.)

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