# Coincidence **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 7, 2009, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidence/484781 "2009-02-07T03:23:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![imfloating](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bc79bd/32.png) [@imfloating](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/imfloating)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidence/484781/1 "2009-02-07T03:23:54Z")
I have met two people who were born in the same hospital on the same day as me. Whaddya think of that ? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidence/484781/2 "2009-02-07T03:28:41Z")
Exactly what your title says. Besides, it’s not all that unlikely. Consider that people born in the same hospital have good odds of growing up in the same area, and being the same age are likely to go to school together. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidence/484781/3 "2009-02-07T03:29:50Z")
How’s this for coincidence: If you gather any 23 random people in the world, the probability that two of them will share a birthday is 50%. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidence/484781/4 "2009-02-07T03:35:05Z")
> [@imfloating](#): > > I have met two people who were born in the same hospital on the same day as me. Whaddya think of that ? You only need to meet something like 500 other people to have the odds greater than 50% that you will find two people who share your birthday (assuming an even spread of birthdays through the year, which is actually incorrect since baby-bearing is seasonal.) If you are in a small town with only one hospital, where pretty much everyone was born in this hospital, you’ll eventually meet two people with your birthday. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidence/484781/5 "2009-02-07T03:36:22Z")
Here’s an even bigger coincidence. The odds that you have your birthday, out of all the millions of birthdays in history, are actually 100%. Isn’t that amazing? ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidence/484781/6 "2009-02-07T03:39:18Z")
I think I will move this thread from General Questions to Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share. **Gfactor** General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidence/484781/7 "2009-02-07T03:40:12Z")
> [@Gfactor](#): > > I think I will move this thread from General Questions to Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share. What a coincidence! I was just thinking you should do that. ---
**Author:** ![CAT\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@CAT\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CAT_1)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidence/484781/8 "2009-02-07T03:44:33Z")
My son goes to school with two kids who were in the nursery at the hospital with him. A girl who was born on 10/15, my son 10/16, and a boy who was born on 10/17. He only has 20 kids in his class too. He was also born on the same day as my husbands bowling teammate’s kid. In fact I had my son just after midnight and was moved to another room, then that guys wife took my room and had her son 12 hours later. We are also both named Cathy. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidence/484781/9 "2009-02-07T03:45:12Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > What a coincidence! I was just thinking you should do that. So were the rest of us, but it just seemed too obvious to say out loud. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidence/484781/10 "2009-02-07T03:59:37Z")
Sure, but somebody had to say it. If everybody thinks about saying it but nobody says it then everybody thinks that everybody else is thinking it but nobody knows for sure since nobody said it because if somebody said it but nobody else thought it they’d feel stupid for saying it and wish they hadn’t thought of it. ---
**Author:** ![Gbro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Gbro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gbro)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidence/484781/11 "2009-02-07T04:16:47Z")
Best place for that to happen is at the drivers license exam bureau on the 16th birthday. Or those from the pre 72 area, there was a gathering at the armed forces induction station. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidence/484781/12 "2009-02-07T04:31:10Z")
When I was eleven, I met a girl from a nearby town who was born on the same day that I was. When we were twelve, her cousin married my sister. They hadn’t known each other when we met. About five years ago I was in the drugstore waiting in line when the man ahead of me was asked his birthdate. When he said it, I couldn’t believe my ears. I was born on the same day. Do I told him that he was born on a Wednesday and that if he was from around here, he was born during a heat wave when the temps were still over 90 degrees at 8:00 PM in parts of the state. (This was my best savant impression apparently.) He just stared at me. I finally told him how I knew. Geez Louise, that guy was _old_! Returning to savant perspective: Everything that happens is coincidental. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidence/484781/13 "2009-02-07T05:38:50Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > About five years ago I was in the drugstore waiting in line when the man ahead of me was asked his birthdate. When he said it, I couldn’t believe my ears. I was born on the same day. Do I told him that he was born on a Wednesday and that if he was from around here, he was born during a heat wave when the temps were still over 90 degrees at 8:00 PM in parts of the state. That’s amazing! I was born on a Wednesday too! Let’s not be too smug about the OP though. Just because coincidences aren’t supernatural doesn’t mean they’re not cool. I always get a little tingle when I’m faced with something that points up my and the rest of humanity’s hopelessly bad statistical intuition. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidence/484781/14 "2009-02-07T06:00:05Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > Sure, but somebody had to say it. If everybody thinks about saying it but nobody says it then everybody thinks that everybody else is thinking it but nobody knows for sure since nobody said it because if somebody said it but nobody else thought it they’d feel stupid for saying it and wish they hadn’t thought of it. Again, we were already thinking that. It just seemed soooooooooooooo obvious none of us wanted to be the one to say it and look dumb. God bless you for taking that hit for us. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidence/484781/15 "2009-02-07T06:01:30Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > That’s amazing! I was born on a Wednesday too! I was also born on a day of the week! And during the regular calender year, no less! ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidence/484781/16 "2009-02-07T06:05:01Z")
You think that’s weird? My brother’s cousin’s father’s nephew has the same name as I do, and looks _just like me_. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidence/484781/17 "2009-02-07T06:14:02Z")
> [@Sefton](#): > > You think that’s weird? My brother’s cousin’s father’s nephew has the same name as I do, and looks _just like me_. Not only that, he’s fucking your wife! ---
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidence/484781/18 "2009-02-07T06:33:07Z")
I’m in possession of a five-dollar bill(US) on which the serial number is the same as the first eight digits of my social security number. ---
**Author:** ![imfloating](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bc79bd/32.png) [@imfloating](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/imfloating)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidence/484781/19 "2009-02-07T06:35:20Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > Exactly what your title says. > > Besides, it’s not all that unlikely. Consider that people born in the same hospital have good odds of growing up in the same area, and being the same age are likely to go to school together. I don’t live in Mayberry. It’s a fairly large town about 15 miles from NYC. Neither of these guys ever lived there. One of them worked in my office, and I met the other about 3 years ago while out of town. We were all born in 1948. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidence/484781/20 "2009-02-07T06:59:08Z")
Years ago, I lived in a two-flat (sort of like a duplex, looked like a house, but there was a downstairs apartment and an upstairs apartment). The guys upstairs had a big party. A couple of people heading to their party got the address right but came into my apartment instead. I had gone to college with one of them–five years before, in another state. My roommate had gone to college with the other one. Again, five years before and in yet another state. All roads lead to Boulder! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coincidence/484781.md?page=2)