Coincidence

Alec Rivers · Post by **Alec Rivers** » Wed Nov 11, 2009 11:25 pm

Gavin Chipper wrote:... he'd long since moved well away from me.

Do you find that this happens a lot?

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Wed Nov 11, 2009 11:42 pm

Gavin Chipper wrote:then girlfriend

Needless to say.

Yay let's all gang up on Gevin!

Sue Sanders · Post by **Sue Sanders** » Wed Nov 11, 2009 11:48 pm

Gavin Chipper wrote:then girlfriend

Had you spilt wine on your keyboard and spent a weekend practising your 6 smalls?

Lesley Hines · Post by **Lesley Hines** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 1:14 am

Charlie Reams wrote: What nationality was your liver giver, in the end?

Welsh! Makes me half English, half Irish, and part Welsh. I've got a 50% chance of being happy in the 6 nations. Don't know if they were ginger but if they were it'd suit me down to the ground

Phil Reynolds · Post by **Phil Reynolds** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 2:20 am

Lesley Hines wrote:I needed a new liver at 36 hours notice, and got one. It helped that I was put straight to the top of the list in Europe, but I was still bloody lucky.

Ah, the answer to an age-old question:

Is life worth living?

- It all depends on the liver.

Ian Volante · Post by **Ian Volante** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 8:20 am

Lesley Hines wrote:I needed a new liver at 36 hours notice, and got one. It helped that I was put straight to the top of the list in Europe, but I was still bloody lucky.

That must have been a hell of a night out!

Lesley Hines · Post by **Lesley Hines** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 9:17 am

Ian Volante wrote:That must have been a hell of a night out!

ooooooooooooh yes

Alice Moore · Post by **Alice Moore** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 4:42 pm

Fair point. Sorry again.

Ian Volante · Post by **Ian Volante** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 5:56 pm

Alice Moore wrote:Fair point. Sorry again.

No need to apologise! Just remember that this lot will quite happily call a spade a spade, and if you aren't seen to be adding value to a debate, or to put it better, if you're caught assuming that these intellectual giants haven't considered all possibilities, chewed them over and discarded them before succinctly and cleverly insulting the author of the thread, then you'll soon find out.

Don't take it to heart though, they're teddy bears really

Derek Hazell · Post by **Derek Hazell** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 7:26 pm

Very well put, Ian. I actually found Alice's well-thought out post interesting, and wasn't patronized at all, although I obviously agree that coincidences are interesting as well.

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 7:50 pm

Derek Hazell wrote:Very well put, Ian. I actually found Alice's well-thought out post interesting, and wasn't patronized at all, although I obviously agree that coincidences are interesting as well.

I liked it too, and there's plenty of evidence on this very forum that otherwise smart people overestimate the significance of coincidences. Corby is just reeling from his crushing defeat at my hands in the recent popularity contest.

Gavin Chipper · Post by **Gavin Chipper** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 7:54 pm

Alice Moore wrote:picking up the phone before it rings

Isn't that called making a phone call?

Gavin Chipper · Post by **Gavin Chipper** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 8:03 pm

Lesley Hines wrote:
Charlie Reams wrote: What nationality was your liver giver, in the end?
Welsh! Makes me half English, half Irish, and part Welsh. I've got a 50% chance of being happy in the 6 nations. Don't know if they were ginger but if they were it'd suit me down to the ground

Three halves, just like Countdown.

Gavin Chipper · Post by **Gavin Chipper** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 8:06 pm

Sue Sanders wrote:
Gavin Chipper wrote:then girlfriend
Had you spilt wine on your keyboard and spent a weekend practising your 6 smalls?

I'll resist making a joke about one large.

Jon Corby · Post by **Jon Corby** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 8:43 pm

Charlie Reams wrote:
Derek Hazell wrote:Very well put, Ian. I actually found Alice's well-thought out post interesting, and wasn't patronized at all, although I obviously agree that coincidences are interesting as well.
I liked it too, and there's plenty of evidence on this very forum that otherwise smart people overestimate the significance of coincidences. Corby is just reeling from his crushing defeat at my hands in the recent popularity contest.

Smart Alec, perchance?

(As admin you probably rigged the votes as well)

Alice Moore · Post by **Alice Moore** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 3:59 pm

Gavin Chipper wrote:
Alice Moore wrote:picking up the phone before it rings
Isn't that called making a phone call?

That would be "pick up the phone before it rings... only to find that someone is on the other end. Someone you were just about to call."

Charlie Reams · Post by **Charlie Reams** » Thu Nov 19, 2009 1:52 pm

[Moved from The Official "Cummins Not-In-My-Pants Finals" Thread]

Having arrived back in Cambridge this morning from Manchester, I was cycling to my house when I saw a froggy figure in the distance. I slowed right down as he was on the same side of the road as me, heading the opposite direction, and sure enough it was Sir Christopher Cummins, Series 50 champion. I was about to stop and profess my undying love for him when I decided I couldn't really be arsed.

Still, odd coincidence eh?

Jeffrey Burgin · Post by **Jeffrey Burgin** » Thu Nov 19, 2009 2:55 pm

Talking to Steve Wood at yesterday's after party, I commented upon how I felt lucky to have even made it on to the show, having not thought I had passed the audition. He agreed, talking of a 15 year old wonderkid in his audition who had shown him up quite badly. Turns out the kid was Garner, and me and Steve were sitting either side of him in the audition but hadn't remembered each other- in addition to Paul Varlaam sitting opposite, alongside Ian Dent.

Ian Dent · Post by **Ian Dent** » Sun Jan 17, 2010 5:21 pm

I didn't know Steve Wood was at our audition.

Three Octochamps in the same audition, not bad at all.

Kai Laddiman · Post by **Kai Laddiman** » Sun Jan 17, 2010 5:48 pm

Ian Dent wrote:I didn't know Steve Wood was at our audition.

Three Octochamps in the same audition, not bad at all.

ZOMG SPOILERZZZZZ

Darren Carter · Post by **Darren Carter** » Sun Jan 17, 2010 6:32 pm

Ian Dent wrote:I didn't know Steve Wood was at our audition.

Three Octochamps in the same audition, not bad at all.

You could make it four, Ian.

Ian Dent · Post by **Ian Dent** » Sun Jan 17, 2010 6:36 pm

Where is the abuse DC?

The punchline?

Eoin Monaghan · Post by **Eoin Monaghan** » Wed Aug 04, 2010 6:44 pm

Whilst I was on the Countdown Wiki, I decided to search for members of this forum who had appeared on the show ages ago to see how they got on. I searched Joseph Bolas and saw his game with Jack Welsby. Then I went to the front page and looked at the "On this Day" section and saw that very same game had been played today!

I think we need a probability prodigy to work out the probability of that one. Anyone know where I could find one?

John Gillies · Post by **John Gillies** » Thu Aug 05, 2010 8:58 am

After leaving school in 1979 I went to Glasgow University to do some serious partying. While there I became fairly friendly with Charles Kennedy, as we had attended the same school. He went on to become leader of the Lib Dems, while my only claim to fame is that my jizz helped create a recent Octochamp.

29 years later, in 2008, I returned to Glasgow Uni as a (very) mature student to try to get a degree this time. While sitting having a coffee and a perv at the young lady students I got a tap on the shoulder from a woman whom I recognised as an old next-door neighbour from years ago. It turned out that we had both just enrolled to do degrees in maths.

And guess who was, and still is, Rector of the uni? A suspiciously still ginger Charles Kennedy!

John Gillies · Post by **John Gillies** » Thu Aug 05, 2010 10:00 am

A couple of weeks ago whilst sitting in a supermarket cafe with my wife waiting on our order, which was order number 24, I asked my wife if she could spot what was special about the number 24. Being a thick physiotherapist she hadn't a clue.

Being a maths genius (in much the same way as Dmitry's a probability genius) I had spotted that if you reverse the digits you get the number 42, and heres the amazing bit, 24 is the only number whose digits can be reversed to give 42

Even amazinger, 42 is the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything. WOW!!

Is this just a coincidence or am i really on to something here?????

Adam Gillard · Post by **Adam Gillard** » Thu Aug 05, 2010 10:23 am

I think I once hit my left funnybone and my right funnybone on the same day. Spooky...

Ian Volante · Post by **Ian Volante** » Thu Aug 05, 2010 11:39 am

John Gillies wrote:A couple of weeks ago whilst sitting in a supermarket cafe with my wife waiting on our order, which was order number 24, I asked my wife if she could spot what was special about the number 24. Being a thick physiotherapist she hadn't a clue.

Being a maths genius (in much the same way as Dmitry's a probability genius) I had spotted that if you reverse the digits you get the number 42, and heres the amazing bit, 24 is the only number whose digits can be reversed to give 42

Even amazinger, 42 is the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything. WOW!!

Is this just a coincidence or am i really on to something here?????

It's a hell of a coincidence that your avatar pic is a perfect mix of Stephen Fry and a bloke I know.

Gavin Chipper · Post by **Gavin Chipper** » Thu Aug 05, 2010 7:11 pm

Ian Volante wrote:
John Gillies wrote:A couple of weeks ago whilst sitting in a supermarket cafe with my wife waiting on our order, which was order number 24, I asked my wife if she could spot what was special about the number 24. Being a thick physiotherapist she hadn't a clue.

Being a maths genius (in much the same way as Dmitry's a probability genius) I had spotted that if you reverse the digits you get the number 42, and heres the amazing bit, 24 is the only number whose digits can be reversed to give 42

Even amazinger, 42 is the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything. WOW!!

Is this just a coincidence or am i really on to something here?????

It's a hell of a coincidence that your avatar pic is a perfect mix of Stephen Fry and a bloke I know.

I was thinking that as well - particuarly the bloke you know.

Ian Volante · Post by **Ian Volante** » Thu Aug 05, 2010 8:05 pm

Gavin Chipper wrote:
Ian Volante wrote:
John Gillies wrote:A couple of weeks ago whilst sitting in a supermarket cafe with my wife waiting on our order, which was order number 24, I asked my wife if she could spot what was special about the number 24. Being a thick physiotherapist she hadn't a clue.

Being a maths genius (in much the same way as Dmitry's a probability genius) I had spotted that if you reverse the digits you get the number 42, and heres the amazing bit, 24 is the only number whose digits can be reversed to give 42

Even amazinger, 42 is the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything. WOW!!

Is this just a coincidence or am i really on to something here?????

It's a hell of a coincidence that your avatar pic is a perfect mix of Stephen Fry and a bloke I know.
I was thinking that as well - particuarly the bloke you know.

http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&ti ... son?ref=ts

Kirk Bevins · Post by **Kirk Bevins** » Tue Aug 17, 2010 1:44 am

Has anybody else noticed that APPLE MACINTOSH is an anagram of LAPTOP MACHINES?

Jon O'Neill · Post by **Jon O'Neill** » Tue Aug 17, 2010 8:23 am

Kirk Bevins wrote:Has anybody else noticed that APPLE MACINTOSH is an anagram of LAPTOP MACHINES?

Not me, no.

Jon Corby · Post by **Jon Corby** » Tue Aug 17, 2010 11:04 am

Jon O'Neill wrote:
Kirk Bevins wrote:Has anybody else noticed that APPLE MACINTOSH is an anagram of LAPTOP MACHINES?
Not me, no.

Nor me. What a coincidence.

Matt Morrison · Post by **Matt Morrison** » Sun Oct 31, 2010 2:41 pm

Just realised there was a guy at middle school called Dan Loader. Sounds loads like 'downloader'.

Gavin Chipper · Post by **Gavin Chipper** » Sun Oct 31, 2010 2:58 pm

Just realised there was a guy at middle school called Dan Loader. Sounds loads like 'downloader'.

Gavin Chipper · Post by **Gavin Chipper** » Sun Oct 31, 2010 2:59 pm

Matt Morrison wrote:Just realised there was a guy at middle school called Dan Loader. Sounds loads like 'downloader'.

Just noticed this. What a coincidence!!!

Adam Gillard · Post by **Adam Gillard** » Sun Jan 02, 2011 10:30 pm

From this page

5th Junior 9 Rounder 97 0.04% 2279 2279

(Last 2 figures are "Beatable 1 game in..." and "Attempts")

Ben Wilson · Post by **Ben Wilson** » Sun Jan 02, 2011 10:34 pm

Adam Gillard wrote:From this page

5th Junior 9 Rounder 97 0.04% 2279 2279

(Last 2 figures are "Beatable 1 game in..." and "Attempts")

Think that might be the way that page works- there's only ever been one Junior 9 rounder with a max higher than 97.

Adam Gillard · Post by **Adam Gillard** » Sun Jan 02, 2011 11:35 pm

Ben Wilson wrote:
Adam Gillard wrote:From this page

5th Junior 9 Rounder 97 0.04% 2279 2279

(Last 2 figures are "Beatable 1 game in..." and "Attempts")
Think that might be the way that page works- there's only ever been one Junior 9 rounder with a max higher than 97.

Nope, cf here: Games played: 2279.

Gavin Chipper · Post by **Gavin Chipper** » Mon Jan 03, 2011 1:09 am

Adam Gillard wrote:
Ben Wilson wrote:
Adam Gillard wrote:From this page

5th Junior 9 Rounder 97 0.04% 2279 2279

(Last 2 figures are "Beatable 1 game in..." and "Attempts")
Think that might be the way that page works- there's only ever been one Junior 9 rounder with a max higher than 97.
Nope, cf here: Games played: 2279.

Isn't that what he's saying? Games played/number of games with score higher than record = Beatable 1 game in...

In that case it happens that there has only been one game with a higher max so 2297/1=2297. In the 15-rounder 139634/27927=not quite 5 (I'm sure it was 5 earlier when I checked) so there have been five games with higher maxes.

Andrew Feist · Post by **Andrew Feist** » Mon Jan 03, 2011 1:09 am

Adam Gillard wrote:
Ben Wilson wrote:
Adam Gillard wrote:From this page

5th Junior 9 Rounder 97 0.04% 2279 2279

(Last 2 figures are "Beatable 1 game in..." and "Attempts")
Think that might be the way that page works- there's only ever been one Junior 9 rounder with a max higher than 97.
Nope, cf here: Games played: 2279.

That was Ben's point. If it's only happened once, then the odds [in 1:2279 format] and the number of attempts [2279] must needs match (regardless of what the actual number itself is).

Adam Gillard · Post by **Adam Gillard** » Mon Jan 03, 2011 1:40 am

Gavin Chipper et al. wrote:From this page

5th Junior 9 Rounder 97 0.04% 2279 2279

(Last 2 figures are "Beatable 1 game in..." and "Attempts")

Think that might be the way that page works- there's only ever been one Junior 9 rounder with a max higher than 97.

Nope, cf here: Games played: 2279.

Isn't that what he's saying? Games played/number of games with score higher than record = Beatable 1 game in...

In that case it happens that there has only been one game with a higher max so 2297/1=2297. In the 15-rounder 139634/27927=not quite 5 (I'm sure it was 5 earlier when I checked) so there have been five games with higher maxes.

I'm a silly billy; thanks for the clarification.

Joseph Krol · Post by **Joseph Krol** » Mon Jan 03, 2011 12:34 pm

I went approx. 60 miles away from my house one day. When I got out of the car I bumped into someone (literally) walking past. The person was my business teacher (who incidentally is called Trevor).

Joseph Krol · Post by **Joseph Krol** » Thu Jan 06, 2011 3:49 pm

Just did a standard letters attack, and the rounds 5 and 18 were identical. (Needless to say I got the darren second time round.)

Joseph Krol · Post by **Joseph Krol** » Thu Jan 06, 2011 3:51 pm

Joseph Krol wrote:Just did a standard letters attack, and the rounds 5 and 18 were identical. (Needless to say I got the darren second time round.)

Damn, forgot to post the link: http://www.apterous.org/viewgame.php?ke ... 9928846150

One more post and I become a devotee...

Gavin Chipper · Post by **Gavin Chipper** » Fri Jan 07, 2011 11:24 pm

I was playing Cluedo the other day and got into a room on my second go, guessed right and won the game. (Well, it wasn't just me - it was a team of two.)

Kai Laddiman · Post by **Kai Laddiman** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 9:07 pm

Gavin Chipper wrote:I was playing Cluedo the other day and got into a room on my second go, guessed right and won the game. (Well, it wasn't just me - it was a team of two.)

Callum got his guess right on the first go of the game once, sort of spoiled the fun.

Soph K · Post by **Soph K** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 9:29 pm

Haha, what a coincidence!! And youre not making this up, right? Wow

Chris Davies · Post by **Chris Davies** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 10:41 pm

On a similar theme to my original post, I've just met Jon Stitcher at my local. I knew he lived in the Wirral but didn't realise quite how close. Nice guy.

Jon O'Neill · Post by **Jon O'Neill** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 10:59 pm

Chris Davies wrote:On a similar theme to my original post, I've just met Jon Stitcher at my local. I knew he lived in the Wirral but didn't realise quite how close. Nice guy.

Pretty cool, he's a c4c legend!

Soph K · Post by **Soph K** » Sun Feb 20, 2011 8:54 am

AnnieHall wrote:I like Goldenballs, it's fun guessing who has the killers and whether or not they split or steal at the end.
It's amazing how many people turn up in several game shows over & over again!

Haven't seen it for absolutely ages, but I used to watch it. Not often, but sometimes I did.

Michael Wallace · Post by **Michael Wallace** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 8:25 am

Only just remembered this one from the weekend. Was at my brother's stag do (monopoly pub crawl) and one of the pubs we ended up at, we happened to stand outside, right next to someone from my year at secondary school (someone I hadn't seen in the best part of 10 years).

Adam Gillard · Post by **Adam Gillard** » Tue May 17, 2011 8:37 pm

5 seconds of madness in the Bash Room. Innis said I must have a better short-term memory as I was fastest second time. I mumbled something about perceptual salience. Anyway, coincidence!

2011-05-17 21:29:30 Innis Carson got it first. You have 27.2 seconds left.
2011-05-17 21:29:30 Adam Gillard got it too, you have 26.9 seconds left.
2011-05-17 21:29:30 Everyone got it! Innis Carson was the fastest on 2.3 seconds and gets 2 bonus points. The answers to IRSEPMS were IMPRESS, PREMISS, SIMPERS.
2011-05-17 21:29:33 Adam Gillard got it first. You have 27.2 seconds left.
2011-05-17 21:29:35 Innis Carson got it too, you have 24.8 seconds left.
2011-05-17 21:29:35 Everyone got it! Adam Gillard was the fastest on 2.3 seconds and gets 2 bonus points. The answers to SEIMPRS were IMPRESS, PREMISS, SIMPERS.

Ryan Taylor · Post by **Ryan Taylor** » Mon May 23, 2011 11:06 pm

OK bit of a long one and a bit sad but I thought this was a very big coincidence. So we're at the Monday night pub quiz and the picture round (10 pictures) has gone pretty bad in the first round as we fail to identify 'Entrapment', 'The African Queen' and 'Traffic' amongst others. The next rounds go pretty much smoothly although there are a few guesses that we are not sure of such as Melanie Blatt being a member of All Saints and the the Seven Years War lasting from 1756 to 1763. Anyway, we think that over the picture round and the next 4 rounds that out of 50 points we are not doing enough to win it. So we decide to gamble in the last round which is a 'Wipeout' round meaning that if you answer one question wrong you lose all points for that round but if you get all 10 then you gain 5 bonus points. We are confident of 8 of the answers and although I was a little shaky in placing precisely the Canary Islands and the Balearics I'm pretty confident with the 9th answer. The one question we have blank is "In the film 'Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason' which country does Bridget get put in prison?" I offer information that I think I know about the film such as "I have watched bits of this when it's been on ITV2", "I think she is skiing at one point in the film" and "I think I've seen the Eiffel Tower in it". In the end we think FUCK IT let's do this shit, let's go all out for France as the answer and hope that we get that to make sure that we have won. Anyway, turns out the answer is Thailand and our score if we decided to not put France would have been 49/65. The winning score was 47 (four teams tied). We of course ended up with 40 having scored zilch for the final round. This was Quiz Suicide.

Anyway, the coincidence is that when we get back home I joke, "shall we watch a film?" "how about Bridget Jones?". Well, whadda you know, guess what is on ITV2...Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, oh and guess what...it is at the point in the film where she is in fucking prison surrounded by lots of Thai women! Arghhhhhhhhhh!!!!

Weird or what?

Jon O'Neill · Post by **Jon O'Neill** » Mon May 23, 2011 11:13 pm

But hasn't that film been running on ITV2 for like the last ten years anyway?

Matt Morrison · Post by **Matt Morrison** » Mon May 23, 2011 11:15 pm

Don't listen to Jono, he's in a bad mood. I thought that was a nice coincidence.

Ryan Taylor · Post by **Ryan Taylor** » Mon May 23, 2011 11:29 pm

Jon O'Neill wrote:But hasn't that film been running on ITV2 for like the last ten years anyway?

Fair point. It is played a lot on ITV2, a bit like The Italian Job (2003) on Film 4. But still I thought it was pretty coincidental.

Matt Morrison · Post by **Matt Morrison** » Mon May 23, 2011 11:34 pm

Funnily enough, yesterday I was out and about driving minis really fast with some gangsters, and when I got home I put on Film 4...

Ryan Taylor · Post by **Ryan Taylor** » Mon May 23, 2011 11:40 pm

Matt Morrison wrote:Funnily enough, yesterday I was out and about driving minis really fast with some gangsters, and when I got home I put on Film 4...

So now you're being a prick too? I'd say it was nothing short of a miracle really.

Phil Reynolds · Post by **Phil Reynolds** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 4:00 pm

On this page, my name appears adjacent to that of Series 4 finalist Robert Richland. A Quite Interesting (TM) fact is that in my first year at university Robert Richland lived three rooms along from me on the same corridor in my hall of residence.

Matt Morrison · Post by **Matt Morrison** » Fri Oct 07, 2011 10:49 am

I have no idea why (porn) but this morning I was thinking about one time when I tried to deep throat a banana at school to impress (??!) a bunch of male friends.
Then moments later I stumbled upon this: http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/take-a-s ... -fuck-food

I can definitely relate to the "rather see my Internet history than my food history" thing.
Not that I do it often but sometimes I'll buy a chocolate bar when I go and do the food shopping and make sure I throw the receipt away before I get home just in case.