Odds of this?
Quote: rdw4potusI believe, though someone may correct me, that the odds are infinitesimal;-)
I would, but then we would be hijacjing Soopoo's thread.
I don't suppose the odds are high, but I wouldn't be surprised to see they're not that small, either. You migth want to look up how popular the neames were in the years they were given to your sons, too. That would affect the odds.
Pretty good.
When ever you meet someone new, you try and find out what is in common with that other person, either names of children, or what you did during the war.
If you served in Europe, and the other person served in the Pacific, there wouldn't be anything to talk about right? So, then you go to schools, states you lived in, companies you worked for, etc, and then you find the connections.
Make sense?
SFB
Quote: SFB"What are the Odds?"
Pretty good...If you served in Europe, and the other person served in the Pacific, there wouldn't be anything to talk about right? So, then you go to schools, states you lived in, companies you worked for, etc, and then you find the connections...
Good point! And here's an episode of a radio show called Radiolab about that phenomenon. (It analyzes the story of Laura Buxton, who recovered a helium balloon that had been released by another girl named Laura Buxton.)
Quote: SOOPOOThis is right up the Wiz's alley..... My college roomate, who I haven't seen or spoken to in 30 years, called me up yesterday. We were always friendly, but never close friends. I loved hearing his voice as it brought up only fond memories. He said he saw my personal info on our colleges web site or something, and was stunned to find out we both have 2 sons..... with the same names!!!! Now before I ask for the 'odds' part of this rambling post, I will give some additional info.... My wife chose both my son's names. David is the eldest, and she chose Jonathan for the second because they were friends from the bible, even though neither she nor I are religious. My ex roomie was moderately religious, Baptist I believe. So guys, what are the odds of 2 roomies both having 2 sons, then both matching names?
According to the Social Security Office's baby names website, the name "David" was the 4th, 5th, or 6th most popular male name for new births in the United States from 1980 - 1990. "Jonathan" was a top 21 name (ranking 15 - 21 during the same period). Are the boys the same ages? I don't think it is that far off given the popularity of "David" and the biblical connection to "Jonathan". If the second sons were both named "Goliath"... now that would be something...
Quote: AyecarumbaAccording to the Social Security Office's baby names website, the name "David" was the 4th, 5th, or 6th most popular male name for new births in the United States from 1980 - 1990. "Jonathan" was a top 21 name (ranking 15 - 21 during the same period). Are the boys the same ages? I don't think it is that far off given the popularity of "David" and the biblical connection to "Jonathan". If the second sons were both named "Goliath"... now that would be something...
Close enough in age. My second son IS named Jonathan because of the biblical connection. I haven't asked my ex roomie, but I would guess the same would be said for his sons. So the odds cannot be figured out using just the relative frequencies. But I still thought it was neat. We both have pet dogs named Goliath, too.
(Wink, wink)
