Two 10-year-old girls named Laura Buxton, living on opposite ends of the country, released and found the same balloon. The second Laura Buxton found the balloon in her yard, preventing it from reaching cows, and realized the sender had the same name. The improbable coincidence of two girls with the same name involved in a balloon exchange across a distance of 140 miles is both surprising and real.
First aired way back in 2009, this episode is all about a wonderfully slippery and smarty-pants word for randomness, Stochasticity, and how it may be at the very foundation of our lives. Along the way, we talk to a woman suddenly consumed by a frenzied gambling addiction, hear from two friends whose meeting seems to defy pure chance, and take a close look at some very noisy bacteria.
EPISODE CITATIONS:
Videos - Stochasticity Music Video (https://zpr.io/uZiH9j9ZU6be)
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