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The plum pudding coincidence
- Type
- Story
- By
- Émile Deschamps (retelling)
- Published
- 1800
The poet Deschamps was once served plum pudding by a stranger, M. de Fontgibu. Years later he ordered it from a menu, only to learn the last pudding had just been taken — by de Fontgibu. Decades on, at a dinner party, the same man walked in uninvited as the pudding was served.
The French poet Émile Deschamps recorded the coincidence that made him famous: as a boy he was served plum pudding by a stranger, M. de Fontgibu. Years later he ordered the dish from a menu, only to find the last pudding had just been taken — by the same man. Decades on, at a dinner party, the same stranger walked in uninvited as the pudding was served.
Three reunions, decades apart, all keyed to one dish. It became the classic example of repeated coincidence — Jung retold it — and the classic warning about anecdote: the story is third-hand, impossible to verify, and almost certainly polished in the retelling. It illustrates both the appeal and the unreliability of the genre.
The meaning
Three separate reunions, decades apart, all keyed to one dish — exactly the kind of repeated coincidence that feels designed.
The skeptic
The story is third-hand, embellished over a century, and impossible to verify. It is the perfect example of how anecdotes grow in the retelling.
About the source
The 19th-century French poet whose plum-pudding story became the classic example of repeated coincidence.
Key takeaways
- A classic triple coincidence involving one dish and one stranger.
- Recorded by Deschamps in the 1800s; famous since via Carl Jung's retelling.
- Illustrates both the appeal and the unreliability of coincidence anecdotes.