text: CALGARY—A group of women named Nicole at the University of Calgary have united thanks to a mass email sent by a man trying to locate his missed connection. By all accounts, the network of Nicoles can trace its start to Nietzsche, a number and a woman named Nicole from the Netherlands. 
   
   A Calgary student trying to find a missed connection he met at a bar emailed 246 women named Nicole. They have since forged real-life friendships and helped him find the "original Nicole." ( Submitted by Nicolette Riley ) 
   
   First year U of C student Carlos Zetina was reportedly at campus pub The Den Thursday, when he met a woman named Nicole, on exchange from the Netherlands. “We met at the campus bar and we talked and had struck a pretty interesting conversation,” said Zetina. “She gave me her number, but I guess she accidentally gave me the wrong one because when I texted her the next day, a different person messaged me back that it wasn’t her.” So Zetina resorted to a very specific approach: Email everyone who had a U of C email account with the name Nicole or one of its variants. He said the university’s email had a directory, so it only took him a few minutes to copy anyone with Nicole in their name to the message. 
   
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   Zetina said he sent the email because he didn’t want the Nicole he met to think he was “a bad guy who didn’t text back.” He wrote: “If you (sic) name is Nicole and you’re from Holland and you think Nietzsche is depressing then text me,” then gives his phone number. “I’m Carlos btw I’m the guy who took you and your friend home last night.” He added “if you are the one and just don’t want to talk to me that’s ok as well.” By 11 a.m. Friday, PhD candidate Nicolette Little had a message in her inbox with the following subject line: “Met you last night and you gave me the wrong number.” “I did a double-take and noticed 246 other Nicoles and Nicolettes and Nikkis were copied on this email,” she said. “Who sends an email to that many people? If it was me, I’d be a little horrified about how this all played out,” said Nicole DuGraye, who also got the message. “But I thought this was a great way to connect and meet new people and to try to find the real Nicole.” 
   
   The Nicoles started exchanging messages about the email, according to Little, and that’s when the group began to grow. DuGraye decided to create a Facebook group called “Nicole From Last Night,” containing many of the Nicoles who received the original email. They planned a get-together to find the woman Zetina was looking for. 
   
   The women included on the mass email got together in real life Friday for a gathering dubbed the "Congress of Nicoles." They say they plan on continuing to meet. ( Nicole McCoy ) 
   
   “I thought it was funny,” Zetina said. “Some of the Nicoles started messaging me pretending to be her as a joke.” 
   
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   “There was just Nicoles saying they’d never been so happy to be called Nicole or Nicolette in their lives. Others were wishing Carlos ‘good luck buddy,’ and just talking about how it was an epic way to start your school year,” Little said. The like-named ladies, dubbed the Congress of Nicoles, got together Friday night at Side Street Pub in Kensington. “It was funny, because you just saw Nicole, after Nicolette, after Nikki kind of wandering by and looking around. We would just jump up and say, ‘Hey, are you a Nicole?’ and they’d be like ‘yes!’ ” Little explained, estimating about 20 women were at Friday’s meeting. The unusual get-together drew lots of attention on Twitter, with users tweeting their support with the hashtag #nicolefromlastnight. “Some dude emailed every Nicole at U of C to try to find the girl he met last night and instead they formed a girl gang and I am legit DYING,” tweeted @ParisEsther, prompting thousands of likes and hundreds of retweets. Alas, the intended Nicole was not in attendance, according to Nicole Macmillan, who was. The women discovered that the original Nicole did not have a university email address yet, and had only heard about the email after it had gone viral. She eventually posted on the Facebook group, revealing herself as “the real Nicole.” 
   
   Macmillan said they weren’t sure if Nicole had given Zetina the wrong number on purpose as a gentle brush-off. “She told me it was a total accident, she had only had a Canadian number for about a week so it was a mistake, she wanted to give him her real number.” In the end, Zetina said the Nicole he’d been searching for did text him. “We’re planning to hang out maybe next week,” he said. “I really didn’t expect this to become a big thing.” Macmillan said she was glad to see the saga have “a beautiful ending.” 
   
   The unusual get-together went viral with the hashtagh "Nicole From Last Night" trending on Twitter. The group of Nicoles eventually helped the original Nicole connect with the student who sent the email. ( Nicolette Riley ) 
   
   Another woman who received the message, Nicole Larsen, said she felt “happy to be a part of a love story.” “I felt like this was Cinderella or something ... but I was just an ugly step-sister.” Regardless of whether Zetina and his Nicole are meant to be or not, Macmillan said she and the other Nicoles plan to meet monthly. And they will be meeting the Nicole who started it all in person later this week. Macmillan said the whole situation, from the formation of their “little girl gang,” to the matchmaking, to the story going viral has “honestly been wild.” “It’s been so fun! I haven’t stopped laughing since Friday.” With files from Alexandra Jones and Canadian Press. Evan Radford is a reporter/photographer for StarMetro Calgary. Follow him on Twitter: @EvanRadford 
   
   Read more about: ||||| A bevy of women named Nicole at the University of Calgary have united thanks to a mass email from a young man on a quest to locate his missed connection. 
   
   The Friday morning email came from Carlos Zetina, who wrote that a woman named Nicole gave him the wrong phone number after he took her and her friend home on Thursday night. 
   
   “Who sends an email to that many people? If it was me, I’d be a little horrified about how this all played out,” said Nicole DuGraye, one of the 246 people copied on the message. “But I thought this was a great way to connect and meet new people and to try to find the real Nicole.” 
   
   The thought prompted her to create a Facebook group called “Nicole From Last Night,” and they’ve now planned a get-together in a bid to make friends and to find the woman Zetina was looking for. 
   
   A mini meetup happened Friday, she said, with plans for bigger gatherings to come. 
   
   Some dude emailed every Nicole at U of C to try to find the girl he met last night and instead they formed a girl gang and I am legit DYING @ucalgary #nicolefromlastnight pic.twitter.com/ql4sxuBADQ — sarah jurassica parker (@ParisEsther) September 8, 2018 
   
   Zetina, a first-year student at the university, said he sent the email because he didn’t want Nicole to think he was “a bad guy who didn’t text back.” 
   
   “We met at the campus bar and we talked and had struck a pretty interesting conversation,” said Zetina. “She gave me her number, but I guess she accidentally gave me the wrong one because when I texted her the next day, a different person messaged me back that it wasn’t her.” 
   
   So the following morning, Zetina said, he sent an email to 246 people with “Nicole” in their name, writing that the Nicole he is looking for is from Holland and thinks German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche is “depressing.” 
   
   “If you don’t fit this description then ignore and if you are the one and just don’t want to talk to me that’s ok as well,” Zetina wrote in the email. 
   
   He said the university’s email had a directory, so it only took him a few minutes to copy anyone with Nicole in their name to the message. 
   
   Zetina said one of the Nicoles messaged him about the Facebook group and said they were all getting together to help him find the right Nicole. 
   
   “I thought it was funny,” he said. “Some of the Nicoles started messaging me pretending to be her as a joke.” 
   
   Another woman who received the message, Nicole Larsen, said she felt “happy to be a part of a love story.” 
   
   “I felt like this was Cinderella or something … but I was just an ugly step-sister.” 
   
   A post in the Facebook group from the email’s intended target says she didn’t receive the email, but learned about it because it started circulating on social media. 
   
   That Nicole said in the group that she also wants to meet all of the other Nicoles in the next few days. 
   
   In the post, she writes that she meant to give Carlos her number, but he might have gotten a digit wrong when he wrote it down. 
   
   Zetina said later that day the Nicole he had been searching for texted him. 
   
   “We’re planning to hang out maybe next week,” said Zetina. “I really didn’t expect this to become a big thing.”
target: – A Canada college student who met a woman at a bar but somehow screwed up taking down her phone number still managed to connect using a nuclear option. Carlos Zetina, a first year student at University of Calgary, knew the woman he'd met was also a student. He also knew her first name: Nicole. Armed with these modest facts, Zetina soberly made his way to the school directory, searched for the name Nicole, then proceeded to email all 246 coeds who share the name, the Calgary Herald reports. “If you (sic) name is Nicole and you’re from Holland and you think Nietzsche is depressing then text me,” Zetina wrote in the email, which was obtained by the Star. “I’m Carlos btw I’m the guy who took you and your friend home last night... if you are the one and just don’t want to talk to me that’s ok as well.” Many of the Nicoles (and variations Zetina looped in, including Nicolettes and Nikkis) who received the email Friday were so taken aback by Zetina's gesture that they couldn't help but poke fun at him to one another. Nicole DuGraye even started a Facebook group for all the women called "Nicole From Last Night," thereby turning Zetina's email into a way to make new friends. Ironically, the intended recipient Nicole reportedly didn't receive the email and only learned of it through social media. Lucky for Zetina, she wasn't pulling a fast one with a fake phone number and believes he just got a digit wrong. She not only wants to meet up with Zetina, but intends to hang out with all her fellow Nicoles, too.