Buzz
Throughout history, there has been an enduring fascination with the special connection that exists between twins. This collection highlights ten remarkable twin-related events from recent years, focusing on unusual occurrences rather than a historical overview of twin births. Notably, this excludes legendary cases like the first Siamese twins.
10. Psychic Twins - Linda and Terry Jamison, born in 1955, are identical twins from the United States who claim to have foreseen the September 11th attacks two years prior. On November 2, 1999, they described in an automatic writing session a prediction about terrorist strikes targeting the federal government and the World Trade Center in 2001. Their exact words were, 'we are seeing various terrorist attacks on federal government and also the New York Trade Center, the World Trade Center.' However, the twins did not specify the exact time or who would be responsible for the attacks. Additionally, they made a prediction about John F. Kennedy Jr.'s tragic plane crash. Despite their claims, the Jamison twins have faced scrutiny, as many of their forecasts have been proven incorrect, such as their prediction of Saddam Hussein’s death by U.S. troops in 2003 and Pope John Paul II's passing in June 2004.
Linda and Terry Jamison, the American twin duo, boldly asserted their psychic abilities, foretelling the September 11th tragedy in 1999. They also predicted JFK Jr.'s untimely death and other high-profile events, though their predictions often miss the mark. Notably, their track record includes an inaccurate forecast regarding Saddam Hussein's death and the passing of Pope John Paul II.
9. Omkari Panwar, born in 1938, is the oldest mother to give birth to twins, which occurred in 2008. She underwent IVF treatment and, at the age of 70, gave birth to a boy and a girl via emergency Caesarean section. Though born prematurely at 2 lbs each, the twins are reported to be healthy.
At 70, Omkari Panwar and her 77-year-old husband from India already had two grown daughters and five grandchildren. In their culture, having a male heir is vital for continuing family rituals, including performing funeral rites. To afford the necessary IVF treatment to ensure a male heir, they sold their buffaloes, mortgaged their land, exhausted their savings, and took out a loan. The couple’s twins were born prematurely, but both are now healthy.
8. Alicia and Jasmin Singerl, born in 2006, are rare black-and-white twins.
Alicia and Jasmin were born to a Jamaican-English mother and a German father. Alicia has brown eyes and dark hair, while Jasmin has blue eyes and white hair. The genetic explanation for this rare occurrence is that their mother carries a blend of genes affecting skin color. During egg cell formation, a random selection of these genes is assigned to each egg. As a result, each egg's chromosomes are unique. Typically, a mixed-race woman will produce eggs with genes for both dark and fair skin. However, in rare cases, the eggs can carry genes predominantly for one skin color. In this instance, the mother released two eggs—one with dark pigmentation genes and another with genes for fair skin.
7. Telepathy Twins Richard and Damien Powles
Although the idea of a special connection between identical twins is often viewed as myth or legend, limited research has been conducted on this subject. The book ‘Twin Telepathy’ presents compelling evidence supporting the existence of such a connection. In one experiment, 8-year-old Richard Powles was placed in a soundproof room and asked to immerse his arm into a bucket of ice-cold water. At the same moment, his twin brother Damien, in a separate room, was connected to a polygraph, monitoring his physiological responses. As Richard gasped from the cold, Damien's respiration rate spiked on the polygraph. Another test involved Richard opening a box containing a rubber snake, which startled him. Again, the polygraph recorded a reaction from Damien. The book identifies three groups that are particularly telepathic: mothers and newborns, dogs and their owners, and identical twins. Of these, twins are the most receptive to telepathic signals, especially when in the right mental state. Note that the image provided is a stock photo, as no actual images of Richard and Damien were available.
6. Separated at Birth Twins Tamara Rabi and Adriana Scott b 1983
Tamara and Adriana, born in Guadalajara, Mexico, were separated at birth and raised by different adoptive families. Tamara was adopted by a Jewish couple who lived near Central Park in Manhattan, while Adriana was taken in by a Roman Catholic family in Long Island, just 20 miles away from Tamara. Neither of them was aware of the other's existence. Tamara’s adoptive mother was also unaware, but Adriana's adoptive mother kept the secret of the twin's existence. When the girls turned 20, they were frequently mistaken for each other by friends of the other sister. Eventually, mutual friends put the pieces together and arranged a meeting between the twins. Despite their very different upbringings, Tamara and Adriana discovered striking similarities in their lives. Both of their adoptive fathers had died of cancer. Adriana played the clarinet, while Tamara played the saxophone, and both shared a love for R&B and hip-hop. They also both dreamed of becoming veterinarians. Since their reunion, the twins and their widowed mothers have formed a close-knit bond.
5. Silent Twins June and Jennifer Gibbons b 1963
June and Jennifer Gibbons, twin sisters from Britain, were inseparable during their childhood. Both had speech impediments, which made it difficult for them to interact with other children. Being the only black children in their school, they also faced racial prejudice. Over time, the girls developed their own language, unintelligible to anyone outside their immediate family, and communicated only with each other and their younger sister. They would often finish each other’s sentences and communicate with mere facial expressions. At Christmas, they received two diaries, which inspired them to enroll in a mail-order creative writing course. Both girls wrote and published several novels. It is believed that their desire for fame and recognition led them to commit petty crimes, including arson. Eventually, June and Jennifer were committed to a mental health hospital where they remained for 14 years. Due to the medications administered there, they lost much of their interest in writing. The twins made an agreement that if one of them died, the other would begin to speak and live a normal life. During their stay, they came to believe that one twin had to die. Jennifer agreed to be the sacrifice, and within hours of their release at age 30, Jennifer died of sudden heart inflammation. Her death remains a mystery. After losing her twin, June was able to speak with others and is now contemplating resuming her writing career.
4. Born 2 Months Apart Twins Catalin and Valentin Tescu b 2004 & 2005
Catalin and Valentin, born in Romania, are twins born in different years. Catalin arrived in December, two months premature. The doctors were able to delay the birth of her twin brother, Valentin, who was born two months later in February. Romanian doctors explained this unusual birth timing by a rare congenital condition where the twins’ mother had two uteruses due to a malformation she had as an embryo in her own mother’s womb. It is estimated that one in every 50,000 women has a double uterus, but this case is believed to be the first documented instance of a woman conceiving in both uteruses and delivering two babies nearly two months apart. Both Catalin and Valentin were healthy when they were discharged from the hospital on the same day.
3. Experimental Twins Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein b 1969
Elyse and Paula were born to a mother diagnosed with schizophrenia and were put up for adoption. Dr. Viola Bernard, a child psychologist and consultant to the adoption agency, believed that separating twins would benefit their psychological development. As a result, Elyse and Paula were placed with different families. Elyse knew she was adopted, but neither twin knew they had a sibling. At the age of 33, Elyse decided to contact the New York State Adoption Information Registry in hopes of finding her birth mother. It was then that she discovered she had a twin. About six months later, the twins were reunited. What makes their story even more remarkable is that Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein were part of a secret study on nature versus nurture, conducted by Dr. Neubauer and his colleague Dr. Viola Bernard. Neubauer, a child psychiatrist, studied five sets of twins and one set of triplets, all intentionally separated at birth. Every month for 12 years, the adoptive families would visit the research center for IQ tests and speech analysis. Researchers also visited their homes and filmed the children as they played. The adoptive parents were told they were part of a child development study, but the twin/triplet aspect was kept secret. The triplets and two other sets of twins have been reunited, but it’s unclear if the remaining two sets of twins have. The controversial study has not yet been published but is scheduled for release in 2066, when most of the participants will likely be deceased.
2. Conjoined Twins Abigail and Brittany Hensel b 1990
The story of Abigail and Brittany Hensel, the conjoined twins, is well-known and widely followed. Now 18 years old, they recently graduated from high school. Only four known sets of conjoined twins with an undivided torso and two legs have ever survived into adulthood. By coordinating their movements, they have been able to enjoy a variety of hobbies and sports, such as volleyball, kickball, swimming, basketball, and cycling. Two years ago, the twins passed their driver's test, but they needed to take it twice, as each girl received her own driver's license. They also play the piano and are enthusiastic computer users. Abigail and Brittany plan to date, get married, and have children. By sharing their experiences, they hope to live as typical a life as possible.
1. Half Brother Twins Tuen and Koen Stuart b 1993
Wilma and Willem Stuart, a Dutch couple, had been struggling to conceive for years before deciding to try IVF. Their efforts paid off when they discovered they were expecting twins. Upon the boys' birth, Koen had blue eyes, dark hair, and fair skin, while Tuen had dark eyes, dark hair, and brown skin. A DNA test later confirmed that Koen was indeed the Stuarts' biological child, but Tuen was not Willem's. The exact cause of this mix-up was not made public, but there was speculation that a lab tool called a pipette, which resembles a large dropper, was mistakenly used twice, leading to another man's sperm being mixed with Willem’s. The hospital called this a “deeply regrettable mistake.” The Stuarts recalled seeing a black couple in the waiting room the same day during the IVF process. After tracking him down, the hospital confirmed that the man was Tuen’s biological father. Although he had no obligation to meet the son he never knew he had, he chose to do so when Koen was 18 months old. The biological father only observed him from afar and made no attempts to claim him, content that the Stuarts had given Tuen a loving home and continued to raise him as their own.
