Identical twins Jim Lewis and Jim Springer were only four weeks old when they were separated; each infant was taken in by a different adoptive family. At age five, Lewis learned that he had a twin, but he said that the notion never truly "soaked in" until he was 38 years old. Springer learned of his twin sibling at age eight, but both he and his adoptive parents believed the sibling had died. The two were finally reunited at age 39. The similarities the twins shared not only amazed one another, but researchers at the University of Minnesota as well. The very fact that you had twin siblings separated at birth bearing the same name, both 6 feet tall and weighing exactly 180 pounds is pretty incredible. But there's more.
In her book Entwined Lives, Nancy Segal lists the following shared characteristics:
As youngsters, each Jim had a dog named "Toy."
Each Jim had been married two times – the first wives were both called "Linda" and the second wives were both called "Betty."
One Jim had named his son "James Allan" and the other Jim had named his son "James Alan."
Each twin had driven his light-blue Chevrolet to Pas Grille beach in Florida for family vacations.
Both Jims smoked Salem cigarettes and drank Miller Lite beer.
Both Jims had at one time held part-time posts as sheriffs.
Both were fingernail biters and suffered from migraine headaches.
Each Jim enjoyed leaving love notes to his wife throughout the house.
The CBS news show 48 Hours interviewed five sets of identical twins who were raised apart, including the following:
Also known as the "giggle twins" (because they "laugh and fold their arms the same way"), Barbara Herbert and Daphne Goodship spent the first four decades of their lives apart. In the time following their reunion, they've discovered some remarkable parallels in their lives – both had miscarriages followed by the birth of two boys and then one girl.
Identical twins Tom Patterson and Steve Tazumi had very different upbringings. Raised in a Christian family by two janitors in rural Kansas, Tom still managed to choose the same career as his brother. Steve, who lives in Philadelphia, was raised in a Buddhist household. Both men own body building gyms.
Debbie Mehlman and Sharon Poset were also raised by families of different faiths. But nature versus nurture prevails in some interesting ways with these women. They both have the unusual habit of crossing their eyes when they get excited.
Twin Studies
The Minnesota Twin Study is probably the most well-known twin study to date. It's a four-part ongoing medical and psychological review of:
Identical twins reared together
Identical twins reared apart
Fraternal twins reared together
Fraternal twins reared apart
Through this study comes information about how our environment and genes work together to influence everything from attitudes, talents and abilities, to job selection, to falling in love, to aging and health. Research so far indicates that characteristics like personality are primarily related to genes. For more information about the study and its results, visit the Minnesota Twin Family Study Web site. mctfr.psych.umn.edu
