Lovebirds. Some Siamese twins hate life, others find themselves "worthy of use." Siamese twins, famous all over the world. Interesting facts about their life

30.06.2019

Byzantine twins
A pair of unnamed Siamese twins in the 10th century managed to survive as infants, as evidenced by records left by several historians of the time. Ten centuries ago, Siamese twins were few in number, as in the ancient world, congenital anomalies were considered a bad omen, and therefore children were often allowed to die.

Around the time of the reign of Constantine VII century. in the mid-900s, they returned to Constantinople, where one of the twins died. Doctors made an attempt to separate them - this was the first operation of this kind in history. Unfortunately, the second twin only survived three days.

Hungarian sisters
Helen and Judith were born in Hungary in 1701, presumably three hours apart. True or not, the frightened and exhausted mother was presented with a terrible sight: the girls' pelvis were fused, back to back. From two to nine years old, girls were paraded throughout Europe and examined by local doctors in each country.

The sisters learned many languages and sang a duet for the audience. When the girls were nine years old, they went to a monastery, where they lived in seclusion until their death, they died on the same day at the age of 22.

Chang and Eng Bunker
Chang and Eng Bunker were born in Thailand (at that time the state was called Siam) in 1811. They became so famous that after a few years they began to call all conjoined twins "Siamese twins", but if we talk about Chang and Eng, they were called that simply because they were born in Siam.

Millie and Christina McCoy
Millie and Christina McCoy were born in North Carolina in 1851 to a family of slaves. As the girls grew up, they learned to sing a duet for the show. Their owner died in 1862, and the twins were inherited by his youngest son, who invented another legend for them. He told the audience that in front of the audience were not Siamese twins, but one girl with two heads, four arms and four legs.

The sisters left show business at the age of 58, settling in North Carolina in Columbus and again becoming Millie and Christina.
They died in 1912 at the age of 61 with an interval of 17 hours.

Giovanni and Giacomo Tocci
Giacomo and Giovanni Battista Tocci were born in Locana, Italy, around 1875 or 1877. Their father was so shocked by the appearance of the twins that he lost his mind and about a month after the birth of his sons, he was admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

Rose and Joseph Blazek
Rosa and Josefa Blazek were born in Skrezov, Bohemia (now Czech Republic) in 1878. The sisters were fused in the pelvic area and had enough common bones that separation was impossible.

Rosa herself never said who the father was, and the child grew up an orphan, which significantly supported the twins' career - little Franz always accompanied Rosa and Joseph during the tour.

Orissian sisters
Charming Radika and Dudika Nake were born in 1888 in Orissa, India. The locals decided that the fused babies were a bad omen, and the father wanted to separate them himself, but Radika and Dudika fused together in cartilage on the chest, just like Chang and Eng Bunkers.

In 1888, the girls were bought by a showman nicknamed Captain Colman - he began to show them in Europe as "exotic" Hindu twins. They gained immense fame when, in 1902, Dudika contracted tuberculosis, and Dr. Eugene-Louis Doyen from Paris urgently performed a separation operation in order to save at least Radike's life.

Violetta and Daisy Hilton
Violetta and Daisy Hilton were born in Great Britain in 1908. Beautiful girls, fused with hips, played one of the main roles in the film "Cripples" by Tod Browning. In 1937, they earned $ 5,000 a week, and their novels served as front-page material.

In 1941, Terry Turner, the twins' PR manager, made public the wedding of Violet and dancer James "Jim" Moore. True, this wedding turned out to be nothing more than a farce. Jim was homosexual and the sham marriage only lasted two weeks.

In 1932, they appeared in the film "Freaks", and another film with the participation of Daisy and Violette was in 1951 "Chained for Life", which just showed the real life story of the Hilton sisters.

Simplicio and Lucio Godin
The Filipino couple of twins Lucio and Simplicio Godin, who were fused in the ischial area, were born in 1908. The two boys fused with cartilage and skin in the pelvic region, back to back, but at the same time were flexible enough to be able to turn to face each other.

The brothers performed on stage as dancers. In 1928, they married twin sisters. True, at first the Godin brothers had to prove in court that they really are two different people - difficulties arose with this when the clerk refused to issue them marriage certificates. When the process was over, both couples got married at the same time.

Margaret and Mary Gibb
Margaret and Mary Gibb were born in Holyoke, Massachusetts in 1912. They were more fortunate than many other Siamese twins: their parents did not want to flaunt them. They also did not want to separate the girls, although several doctors suggested surgery.

The twins returned to Holyoke in 1942 and opened a shop. In 1949, they completely retired and lived a quiet, unremarkable life until 1966, when Margaret was diagnosed with cancer. Even then, the Gibb twins abandoned the separation operation and died in 1967 at intervals of several minutes.

Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyapov
The girls were born in Moscow on January 4, 1950 to Ekaterina and Mikhail Krivoshlyapovs. The sisters were born with two heads, four arms and three legs. Their spines were joined at a 90-degree angle.

Catherine was first told that her daughters had died, and after a while the compassionate sister showed her the girls. After that, the woman started having mental problems.
Mikhail Krivoshlyapov was at that time the driver of Lavrenty Beria. Under pressure from the medical leadership, he signed the death certificate of his daughters and did not want to know anything more about them.

Medicine could not miss the opportunity to study such a rare case. Physiologist Pyotr Anokhin studied them for 7 years at the Institute of Pediatrics of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Then they were admitted to the Central Research Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics, where their third leg was amputated. There, the girls were taught to walk with crutches and given their primary education.

For almost 40 years, the twins lived in Soviet institutions for the disabled. Shortly before his death, at the invitation of a French company, they visited Paris.

Lezginki Zita and Gita were born on October 19, 1991 in Kyrgyzstan, in the village of Western Chui region. They had one common pelvis and three legs for two. The Russians learned about these sisters when the media reported on a unique surgical operation performed on March 26, 2003 at the Filatov Central Children's Clinical Hospital in Moscow.

In ancient times, it was believed that the birth of Siamese twins heralds the end of the world. Therefore, they tried to get rid of them as soon as possible or sacrifice them to the gods. Later, enterprising people began to make money from them. They took the unfortunate to fairs and put on freak shows. In this collection, we have collected the most famous and unusual Siamese twins in history.

Siamese twins Chang and Eng were born in Siam (now Thailand) in 1811. Since then, people who have grown together in the womb and began to be called "Siamese". When the king of Siam was informed about the birth of so many unusual twins, connected to each other at the chest level with a strip of fabric, he ordered to kill this "devil's offspring", as he considered them "harbingers of misfortune." But the mother did not give her sons to death. She rubbed their skin with special creams to give elasticity to the tissues connecting the twins. She achieved that Eng and Chang were able to stand not only face to face, but also change their position more or less freely. Later, the king changed his mind and allowed a Scottish merchant to take them to North America.

Where later they began to work in the circus. People gladly paid to contemplate the unusual brothers. In 1829, Chang and Eng decided to leave public life, took the American surname Bunker, bought a farm in North Carolina and went into agriculture. Being 44 years old, they married English sisters - Sarah Ann and Adelaide Yates. The brothers bought two houses and stayed with each sister for a week, living first with one, then with the other. Chang had ten children, Ang had nine. All children were normal. The brothers died at the age of 63.

2. Zita and Gita Rezakhanov

Sisters Zita and Gita Rezakhanov Siamese twins were born on October 19, 1991 in Kyrgyzstan in the village of Zapadnoye. Their story became widely known in a number of Russian media after a successful operation to separate the sisters was performed in Moscow at the Filatov Central Children's Clinical Hospital in 2003. Its peculiarity was that the Rezakhanovs are ishiopagi, just like the Krivoshlyapov sisters. This is a rather rare species of Siamese twins - about 6% of their total number. They had three legs for two and a common pelvis that had to be divided. The missing leg was replaced with a prosthesis. The girls spent 3 years in Moscow. Zita is currently experiencing serious health problems. Since 2012, she has been in the hospital under the constant supervision of doctors. The girl spent thirteen months in various clinics in Moscow, and now she has returned to her homeland and is in a hospital in Bishkek. Zita is already completely blind in one eye, she sees very poorly with the other eye, while Gita's health is stable.

3. Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyapovs

They were born on January 4, 1950 in Moscow. When the sisters were born, the midwife nurse fainted. The girls had two heads, one body, three legs, inside they had 2 hearts and three lungs. Their mothers were informed that her children were born dead. But the compassionate nurse decided to restore justice and showed the woman her children. The mother lost her mind, she was placed in a psychiatric clinic. The next time the sisters saw her when they were 35 years old. The father of the Siamese twins, Mikhail Krivoshlyapov, who at the time of the birth of his daughters was Beria's personal driver, under pressure from the medical leadership, signed the death certificate of his daughters and disappeared forever from their lives. Even the girls' patronymic was given someone else's - Ivanovna. Except for each other, the sisters had no one left.

Physiologist Pyotr Anokhin studied them for 7 years at the Institute of Pediatrics of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences. Then they were admitted to the Central Research Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics. There, the girls were taught to walk with crutches and were given primary education. For 20 years, the sisters have been guinea pigs for researchers. They only wore them for newspaper photographs. In total, the twins lived in Soviet institutions for the disabled for about 40 years, only in 1989 they moved to their own house in Moscow. Towards the end of their life, alcoholism began to affect their health more and more. So, Maria and Daria suffered from cirrhosis of the liver and pulmonary edema. After years of fighting against alcohol addiction, Maria suffered cardiac arrest around midnight on April 13, 2003. In the morning, due to complaints from a living sister about the state of health, "sleeping" Maria and Daria were hospitalized, then the cause of Maria's death - "acute heart attack" was revealed. But for Daria, she remained sound asleep. Since the Krivoshlyapov sisters had a common circulatory system, 17 hours after Maria's death, as a result of intoxication, Daria's death also occurred.

4. Sisters of Bijan

Ladan and Lale Bijani were born on January 17, 1974 in Iran. This pair of Siamese twins had fused heads. The sisters argued constantly. For example, about her career - Ladan wanted to be a lawyer, and Lalekh - a journalist. But, one way or another, they had to look for compromises. The Siamese twins studied law at the University of Tehran and became lawyers. And more than anything, they wanted to split up. And in November 2002, after a meeting with a Singaporean neurosurgeon, Dr. Keith Goh, who successfully separated the fused heads of sisters Ganga and Yamuna Shrestha from Nepal, the Bijani sisters came to Singapore. Although the doctors had warned them that the operation would be associated with a high risk, they still decided to have it. Their decision provoked discussions in the world press.

After seven months of extensive psychiatric examinations, on July 6, 2003, they were operated on at Raffles Hospital by a large international team of 28 surgeons and more than a hundred support staff. They all worked in shifts. A special chair was designed because the sisters had to be in a sitting position. The risk was great, as their brains not only shared a common vein, but also fused together. The operation was completed on July 8, 2003. It was announced that the sisters were in critical condition, both of whom lost a large amount of blood due to complications during the operation. Frankincense died at 14.30 on the operating table, her sister Laleh died at 16.00.

5. The Hensel sisters

Abigail and Brittany Hensel were born on March 7, 1990 in New Jermany, Minnesota, USA. The Hensel sisters are conjoined twins who, physically remaining one, live a completely normal, full-fledged life. They are dicephalic twins, with one torso, two arms, two legs, and three lungs. Each has its own heart and stomach, but the blood supply between them is common. Two spinal cords end in one pelvis, and all organs below the waist are common. Such twins are very rare. In the scientific archives, only four pairs of surviving dicephalic twins have been recorded. Each sister controls an arm and a leg on her side, and each only feels touched on her side of the body. But they coordinate their movements so well that they can walk, run, cycle, drive and swim. They learned to sing and play the piano, with Abby playing the right hand and her sister playing the left.

6. The Hilton sisters

Daisy and Violetta were born on February 5, 1908 in the English city of Brighton. The mother of the Siamese twins, Kate Skinner, was an unmarried barmaid. The sisters have grown together in the area of the hips and buttocks, and also had a general circulation of blood and a merged pelvis. However, each had its own vital organs working. Mary Hilton, the boss of their mother, who helped with childbirth, apparently saw the prospect of commercial benefits in the girls. And so she actually bought them from her mother and took them under her wing. From the age of three, the Hilton sisters toured throughout Europe, and then in America. Their guardians took all the money the sisters earned. At first it was Mary Hilton, and after her death, her daughter Edith and her husband Mayer Myers continued the business. Only in 1931 did their lawyer Martin J. Arnold help the sisters free themselves from the Meyers' rule: in January 1931, they finally received freedom and $ 100,000 in compensation.

After that, the sisters left street shows and began to participate in vaudeville called "The Hilton Sisters' Revue." And so that they could be distinguished from each other, Daisy dyed her hair blonde. And besides, both began to dress differently. Both had numerous romances, but they all ended in very short marriages. In 1932, the movie "Freaks" was released, in which the twins play themselves. And in 1951 they starred in "Chained for Life" - their own biopic. On January 4, 1969, after they failed to show up and answer the phone, their boss called the police. The twins were found dead in their home after suffering from the Hong Kong flu. According to the forensic medical examination, Daisy died first, Violetta died two or four days later.

7. Sisters Blazek

Siamese twins Rosa and Joseph Blazek were born in 1878 in Bohemia. The girls grew together in the pelvic region, each had lungs and a heart, but only one common stomach. When they were born, the parents turned to a local healer to give them advice on what to do with such unusual children. The witch doctor advised to leave them without food or drink for 8 days, which was done by the parents. However, the forced hunger strike did not kill the girls and strangely survived. Then the healer said that the little ones were not born in order to fulfill a certain mission. Namely: to provide your family with money. Already at the age of 1 year they were shown at local fairs. The sisters took everything they could from life. The girls became famous for their virtuoso playing the violin and harp and the ability to dance - each with its own partner.

Their life together was clouded only once. The reason was the romantic relationship of 28-year-old Rose with a German officer named Franz Dvorak. However, Rosa, like most women, chose to temporarily sacrifice friendship for the sake of her lover - after all, they shared the genitals with her sister - and gave birth to an absolutely healthy son, Franz. Rose dreamed of marrying her lover, but she succeeded only after a long trial, but even after that, until the end of his life, her husband was accused of bigamy. He died in 1917 at the front while serving in the Austrian army. Josephine was also engaged to a young man, but her chosen one died of appendicitis shortly before the wedding. In 1922, while on tour in Chicago, Joseph fell ill with jaundice. Doctors offered the sisters a separation operation to save at least Rose's life. But she refused and said: "If Joseph dies, I also want to die." Instead, Rosa ate for two to support her sister's strength, and seeing that Joseph was doomed, she wished to die with her. And so it happened: Rose survived her by only 15 minutes.

8. Brothers Gelion

Ronnie and Donnie Galion - by far the oldest living Siamese twins - were born in 1951 in Dayton, Ohio. And they remained in the hospital for another two years, as the doctors tried to find a way to separate them. But a safe way was never found and the parents decided to leave everything as it is. From the age of four, Siamese twins began to bring money to the family, which they received for their performances in the circus. When the children tried to go to school, the teachers kicked them out because their appearance was too distracting for other students. And the twins went to Central and South America, where in circuses they performed tricks and entertained people.

At the age of 39, they ended their careers in the arena and came back to the United States closer to their younger brother Jim. In 2010, due to a viral infection, their health deteriorated. Blood clots formed in the lungs and Jim suggested that they move to live with him. But his house was not suitable for disabled people. But the neighbors helped, who equipped the house with everything necessary for a comfortable life for the twins. This made life much easier for Ronnie and Donnie, so much so that their health improved. Plus, Jim and his wife really enjoy being with their brothers. They go fishing together, go to the fair and to restaurants. Of course, many people pay attention to them and laugh at them, but there are also those who pay their restaurant bills and say kind words to them.

9. The Hogan sisters

Christa and Tatiana Hogan were born in 2006 in Vancouver, Canada. They were healthy, of normal weight, and the only thing that distinguished them from other pairs of twins was the fused heads. In the course of numerous examinations, it turned out that the girls have a mixed nervous system and, despite different pairs of eyes, general vision. So, one of the sisters perceives information that is not able to see, "using" at the same time the eyes of the other. This indicated that the Hogan sisters' brains were also interconnected.

The family has signed contracts with National Geographic and Discovery Channel to shoot a documentary. The mother and grandmother of the Siamese twins have already seen some scenes from the film and were pleasantly surprised by the “respectful, scientific approach” that the director took. That is why the family refused to participate in the popular reality show. They don't need fame, and a documentary about their life can help other Siamese twins.

10. Brothers Sahu

Siamese twins Shivanath and Shivram Sahu caused quite a stir in India. Some residents of the village, which is located near the city of Raipur, even began to worship them, mistaking them for an incarnation of Buddha. When doctors said that 12-year-old siblings who were born concatenated at the waist could be separated, the family refused, saying they wanted to leave things as they were. The brothers have two legs and four arms. They can wash, dress and feed themselves. Twins have one stomach for two, but they have independent lungs and hearts.

Thanks to training, Shivanath and Shivram have learned to spend a minimum of effort on all the basic daily procedures - shower, food, toilet. They are able to go down the stairs of their house and even play with the neighbour's children. They especially love cricket. They also study well and, to the pride of their caring father, Raji Kumar, are considered some of the best students in their school. He is very protective of his sons and says that he will not allow them to leave their native village. By the way, the brothers have five more sisters.

The first mentions of the birth of Siamese twins date back to the 10th century, when boys were brought back to Constantinople. Similar phenomena, like outbreaks, periodically occurred throughout the world. They have been carefully studied by world experts and today have a scientific explanation and classification. But the problem of twins separation remains relevant. It is extremely rare to carry out a surgical operation without complications.

Conjoined twins in Russia, Anya and Tanya Korkin, have become the most famous contemporary case. Their story thundered into a sensation at the end of the last century, and the operation to separate them is considered unique, and in world medicine it is still remembered.

The birth of Ani and Tanya

On April 9, 1990, in one of the Chelyabinsk maternity hospitals, unique newborns were born - twins, fused with bellies. The babies shared the same liver for two.

Mother (Vera Korkina) learned about this pathology in the sixth month of pregnancy. It was too late to have an abortion, so she consciously prepared for childbirth and subsequent events. The father of the children (Vladimir Korkin) could not stand such a shock and left the family.

Vera Korkina did not abandon her children and turned to several surgeons in the city of Chelyabinsk. Only one, Professor Novokreschenov LB, agreed to take the risk and share the Siamese twins.

Puzzle for doctors

The conjoined twins in Russia - Anya and Tanya - are the first experience of such an operation in the USSR. After them there were only Before taking the risk, Lev Borisovich Novokreschenov doubted for a long time and carefully prepared for the operation. It was not enough just to separate the babies, it was necessary to save both the life and the working capacity of the liver. So, the professor invented and patented his surgical method for the separation of Siamese twins with a single liver.

Operation

The operation was scheduled for May 17, 1990. That is, the Siamese twins are barely a month old. The operation lasted almost an hour and a half. In the course of it, a risky, individual method of the surgeon was applied: the liver of newborns was literally “tore by hand”.

The fact is that the human liver is a unique organ. When some part is removed, it is able to fully recover in size. This is exactly what Professor Novokreschenov hoped for. Besides, there was no time to waste and wait for the girls to grow up. It is not known what the delay might have turned out.

Anya and Tanya spent 7 days in intensive care. After that, their life went like ordinary children. For another 14 years, the girls were observed by the surgeon-rescuer Novokreschenov. And during this time, they did not have any serious complications.

Today

Former Siamese twins were born and live in Russia. Anya and Tanya are grown-up, beautiful and, most importantly, full-fledged girls. They are always together and practically never part. There is an inexplicable connection between the sisters since childhood, which they talked about more than once in interviews. If one has a headache, the other feels the same way.

The sisters live with their mother on the outskirts of their native Chelyabinsk in a two-room apartment. Mother works as a nurse in a military hospital. The girls received secondary technical education and are also working.

Anya and Tanya Korkin are happy and grateful to every day, every moment from childhood to this day. Photos, which are full of numerous articles about girls, only confirm their cheerfulness.

Who is guilty?

The most difficult question for doctors was and remains the reason for the formation of Siamese twins in the womb. Medicine can describe the very process of untimely and incomplete separation of the egg, but what is the trigger of this process is not always possible to explain. Among the assumptions: genetic disorders, the influence of the external environment or the whim of nature.

Siamese twins in Russia - Anya and Tanya - are a rather complicated and inexplicable case. Of course, the Chelyabinsk doctors tried to find out the reason. The girls and both parents were tested and tested, but no genetic failure was found. It is possible that external factors (stress, ecology, etc.) influenced the formation of embryos, but this remained in the distant past. Or maybe divine providence allowed a talented surgeon to carry out a unique operation and once again prove that miracles exist.

The chance of Siamese twins being born is approximately one in 200,000 births. Most often, these children appear already dead. But in 20% of cases, they still survive. They spend their whole life together, and if one of the brothers or sisters dies, the second has to wait for his quick death. Since twins are often connected by the same circulatory system, intoxication occurs within a few hours. We decided to recall the most famous Siamese twins.

Chang and Eng Bunker

Chang and Eng Bunker were born in Thailand in 1811. Then the state was called Siam, and it was because of this couple that the term for such people appeared. Their birth caused such a commotion that the king ordered the children to be killed, but the mother refused to give up her boys.

British merchant Robert Hunter stumbled upon the twins when they were teenagers and decided to take them to England. Over the years, Chang and Eng have traveled throughout England and the United States, demonstrating their bodies and abilities. When they turned 21, Chang and Eng took over their business and started making big bucks.

In 1839, they quit show business and bought a farm in North Carolina. They married two sisters, despite the objections of the girls' parents, and gave birth to 21 children. All children were in excellent health. To prove that their relationship with their sisters did not violate the norms of generally accepted morality, the brothers acquired two houses - one for Sarah Ann and the other for Adelaide and stayed with each sister for one week, living with one or the other.

The newspapers wrote about them: “Most of all, the brothers were characterized by that emotion and condescension with which they treated each other, especially shortly before death. They constantly shared with each other their experiences, stories about illnesses, and they did it with great tact, portraying their lives much more pleasant than an outside observer could admit. " Brothers Chang and Eng died at an advanced age, three hours apart.

Giovanni and Giacomo Tocci

Giacomo and Giovanni Battista Tocci were born in Italy in 1876. Their father was so shocked by the appearance of the twins that he lost his mind and about a month after the birth of his sons, he was admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

It seemed that the sons were one boy with two torsos growing from the same belt, but in fact they were two different people. When doctors in Europe examined them, this was confirmed: each twin could feel and control only one leg - they never learned to walk on their feet, but they could crawl. One of the brothers was much smarter than the other.

Most of the time, the twins got along quite well, and during conflicts they exchanged cuffs. The Tocci brothers spent their childhood touring Europe, and in 1891 they moved to America, where they spent five years. In 1897, almost reaching adulthood, Giacomo and Giovanni returned to Europe. According to one version, they died of pneumonia, according to another, they settled in a villa in Venice.

Rose and Joseph Blazek

Rosa and Josefa Blazek were born in Bohemia (modern Czech Republic). The girls grew together in the pelvic area, each had lungs and a heart, but only one stomach. When they were born, the parents turned to a local healer to give them advice on what to do. The woman advised to leave the children without food or drink for 8 days.

But the forced hunger strike did not kill the little ones. Then the mother again turned to the healer, who said that the babies were not born in vain, but with a mission. Maybe this goal was the enrichment of the family? From the second year of their lives, the girls began to perform at fairs. The sisters became famous for their virtuoso playing the violin and harp and the ability to dance - each with its own partner.

Joseph drank only beer, while her sister drank exclusively wine. This sometimes quite thoroughly disturbed the state of their common stomach, but never darkened their friendship. The sisters' mutual understanding was clouded only once - by the romantic relationship of 28-year-old Rosa with a German officer named Franz Dvorak: after all, their genitals were common. However, Rosa, like most women, chose to temporarily sacrifice friendship for the sake of her lover and gave birth to an absolutely healthy son, Franz.

When the baby was born, the sisters had milk, so both of them could breastfeed. From a biological point of view, the baby was a common child of the sisters, so Joseph forgave Rose her apostasy and rightfully argued with her about how to raise her son more correctly. Rose dreamed of marrying her lover, but she succeeded only after a long trial, but even after that, until the end of his life, her husband was accused of bigamy. He died in 1917 at the front while serving in the Austrian army.

Josephine was also engaged to a young man, but her chosen one died of appendicitis shortly before the wedding. Rose was 42 years old when she again had to make a choice - this time between loyalty to her sister and her own life. In 1922, while on tour in Chicago, Joseph fell ill with jaundice. Doctors offered the sisters a separation operation to save at least Rose's life. But she refused to give permission for this. Rose said, "If Joseph dies, I want to die too." Instead, Rosa ate for two to support her sister's strength, and seeing that Joseph was doomed, she wished to die with her. And so it happened: Rose survived her by only 15 minutes.

Violetta and Daisy Hilton

Violetta and Daisy Hilton were born in Great Britain in 1908, they fused in the pelvic region, but they did not have any vital organs in common. The twins were bought by Mary Hilton from their barmaid mother, who didn't really want to raise the twins. On their first show, the girls appeared at the age of three.

The girls sang, danced and played musical instruments, giving performances throughout Europe and the United States, and when Mary Hilton died, the twins went to her daughter and son-in-law. In 1931, they filed a lawsuit against their "owners" and received freedom and $ 100,000.

Then they came up with their own theatrical production and continued to tour with this number even when they became elderly. They starred in two films, The Freaks of 1932 and their own fictionalized biopic, Bound for Life, 1951.

In 1961, their tour manager dumped them in North Carolina, and they had to get a job at a local grocery store, where they remained until their death from the flu in 1969. According to the forensic medical examination, after Daisy's death, Violetta lived for another two to four days, but she did not have the opportunity to call for help.

Simplicio and Lucio Godin

Simplicio and Lucio Godina were born in 1908 in Samar, Philippines. The two boys fused with cartilage and skin in the pelvic region, back to back, but at the same time were flexible enough to be able to turn to face each other. On a tour in the United States, 11-year-old boys were seen by a wealthy Filipino, Theodore Yangeo, who took them to Manila, raised them in luxury and took care of their good education.

In 1928, Simplicio and Lucio married twin sisters (not Siamese) Natividad and Victorina Matos. True, at first the Godin brothers had to prove in court that they really are two different people - difficulties arose with this when the clerk refused to issue them marriage certificates. When the process was over, both couples got married, and Simplicio and Lucio played musical instruments and danced with their wives.

In 1936, when the Godin brothers were still young, Lucio fell ill with pneumonia. An emergency separation operation was performed immediately after his death, but Simplicio contracted spinal meningitis and died 12 days later.

Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyapov

The fate of the sisters from Russia was much more tragic than the life of Siamese twins abroad. The girls were born in 1950. Their father was Beria's personal driver, so by definition he could not have such children. After giving birth, the mother was told that the sisters had died. By some miracle, the woman managed to convince the doctor to show her the newborns. After that, she spent several months in a mental hospital.

As a result, the girls were brought up at the Institute of Pediatrics. Masha and Dasha vaguely remember that various experiments were carried out on them there: they were kept in cold water and even amputated a third leg. As the girls said, she served as a counterweight for them, which allowed them to walk more or less normally. After the operation, they could no longer walk without crutches.

The sisters were offered a separation operation, but the risks were too great, so they refused. From adolescence, due to the social environment, the girls began to consume alcohol, which later ruined them. First they were treated by another patient of the institute, then they had to drink in the boarding school. There the sisters were bullied and even beaten several times.

During their adult life, the girls traveled abroad several times. There they liked it much more, because in Western society, the attitude towards such people is much more human. In Russia, the sisters were constantly staring, pointing fingers, shouting after them and even asking them to dance or do something like that for money. Because of the small pension, they had to agree to such a humiliating occupation.

Dasha and Masha spent the last years of their lives in a house for pensioners, where they were given a separate room. The women drank constantly and behaved aggressively. It is known that they really wanted a child and even offered one man to marry them. But that never happened. The sisters said they could read each other's minds.

In 2003, Maria's heart stopped. They began to calm Dasha, saying that her sister was just fast asleep. It is unknown if she understood what happened. A few hours later, Dasha also died. Almost all their lives, the sisters led an unhealthy lifestyle: they smoked a lot and drank low-quality alcohol. This helped them fight depression. Once they even wanted to commit suicide. However, when the sisters managed to climb onto the windowsill, one of them changed her mind and did everything to fall to the floor.

Zita and Gita Rezakhanov

These twins were born in Kyrgyzstan in 1991. In their village, neighbors and doctors tried to persuade the mother to abandon the girls, but she could not. She raised them to be smiling and kind and constantly looked for an opportunity to separate the sisters, although it seemed almost impossible.

In 2003, Moscow doctors performed a 10-hour operation to separate the twins. Despite the big risks, everything went well. After a while, the girls recovered. They were happy and even learned to dance with prostheses. After school, the sisters dreamed of going to medical school, but this was not destined to happen.

In mid-2013, Zita started having serious health problems. Despite all the efforts of the doctors, it became clear that the girl would not last long. After several months in the hospital, she began to ask to go home, as she wanted to die in her homeland.

And so it happened. She had to constantly take painkillers, and she could no longer walk, because the other leg began to dry, but this did not prevent her from enjoying her last days. She died with a smile on her face. Her sister is already 25 years old. She graduated from an Islamic college and now works there as a teacher.

Abigail and Brittany Hensel

Sisters Abigail and Brittany are conjoined twins who live quite normal full-fledged lives. They are dicephalic twins with one torso, two arms, two legs, and three lungs. Each has its own heart and stomach, but they have one blood supply for two. Two spinal cords end in one pelvis, and all organs below the waist are common. In the scientific archives, only four pairs of surviving dicephalic twins have been recorded.

Each sister controls an arm and a leg on her side, and each only feels touched on her side of the body. But they coordinate their movements so well that they can walk, run, cycle, drive and swim. They learned to sing and play the piano, with Abby playing the right hand and her sister playing the left.

They live in the northern United States with a nursing mother, carpenter father, and younger siblings who were born without disabilities. The family runs a farm with cows, horses, dogs and many cats. People living with them in the same town treat them completely normal. The sisters explain to the curious that they “do not have two heads,” but that they are actually two different people. They buy clothes from a regular store and then alter them to make two necks.

They have different tastes, interests and personalities: Abby hates milk and Britty loves it. As they eat the soup, Britty refuses to let her sister sprinkle crackers on half of her. Abby is more aggressive, Britty is more artistic. Abby is better at math, and Britty is better at writing. When they need to reconcile their desires and make a decision, they flip a coin, prioritize actions to take, or ask their parents for advice. They usually settle differences through compromise, but this is not always successful. There are also disputes and even light fights between them.

It often seems that they are able to read each other's thoughts (some doctors explain this by the fact that individual parts of their nervous system intersect with each other). When Britty coughs, Abby automatically covers her mouth with her hand, they constantly finish each other's phrases and often speak in chorus. They were watching TV one day and Abby told Britty, "Are you thinking the same thing as me?" Britty said yes, and they went to the bedroom to read the same book.

As children, both wanted to become doctors. Britty said she wants to get married and have children. They studied at the university, and after graduating from it, they began their careers as primary school teachers with a specialization in mathematics. Each of them received their own diploma, but they receive one salary: “Of course, we immediately realized that we would have one salary, because we were doing the work of one person,” Abby says. They try to live life to the fullest: working, spending time with friends, going on vacation, driving a car, playing sports (volleyball). The girls prefer not to discuss their personal life, calling the information that Brittany was engaged to be a "stupid joke".

1. Chang and Eng.

The twins Chang and Eng were born in Siam (now Thailand) in 1811. Since then, people who have grown together in the womb and began to be called "Siamese". When the king of Siam was informed about the birth of so many unusual twins, connected to each other at the chest level with a strip of fabric, he ordered to kill this "devil's offspring", as he considered them "harbingers of misfortune." But the mother did not give her sons to death. She rubbed their skin with special creams to give elasticity to the tissues connecting the twins. She achieved that Eng and Chang were able to stand not only face to face, but also change their position more or less freely. Later, the king changed his mind and allowed a Scottish merchant to take them to North America.

2. Zita and Gita Rezakhanovs.

Sisters Zita and Gita Rezakhanov were born on October 19, 1991 in Kyrgyzstan in the village of Zapadnoye. Their story became widely known in a number of Russian media after a successful operation to separate the sisters was performed in Moscow at the Filatov Central Children's Clinical Hospital in 2003. Its peculiarity was that the Rezakhanovs are ishiopagi, just like the Krivoshlyapov sisters. This is a rather rare species of Siamese twins - about 6% of their total number. They had three legs for two and a common pelvis that had to be divided. The missing leg was replaced with a prosthesis. The girls spent 3 years in Moscow. Zita is currently experiencing serious health problems. Since 2012, she has been in the hospital under the constant supervision of doctors. The girl spent thirteen months in various clinics in Moscow, and now she has returned to her homeland and is in a hospital in Bishkek. Zita is already completely blind in one eye, she sees very poorly with the other eye, while Gita's health is stable.

3. Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyapovs.

They were born on January 4, 1950 in Moscow. When the sisters were born, the midwife nurse fainted. The girls had two heads, one body, three legs, inside they had 2 hearts and three lungs. Their mothers were informed that her children were born dead. But the compassionate nurse decided to restore justice and showed the woman her children. The mother lost her mind, she was placed in a psychiatric clinic. The next time the sisters saw her when they were 35 years old. Father, Mikhail Krivoshlyapov, who at the time of the birth of his daughters was Beria's personal driver, under pressure from the medical leadership, signed a death certificate for his daughters and disappeared from their lives forever. Even the girls' patronymic was given someone else's - Ivanovna. Except for each other, the sisters had no one left.

4. Sisters of Bijani.

Ladan and Lale Bijani were born on January 17, 1974 in Iran. This pair of Siamese twins had fused heads. The sisters argued constantly. For example, about her career - Ladan wanted to be a lawyer, and Lalekh - a journalist. But, one way or another, they had to look for compromises. They studied law at the University of Tehran and became lawyers. And more than anything, they wanted to split up. And in November 2002, after a meeting with a Singaporean neurosurgeon, Dr. Keith Goh, who successfully separated the fused heads of sisters Ganga and Yamuna Shrestha from Nepal, the Bijani sisters came to Singapore. Although the doctors had warned them that the operation would be associated with a high risk, they still decided to have it. Their decision provoked discussions in the world press.

5. The Hensel sisters.

6. The Hilton sisters.

Daisy and Violetta were born on February 5, 1908 in the English city of Brighton. Their mother, Kate Skinner, was an unmarried barmaid. The sisters have grown together in the area of the hips and buttocks, and also had a general circulation of blood and a merged pelvis. However, each had its own vital organs working. Mary Hilton, the boss of their mother, who helped with childbirth, apparently saw the prospect of commercial benefits in the girls. And so she actually bought them from her mother and took them under her wing. From the age of three, the Hilton sisters toured throughout Europe, and then in America. Their guardians took all the money the sisters earned. At first it was Mary Hilton, and after her death, her daughter Edith and her husband Mayer Myers continued the business. Only in 1931 did their lawyer Martin J. Arnold help the sisters free themselves from the Meyers' rule: in January 1931, they finally received freedom and $ 100,000 in compensation.

After that, the sisters left street shows and took part in vaudeville called “The Hilton Sisters“ Revue. ”And so that they could be distinguished from each other, Daisy dyed her hair light. And besides, both began to dress differently. had numerous novels, but they all ended up in very short marriages. In 1932, the movie "Freaks" was released, in which the twins play themselves. And in 1951, they starred in "Chained for Life" - their own biopic. 4 January In 1969, after they did not go to work and didn’t answer the phone, their boss called the police. The twins were found dead in their home, victims of the Hong Kong flu. According to the forensic medical examination, Daisy died first, Violetta died after two or four days.

7. Sisters Blazek.

Rosa and Joseph Blazek were born in 1878 in Bohemia. The girls grew together in the pelvic region, each had lungs and a heart, but only one common stomach. When they were born, the parents turned to a local healer to give them advice on what to do with such unusual children. The witch doctor advised to leave them without food or drink for 8 days, which was done by the parents. However, the forced hunger strike did not kill the girls and strangely survived. Then the healer said that the babies were born to fulfill a certain mission. Namely: to provide your family with money. Already at the age of 1 year they were shown at local fairs. The sisters took everything they could from life. The girls became famous for their virtuoso playing the violin and harp and the ability to dance - each with its own partner.

8. Brothers Gelion.

Ronnie and Donnie Galion - by far the oldest living Siamese twins - were born in 1951 in Dayton, Ohio. And they remained in the hospital for another two years, as the doctors tried to find a way to separate them. But a safe way was never found and the parents decided to leave everything as it is. From the age of four, the twins began to bring money to the family, which they received for their performances in the circus. When the children tried to go to school, the teachers kicked them out because their appearance was too distracting for other students. And the twins went to Central and South America, where in circuses they performed tricks and entertained people.

9. The Hogan sisters.

The family has signed contracts with National Geographic and Discovery Channel to shoot a documentary. Mom and Grandma had already seen some scenes from the film and were pleasantly surprised by the “respectful, scientific approach” that the director took. That is why the family refused to participate in the popular reality show. They don't need fame, and a documentary about their life can help other Siamese twins.

10. Brothers Sahu.