Well Now - An accidental "Find"

When you were a kid, did you ever ask your parents if you were a twin?  And if so, where was it?  Don't worry this is normal behavior for a kid.  What is not, said Mother of None is "My imaginary Friend."

Be that as it may and in addition to being mother of none, it should be noted that I am not a psychiatrist either.

In this mornings Daily Mail, I read an eye-catching story - World's Oldest Living Conjoined Twins have died age 68 and the article went on to say that they had broken the record for longevity from another pair of conjoined twins - Giocomo and Giovanni Batista Tocci who, as always, went together at age 62.

Their 19 year old mother had an easy birth as they were very small.  They were joined at the ribs.  Their mother adored them; their father had a nervous breakdown and checked himself into a mental hospital for a spell.  Family life went on as the parents had seven more children.  To support nine kids, Dear Old Dad put them into freak shows - circuses had them back then - and they earned a tidy $1,000 a week as the Blended Boy.  They had four arms (and presumably hands) and each had one leg apiece.  Getting around was difficult as walking required co-ordination with each other.  Additionally, Giacomo had a club foot which interfered with walking.  Their usual mode of transportation was a wheelchair made for two while out in public.  In privacy they developed a sort of spider-like crawl others reported.

Their personalities were different as well - Giocomo had an artistic bent and loved to sketch.  If Giovanni didn't like it, he would knock if onto the floor.  He was also known as something of a chatterbox.  Giovanni was quieter, more reserved.

They tried to join the Army but were given a 4F rating.  Earlier at school age, they were denied the schooling that the other kids got.  They were forbidden classes as "too much of a distraction."  As adults they were considered functionally illiterate.

The above struck me as another example of conjoined twins.  Often, they refuse separation which was interesting.  That part of the twin lore - secret languages, forced co-operation as true of them as well.

One birth in 200,000 is a conjoined twin.  And there are more women with it than men.