Back in 1996, conjoined twins Abby & Brittany Hensel were first shown off to the world. They appeared on the cover of Life Magazine which was still around. I feel like some years it is sold and other years is disappears. I know when I have seen it now it is all small, but they are usually commemorative issues and not new ones. Anyway, the conjoined twins were also on Oprah. Since then they have turned up now and again and TLC has given them their own reality show. The twins just graduated from college and are looking for a job in the new show. They drive a car. One steers and one brakes. That is crazy. I actually will watch this one because I'm fascinated by how the two work together. They could always open their own restaurant like Greg Kinnear and Matt Damon. I feel like if I saw the twins the first thing I would do is ask them if they saw that movie. Yeah, I know. I'm an idiot.
I feel bad for them.
ReplyDeleteThere's a teaser for it here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ibtimes.com/articles/372396/20120810/conjoined-twins-abby-brittany-hensel-video-tlc.htm
I don't think it's true that (in this picture) on of them steers and the other brakes, since one of them controls the left side and one controls the right side. Since we see a right hand on the steering wheel and it would make since to brake with the left foot. Pretty sure that whichever one of them controls the right side is doing all the driving, which is probably safer anyways.
*wouldn't make sense to brake with the left foot, not would
ReplyDeleteThey fascinate me in a weird way. I don't mean that badly, it's just so uncommon it makes me wonder how they work together.
ReplyDeleteThey're from MN! I've seen them at the club before (it was an 18+ night). It was a bit confusing for someone who may or may not have already been well in the bag (coughmecough). Then a couple years ago, my coworker had a big dinner party for friends and family in a private room at a restaurant, and they were in the private room across the hall. His daughters saw them and were like, "WHAT IS THAT?!?!?!?!?!" I felt bad.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine what it's like for those girls. What happens if one wants to get married?
ReplyDeleteThere's also a picture floating around the internet of them giving a guy a BJ, but it's supposedly photoshopped.
ReplyDeleteI'm from MN, too, and have seen them at the Mall of America. They draw a few glances.
ReplyDeleteAll girls should have such self esteem! Kudos to them and their parents. Cannot imagine what they have been through.
ReplyDeleteThey are brave souls and I hope they have an easy life.
ReplyDeleteWhat movie is Enty talking about?
OMG fine I'll just say it. I wonder if when they have sex they both have to because they only have one reproductive organ set. Or if just one is intersted in a guy, the other tries to ignore the sex. Seems like they couldn't ignore it if they share those parts. I should not want to know this! Sorry! I'm terrible!
ReplyDeleteI hate it when people who haven't really done anything to be famous get reality shows, but if showing that these girls are normal people helps to reduce the stigma and stares they get when walking down the street, then I'm all for it.
ReplyDelete@Reno - LOL. You said what I was thinking but didn't want to say.
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't mean just these girls, I have always wondered that about conjoined siblings!
ReplyDeleteY'know how our arms move involuntarily? We tell them what to do. So how does that work with the twins? Does the one "on the right" have to stop her impulse to move her left arm? That's what I'd like to ask them.
ReplyDelete@Cryscee LOL. It's says alot that I trust you guys enough on here to say that!
ReplyDeleteI wonder the same thing Reno.....
ReplyDeleteHe's talking about Stuck On You
ReplyDeleteReno - My 7th grade boy brain was wondering the same thing. It actually went much further, but for the sake of all, let's not go there.
ReplyDeleteKudos to Agent and Roman for having more appropriate thoughts today.
Wait...what?
ReplyDeleteMichael K has a very detailed analysis on the girls. Can't paste on my iPhone. Sorry.
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ReplyDeleteI am normally against reality shows as a cash grab, but I am for this one.
ReplyDeleteThese are young women. It can not be easy, especially to get a job. They have to be allowed to live their lives.
I hope the make money that sets them up nice and that they have some fun.
Here's that link from Michael K
ReplyDeleteThanks dia, usually I am not so nice but when stuff like this happens you just have to be nice and really mean it!!! I wouldn't want to walk in their shoes for any amount of time!
ReplyDeleteRoman, I have a mean girl inside me too. Just try not to let her out to often.
DeleteToday I will be nice and really mean it!
PS - an original eastcoaster, full of snark with CDaN as my only outlet. I can't even honk my horn in Portland. The locals freak out!
Years ago i saw a documentary on co joined twins. During course if show, they had a rather stern abd strict english do tir who said, " you seperate tge babies as soon as u can, otherwise you have freaks.". At tge time, i was appalled at tge cruelty of his stdrement. Now I think he was right. They are never gonna gave real, normal life. I do wish them well, but if it ever happens to me, i wld seperate the twins. No matter what. What wld u guys do?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you auntliddy!!!
ReplyDeleteHi auntliddy - if you pop over to DListed and read Michael K's rundown of their physical situation (link provided above by Amber) you will see why these two could not have been separated at all. They did have some random third arm removed though.
ReplyDeleteIt's super weird for sure but they have such an amazing attitude. Wild.
auntliddy, I hope you're not talking about separating these two; they can't be. They only have one set of intestines, one bladder, one set of reproductive organs.
ReplyDelete@auntliddy, it has to be such a tough decision. But so much progress has been made medically. I don't think that all conjoined twins have the option of being separated? I don't really know. But I would lean toward the side of science/medicine.
ReplyDelete@Roman, are you from New England?
hunter---it was probably small & malformed, and stuck out either behind or in front. It was probably useless, too.
ReplyDeleteThese girls have always had a great attitude & positive outlook. They don't know any other reality except being joined. I don't like talk of 'freaks'. Lots of regular-looking people are worse 'freaks' than these two will ever be!
AuntLicky - I need that decoder ring to read your posts today. Haha! Did you just get home from Amber's bar?
ReplyDeleteMaybe you misread Auntliddy ?
ReplyDeleteShe said:
"I do wish them well, but if it ever happens to me, i wld seperate the twins"
I don't think she was talking about separating these twins.
@ Agent, yes I am. How could you tell? I know bad attitude right?
ReplyDeleteAgent, she might have been. That's why I told her about their 'lower half'.
ReplyDeleteThey are so shocking to watch for my system. I dread seeing the commercials for their show it freaks me out.
ReplyDeleteHi! I wasnt talking about separating these girls at all. I know that cant be done. I hate ti say it, cos i know everyone will get on me, but when i found out, while pregnant, as this wiman actually did, i would have terminated the pregnancy. When i say found out, i mean she realized they cld never be separated. If this happened to me now, i wld heartbreakingly terminate the pregnancy. I wld be thinking to spare the babies a lifetime of being super different.
ReplyDeleteAnd dia, yes, my typing blows, i appreciate your patience reading my offerings, such as they are, lololol
Delete@auntliddy, I would terminate too. It's easy to say that life is sacred no matter what, but this would be very difficult for everyone to handle -- the child, me and my spouse, my family.
ReplyDeleteI think they are REALLY hot. And I'm not ashamed to admit it. At all :)
ReplyDeleteThese girls are very sweet. It's fascinating to hear how aware they have to be to perform certain tasks that we autopilot.
ReplyDeleteI fear that these girls will never have a relationship or healthy sexual experience. It's hard to imagine a guy being intimate with them outside of fetishism.
The girls are great and I think nice guys would bond with them, but most nice guys are going to feel weird about the other sister being present and either watching or closing her eyes.
It's also somewhat awful to think about everything you ever did that you would never want anyone to know about. How many secrets can these girls really have? One could barely pick her nose without her sister knowing, much less anything more.
Think of how many times they've annoyed each other, there's no leaving the room. They must have had to mature quickly to avoid extreme conflict. My sister and I would have even using our one arm to beat each other, even if it hurt ourselves.
I thought one was engaged to be married. So many question. Obviously if one gets married, the other is always there. And how would both have boyfriends? Also, if they are hired, do they get two checks? Soooo many questions. And if they got pregnant, they'd both be the mom??
ReplyDeleteauntliddy - If this had happened to me I would want to do the same. That's a hard life to undertake, for the family and the kids. I don't think I'd have it in me to be that mom.
ReplyDeleteWe always seem to figure out the typing! That "licky" comment is still my favorite typo of all time. I'm secretly hoping for another.
Lol, thanks! :)
Delete@Roman, no, just wicked awesome:)
ReplyDeleteI didn't know one girl was engaged. I just read an article confirming this, and realized they share their female organs. So even if the other sister pretended to be asleep during intimate moments, they would both feel and share the sexual experience. God.
ReplyDeleteSorry to over share, but their story is simultaneously uplifting and uncomfortable.
Agree auntliddy. Very sad but I would never have enough money to provide perpetual care. And I would be so afraid they would become victims if I couldn't do just that. I wish the twins well and hope this works out for them.
ReplyDeleteI really fucking can't with this.
ReplyDeleteHave any of you seen the movie Twin Falls Idaho? It was a [ficticious] movie about conjoined twin brothers. It was really good, from what I remember...
ReplyDeletethey seem so happy and well-adjusted but...holy holy...they seem more like a two-headed girl than 2 separate people. When they get a job will the employee have to pay both of them? Most employees only would need or want or have the budget to pay for one...there are just so many things to think about. Will there be two husband or one? if they have kids, who is the mother?? It almost seems like you'd have to treat them as one person.
ReplyDeleteI worked with 2 sets of conjoined twins when I worked in pediatrics. One set was successfully separated. The parents of the other set were told (after extensive testing) that if they were separated only one would survive due to not enough organs for two separate children. If they didn't have the surgery, neither would survive ( don't remember why). The parents (who had several other kids - it was a change of life pregnancy) decided not to do the surgery. They lived about a week. It was very sad. We saw the parents agonizing over the decision.
ReplyDeleteSame here auntliddy.
ReplyDeleteThey currently nanny for a family friend of ours.
ReplyDeleteOops, did I spoil the premise of their show? ;)
When I asked a dear friend of mine about her fascination with pornography she described the attraction s "titillating and horrifying at the same time!!!"
ReplyDeleteI watched a special on them when they were getting their driver's license and turning 16. It was interesting how they both had to take the test and both had to pass in order to get the driver's license. Wish these girls the best!
ReplyDeleteAmanda M.
ReplyDeletedont mean to be a bitch but, thanks a lot... Not that I really care but still.
Also couldn't you get into some trouble for spilling beans?
Oh well haha.
I too wonder about their lower extremities and how that all works out
but to graduate collge and work as a nanny :/ too bad
ReplyDelete@Reno, I also thought it, but also, what if one has a friend the other can't stand! One night want to do the special Olympics ad the other isn't sporty. One could be a morning person and the other isn't. I'm with @auntliddy, I couldn't do that to children, not that I will ever have to make that decision.
ReplyDeleteShout out to all the eastcoasters!!! I don't know how you can tell but cheers!!!
ReplyDeleteI wish these girls nothing but the best in life!!!
East Side!!! Lol
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ReplyDeleteI think it's great they got a show.
ReplyDeleteEspecially in today's world where if there is an inkling of the child not being physically perfect (and I'm pro-choice....but also, pro-God'd oddities) they are aborted.
That said, Godbless these two. I can barely stand anyone for more then a few days before I'm ready to euthanize (kids included), save for my animals. So I've gotta hand it to them. They are way stronger then me. Because if it were me, one side would have been long gone, and the other in an orange jump suit AGES ago.
//sorry, I proofread and fixed. For the com lit nazi's ;)
This is fascinating and heartbreaking all at the same time. I read a book years ago called "The Girls: A Novel", about two girls that were joined at the head. It's an amazingly well-written book.
ReplyDeleteRecently transplanted from the east coast to hot hot hot south MS. I miss Tennessee.
These girls are amazing. They are as much God's children as the rest of us "normal" people. Their parents obviously thought so, which is why they were not aborted. I've always admired the girls' attitude. I complain about the stupidest things and these girls are smiling and trying to live their lives with dignity. I'd rather have them as friends than most of the crazy, self-absorbed narcissistic people in Hollywood.
ReplyDeleteThese girls having a show on TLC is fine, but all that other crap they air? Holy heck!
ReplyDeleteAt the very least, it's time for a name change. And that honey boo garbage?!? I cannot even look at the commericals.
^^^ Hey....I LOVE Four Doors.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, honey boo boo and her fam, I haven't watched it yet, but their pics make me a bit nauseous. They remind me of ppl on Hoarder's. Try eating when that's on.....you can't. Great diet technique.
//I'm so judgmental.
Oh my, I looked at first 2 episodez of honey boo boo just to see. On the one hand, the family is relatively ineducated( school ended at like 15), one if the four girls is pregnant, And they are ignorant of hows sonow tech can tell gender, they eat cheeseballs for breakfast, the mother mentions, yeah, she'd like to lose 100 lbs- like its nothing, they sttend a food auction and end up buying junk food, they attend redneck games and compete, a ettiquett person comes to house, sets table, and 12 yr old proceeds to BLOW her NOSE on the woman's sampleCLOTH napkin, they believe a way to lose weight is to burp and fart alot- and they do!-But on other hand, they sure arent pretenfing to be something they arent!! I wont be watching again. Once was enough.
ReplyDeleteI've seem their Docs, prolly TLC a few years back. They are super sweet and really bright. Do not feel bad for them, they've got it going on. Great attitudes.
ReplyDeleteThese two girls are fantastic. They are happy, active and having a good life despite the physical challenges.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why we should be sorry for them...I don't think they are sorry for themselves. They are living a very good life.
I will watch--they kind of remind me of the Little Couple--very interesting people doing their best to have a full life even tho they have physical challenges.
And as for the idea of how they would get married and have sex....it's TLC....it's a spin off---Conjoined Sisterwives. :)
cinephreak - I was joking about ruining their job search. Becoming a nanny is definitely not what recent college grads thrive for...those who do thrive for nannydom should be mentally evaluated.
ReplyDeleteIts just a temporary position to pay the bills.
But what a GREAT finale to their season that would be ;)
They live near me. Sometimes I see them at the mall.
ReplyDelete