Have you ever wondered, just for fun, if you have a long-lost twin somewhere out there? Those odds probably aren’t in your favor, but it does happen every once in a blue moon.
In fact, these 15 sets of siblings found each other in the most unusual ways. Whether they bumped into a mirror image of themselves, or realized they were part of a secret social experiment, these twins discovered family they never knew they had…
1. Jorge and Carlos Bernal Castro and William and Wilber Cañas Velasco: This was a twin doubleheader! Jorge and Carlos, as well as William and Wilber, believed they were fraternal twin brothers. As it turns out, there was a mix-up years back at the hospital, and they were actually two pairs of identical twins.
This truth came to light when a woman in a butcher shop mistook William for Jorge, and then showed him a picture of his long-lost sibling. Today, the four men are quite close and view themselves as four brothers.
Natalio Cosoy
2. Audrey Doering and Gracie Rainsberry: Born in China, these sisters were adopted by two different American families. Audrey’s mom later did some research about her daughter’s early life, leading her to a photograph of her birth mother holding two identical girls.
These twins reunited on Good Morning America, and they even got to go on vacation together in San Diego! Everyone they passed must have thought they were seeing double.
ABC News
3. Bobby Shafran, David Kellman, and Eddy Galland: These teenage triplets found each other when they were all coincidentally living in the same area of New York. Though they became inseparable, they found out they were subjects in the controversial study that split identical siblings and watched them grow up in different environments.
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In 1995, struggles with mental illness caused Eddy, middle, to take his own life. A documentary about their life stories called Three Identical Strangers debuted in 2018.
4. Anais Bordier and Samantha Futerman: An actress best known for her supporting role in Memoirs of a Geisha, Samantha had no idea that appearing in a YouTube video would change her life. But after Anais spotted her doppelgänger on her computer, the two connected and confirmed they were sisters.
5. Jim Lewis and Jim Springer: These brothers didn’t meet until they were 39, but what was really strange was how much they had in common. Both married first and second wives named Linda and Betty, named their sons James, smoked Salem cigarettes, drove Blue Chevrolets, and had a childhood dog named Toy.
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6. Ann Hunt and Elizabeth Hamel: These sisters hold the Guinness World Record for the longest separation of twins. Their biological mother meant to put up both for adoption, but had to keep Elizabeth due to a spinal condition. After decades in the dark, Ann and Elizabeth finally met at age 78!
7. Oskar Stohr and Jack Yufe: Not all twins have everything in common. When their parents split soon after their birth, Jack grew up as a Jew in Trinidad and Israel, while Oskar grew up Catholic in Germany. Despite his Jewish family, he even had to join the Hitler youth!
Their first meeting in 1954 was fairly awkward, in large part because of the language barrier. However, they bonded later in life and found they had more in common than at first glance. For example, both flushed the toilet before and after using it.
8. Paula Bernstein and Elyse Schein: These sisters reunited at age 35 and discovered that they too were part of a study on separated twins. Paula and Elyse took their story public, and as a result, twins in New York are now required to be adopted by the same family.
9. Debbie Mehlman and Sharon Poset: Debbie’s mom waited until her daughter was 45 to tell her that she was not only adopted, but also had a twin. Thanks to a private investigator, the two finally met and found they shared quite a few traits.
One telltale sign that these two are related is that they both cross their eyes when they get excited! Talk about a totally unique trait.
10. Emilie Falk and Lin Backman: Emilie’s and Lin’s adoptive parents were initially in touch with one another, but lost track over the years. By the time they were 29, the girls pieced together the scant information available to find each other on Facebook.
11. Zeng Yong and Liu Yonggang: After a friend of Yong’s met someone named Yonggang who looked exactly like him, Yong tracked down the man and learned they were identical twins. They took their family reunion a step further and located their birth mother, who was living over 1,000 miles away.
12. Anna Kandl and Ella Cuares: These two were adopted by different families through the same adoption agency. The parents kept in touch, not knowing the girls were sisters. However, a striking resemblance between the pair spurred them to take a DNA test. Needless to say, the results were positive!
13. Howard Burack and Doug Rausch: Both men always knew they were adopted, but neither caught wind that he had a brother. However, a documentary project called The Twinning Reaction reunited Howard and Doug, as well as other “multiples” who never met their siblings.
14. Siam and Fabienne: Two French families adopted these Vietnamese sisters. Years later, Siam’s friend came across a girl on Facebook who looked like her, so Siam sent her a friend request. Though Fabienne ignored the message at first, she eventually accepted. When the news broke that they were twins, we can only assume they got a lot of likes.
15. Jerry Levey and Mark Newman: Both brothers were volunteer firefighters, and that proved to be the vital link that brought them together. A mutual acquaintance, aware of their similarities, put them in touch, and the two hit it off. These two guy’s guys learned they shared a love for Budweiser and were confirmed bachelors.
It’s hard to believe that all these twins separated at birth finally reconnected after so many years!
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