A pair of identical twins separated at birth and put up for adoption reunited 39 years later - only to discover they had led incredibly similar lives. Jim Lewis and Jim Springer, also known as 'the Jim twins', were born in 1940 and given the same name by their respective adoptive parents - James, or Jim for short.
But according to MamaMia.com, the extraordinary similarities didn't end there. Growing up just 40 miles from each other in Ohio, both Jims had a brother named Larry and a dog called Toy. They shared the same interests in school - mathematics and woodwork - and both hated spelling.
Each brother also went on to marry a woman named Linda, only to divorce several years later. But even more astoundingly, their respective second wives also had the same name, Betty, with both men naming their sons James Allan.
The two Jims were also chain smokers, suffered from migraines and owned Chevlorets. And while they didn't have the exact same job, they were still very similar. Jim Lewis worked as a security guard and Jim Springer was a deputy sheriff.
Jim Lewis was aware that he had a twin brother and that they had been separated at birth, however Jim Springer’s mother had told him his twin had passed away as a baby.
The pair lived their parallel lives without ever meeting until 1979, when Jim Lewis discovered the contact details of his identical twin and reached out. When they finally met for the first time, it didn’t take long for them to realise the eerie similarities in their life stories.
Jim Springer said he had “always felt an emptiness,” until he reunited with his identical twin. Their story became a source of fascination for scientists and the brothers took part in a various studies that examined ‘nature versus nurture’.
In one study, conducted by Dr. Thomas Bouchard of University of Minnesota, the two Jims completed tests on personality, medical history and brain-waves. Their results left Dr. Bouchard “flabbergasted”, as both scored remarkably the same in all three areas.
The identical twins even came up with the exact same thing when asked to draw a picture. The results helped scientists realise the significance of genetics in the make-up of a person - a more prominent role than they had ever initially considered.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
