Twin studies

The most fascinating thing I learned about, and something I'll probably always remember, is twin studies. When I first started reading about all the twin studies my senior year in high school I just couldn't stop telling people all about them. I remember coming home the first day after learning about them and telling my mom about the twins that were reared separately and then were reunited some 40 years later and how similar their lives turned out to be. The twins I first read about ever went by the name of Jim Lewis and Jim Springer. They grew up in different families in different states but had eerie similar lives. Here's an excerpt telling all about their similarities. "When the two first met, Lewis described it as "like looking into a mirror." For starters, both had the same first name. They were physically identical. But when they got talking, the similarities were astounding. Both had childhood dogs named Toy. Both had been nail biters and fretful sleepers. Both had migraines. Both had married first wives names Linda, second wives named Betty. Lewis named his first son James Allen, Springer named his James Alan. For years, they both had taken holidays on the same Florida beach. They both drank Miller Lite, smoked Salem cigarettes, loved stock car racing, disliked baseball, left regular love notes to their wives, made doll furniture in their basements, and had added circular white benches around the trees in their backyards. Their IQs, habits, facial expressions, brain waves, heartbeats, and handwriting were nearly identical. The Jim twins lived apart but died on the same day, from the same illness." When I first read this I think you know why I found twin studies so fascinating. I don't think I'll ever forget the two Jim's, at least not for a very long time.