I am thinking of one pair in particular. They lived around the turn of the last century, each had a wife, and fathered a dozen or so kids. Everyone knew that separating them would be a simple and relatively painless operation yet the two gentlemen politely declined the offer. I understand they were born in a small village in China and had some pretty arcane ideals but how I would love to corner them in a dark alley and slice and dice them. Not all of them, just the small patch of skin connecting them. What a favor I would be doing. They would know a freedom unlike any other, at least until the initial shock of the “operation” wore off.
Or would it be a favor? Maybe the revenue they earned from being Siamese twins would far surpass anything they could have made as tired-out has-been Siamese twins hunched over in a rice paddy or sweat shop.
What would you do provided that you could cut them apart without any consequences?
Am I sick? I sound pretty sick, huh? Rest assured, I would derive no pleasure whatsoever from causing them intentional physical harm, but I am awe struck as to why these men would knowingly impair themselves and live a life of shame, mockery, and/or disability. I may sound a bit totalitarian as well, as if I actually had the authority to assert my wishes over these fine gentlemen, but I am afraid they did it only for the fame and glory.
Blessed you say? Surely, by a just and reasonable God who obviously gave them a conditional gift; as long as they were connected by the flesh they would prosper. To separate would give them absolute independence of physical movement but would also cost them their financial livelihood. Hmmmm, a just God indeed.
Except that “everyone” didn’t know “that separating them would be a simple and relatively painless operation.” Chang and Eng Bunker were born in 1811 and nobody had any idea what would happen to them if they were separated. In fact, when an autopsy was performed after their death, it was revealed that, given the state of medical science at that time, separation would probably have killed them. By 1897, they could have been seperated safely, but since they had been dead for several years by then, the point was rather moot. Try the first link at the site above. Lots of interesting information there.
Yeah, as I understand it, the only way they could have been safely separated given the medical technology at the time was for one of them to die and the other to be quickly separated from the other.
That didn’t happen, however. When Eng woke up and found Chang dead, they sent for the doctor, but Eng was dead too before he got there (the Bunkers lived on a farm in North Carolina). Some say the terror and shock are what did him in.
Also, they were born in Thailand, not China. Which is why we have the term “Siamese Twins.” It originated with them.
They had a very interesting life and it’s worth learning more about them.
They were of course Siamese, Cranky, but I believe they were ethnically Chinese, so the OP wasn’t too far off.
ISTR the twins had a common liver which passed through the band of flesh connecting them, so yes, separating them with 19th-century medical skill would have been Very Bad. Even today you’re asking for all kinds of trouble when you cut into a liver.
wishbone could have OP’d with better facts, but there are conjoined twins today who could be separated but have chosen not to be.
Is the OP about how you’d convince conjoined twins what they’re missing by remaining joined? Clear this up, please, then we’ll share our HOs.
Conjoined liver, hmmm, that does complicate things a bit. As you may have noticed I was under the impression that they shared no internal organs. Mea culpa.
Fiver, I assume it is safe to say that Eng and Chang had quite a bit to gain in their time by working at sideshows, etc. If in fact they could have been easily separated they would have had to go on working regular jobs. I was slightly marveled by the dichotomy that would on one hand offer them wealth and fame, and on the other hand; personal freedom. To answer your question, yes, I feel that conjoined twins are “missing out” by remaining joined. However, if they were to undergo the operation and one were not to survive, the living twin might be so stricken with guilt that they might have been better off in the first place. Which brings me to the modern day conjoined twins who have remained joined; I assume they could be separated without any major complications, so my first question would be why? Are they making a killing off of side show or disability earnings?
There was an interesting speculative book (fiction) on the life of Chang and Eng that came out this year. The author proposed that Eng was desperate to be separated but Chang wasn’t.
The conjoined twins I have read about aren’t in sideshows and aren’t pulling down any big bucks off of disability. In particular, I can remember seeing an interview with two joined at the head and one of them has a job. They don’t want to be separated (though admittedly, I am not sure they could be) and when quizzed about why, they seemed puzzled that anyone would probe. I got the impression that since this the only existence they have known, they couldn’t fathom anything else and didn’t want to completely change who they are.
I’ve heard that when they separate conjoined twins at the toddler stage, they need some psychological counseling to deal with the separation.
