Conjoined twins Abby and Brittany Hensel answered what everyone wanted to know about lives
Having first been in the public eye when they were just six years old, Abby and Brittany Hensel are easily the most famous conjoined twins in the world.
The 36-year-olds appeared in a number of documentaries and even once had their own reality TV series which gave us quite a glimpse of their lives.
But still, the questions around how they go about their day-to-day continue as (understandably) most of us can’t quite imagine life conjoined to another person.
Abby and Brittany are dicephalic parapagus twins, meaning they have two heads joined to one torso. Each woman has a heart, stomach, spine, pair of lungs and spiral cord and controls one arm and one leg.
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Since 2013, they’ve been teachers in Minnesota, US, and back in 2021, Abby married nurse and army veteran, Josh Bowling.
How does their body work?
Sharing only their organs below the waist, everything they do requires cooperation and coordination. Abby and Brittany can write separately and simultaneously.
When it comes to eating, the pair will sometimes have separate meals, but will ideally tend to stick to a single meal, with one person eating at a time. The twins do, in fact, have two digestive systems and two separate stomachs, but because they share the same bladder and excretion system, sometimes one meal is more convenient.
When they were born, they had a rudimentary arm between the bases of their necks and this was removed, leaving the shoulder blade.
Their parents decided not to attempt surgical separation as doctors said it was unlikely that they would both survive.
How do the twins drive?
With regards to driving, they passed their test on their 16th Birthday as Brittany explained: "Abby takes over the pedals and the shifter, we both steer, and I take over the blinker and the lights."
Their mother Patty added: "I don't know what would happen if they got pulled over for speeding.
"Would they each get a ticket or just Abby because it's her foot on the accelerator?"
The twins clearly have incredible co-ordination, and are able to play the piano, go bowling, play volleyball and go swimming.
Can the twins have children?
Another common question is will the couple ever welcome children?
"That is probably something that could work because those organs do work for them," the mum explained in a documentary titled Joined For Life.
"Yeah, we're going to be moms," Brittany agreed at the time.
She added: "The whole world doesn't need to know who we are seeing, what we are doing and when we are going to do it. But believe me, we are totally different people."
There were rumours last summer that they had a baby, but this was not confirmed.
Jess Battison