The Original Siamese Twins – Chang And Eng Bunker

Over time the sisters unfortunately began to squabble and decided to move apart. The twins would split their time between two separate households, three days with each wife. Although many thought that the twins were telepathic as they rarely spoke to each other, there were some marked differences between the two and over time the twins were to fall out, and on one occasion one threatened the other with a knife. Chang had become a heavy drinker and Eng was fond of late night poker sessions. Chang was prone to bouts of rage, whereas Eng was quieter and interested in a wider range of topics.

One January night in 1874 Chang, who had recently had a stroke, died of pneumonia in his sleep suddenly. Eng woke up to find his brother dead and called for his wife and kids. A doctor was summoned to cut them apart but arrived too late and Eng died just three hours later, probably from shock.

Their legacy lives on though, and thanks to their prolific loins there are around 1,500 known descendants, many of which still live in the same area as Chang and Eng used to. They have regular reunions to keep their memories alive. And if you’ve got a taste for the macabre, you can go and look at Chang and Eng’s shared liver in the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia.

So, in conclusion, it is racist to us the term ‘Jap’s eye’, ‘Chinese whispers’ is a bit racist, but ‘Siamese twins’ isn’t racist, it’s just a bit outdated, it should be Thai twins.