The Unbelievable Story Of The Hensel Sisters And Other Extraordinary People.

Abigail and Brittany

Abigail and Brittany Hensel are conjoined twins that have been through a lot in life, as being born this way is not easy. These twins made news headlines when they were born because they were conjoined. However, their case was a little rare because they shared a body but had different heads. Many news platforms have shared their story, and ten years ago, the twins decided to share a critical announcement. Of course, the announcement was related to their condition. So, keep reading to find out about the life and announcement of Abigail and Brittany Hensel.

Abigail and Brittany Hensel Are Born

On March 7^th, 1990, a beautiful birth took place of Abigail and Brittany Hensel, who are conjoined twins. They were born in Carver County, and you can also term them, dicephalic parapagus twins. In simple terms, this means that each of them has one head, but their body is one. Look at these beautiful and happy faces just a while after they are born. Even though it is physically difficult to share a body, these twins are happy about it. Years later, they even break a piece of exciting news to the entire world that shocks everyone, so keep reading.

Understanding Conjoined Twins

Conjoined twins are a rarity as most people don’t know anyone that has gone through this experience. However, despite their rarity, conjoined twins also have a survival rate that is low as most of them die early. There is a chance of at least one in 189,000 that a baby born will be conjoined with its twin. Out of that, only 11% of twins are born as dicephalic parapagus. Of course, some of them do survive despite all the odds against them, but this is also a rare case, as genes dictate our entire life. Knowing this would have been hard for the parents.

The Anatomy of Conjoined Twins

Another thing you must understand is the anatomy of the conjoined twins. While they may be sharing a body with one another, things from the inside are a little different. Many people don’t know this, but each twin has their individual organs, which is why their bodies have two ears, four lungs, two stomachs, and the like. On the other hand, the twins share a liver, large intestine, and reproductive system. Yes, that may be shocking to you, but that is the truth. Sharing a body is difficult, which is why conjoined twins don’t make it very far.

The Body Division

Every conjoined twin pair has to face multiple movement troubles to function properly. Most siblings consider an imaginary red line between their bodies. One person is mainly responsible for steering in the right direction while the other moves body in the left direction. So coordination is highly important in the lives of conjoined twins. Achieving the right balance to maintain good body movement is tough for conjoined twins like Abigail and Brittany. If the red line is not maintained, it is almost impossible to walk and move properly. Twins who don’t coordinate with each other mainly suffer from this issue.

Being A Team Is Essential

You may believe that conjoined twins cannot work in an orderly manner, but that is not true. The pair have to learn how to move together and live their lives together. However, things get easier once the learning curve disappears. Eventually, the twins learn how to do different tasks together. For instance, the pair understands how to crawl together and move in a coordinated way. Abigail and Brittany also overcame many difficulties by communicating with each other. The pair can now drive together on a busy road, as you can see. They also claim that they’re highly competent while doing this task.

Sometimes Sacrificing Is Necessary

Many conjoined twins may seem quite content with their life to you. You may also believe that coordinating movements and other things is easy for them. However, that is not always the case. Behind the scenes, you don’t know how many sacrifices the pair has to make to achieve a blissful life. Sharing a body means that sometimes disagreements will occur on different things. One person may be comfortable doing some tasks while the other sibling may not be. So the pair has to prioritize things that matter more. Compromising is also necessary when deciding things such as choosing clothes to wear.

Wearing Same Clothes Is Tough

Abigail and Brittany seem like the perfect pair of conjoined twins because they are always in sync. However, the two have key personality differences that affect them a lot. They may agree on wearing specific clothes, but a lot of hard work is necessary. This is because they have different choices. The two siblings don’t like wearing the same clothes as one another. Abigail also prefers to wear colorful and vibrant garments. Meanwhile, Brittany has the opposite personality and loves wearing dull colors. So you may see both of them wearing a combination of such clothes. A prime example is the earlier picture.

They Are Not the Same Person

People often consider twins to have the same choices and personalities. So you may believe that they are the same person. Of course, this is far from the truth. Conjoined twins may share the same body, but they have different personalities. This is why you must not consider them the same person. A prime example is the situation of Abigail and Brittany. They have different tastes in garments and colors. The former sibling is also more assertive than the other one. So there is no doubt that twins, whether they are conjoined or not, have different personalities. They also have different mindsets.

Key Differences in Interests

Sharing life with your sibling is normally hard, but it gets more difficult if you are conjoined. After all, you may not want to share your interests with the sibling. Your privacy is also affected, and you have to think before doing things. Most twins have different hobbies and fears. For instance, in Abigail and Brittany’s pair, the former is not scared of heights while Brittany is. Abigail is also interested in learning about science, while the other twin is not. Brittany is mainly interested in doing arts. So these things have to be considered before the pair can choose a career pathway.

Achieving Fame

Many people are interested in learning about other unique things and people. This is why you will see different conjoined twins getting fame easily. This was also the case for Abigail and Brittany. They have appeared on multiple television shows since they were kids. The twins are also not shy from appearing in public. These two children have captivated the audience easily with their unique backstory. Because of this, the two kids have appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show. You will also see their pictures on multiple platforms. The siblings inspire many other conjoined twins to move on with their easily.

A Documentary for Conjoined Twins

The Hensel twins have been famous for many years and got a lot of fame. They were given a documentary movie called Joined for Life a few years ago. It focused on their condition and how they are living with it while achieving new milestones. The film was a huge success. After the documentary, Abigail and Brittany also got their own show. It was named Abby & Brittany and focused on their post-graduate life after college. Unfortunately, the show wasn’t a huge success like the documentary. This is why the project was shut down after the release of eight episodes.

Privacy Is Important

Abigail and Brittany are open about multiple things, such as their struggles. They also don’t hide the trials they face because of their condition. So you may think that they don’t require much privacy in their lives. However, the pair have decided to keep one thing on the down-low. They don’t talk about their love lives and have decided to keep it private. So you won’t find them talking about their crushes or whether they are dating. Of course, this is normal as most people don’t prefer to display their love lives to the public. After all, fans can be harsh too.

Supportive Friends Are a Blessing

It can be tough to make friends when you have a unique condition, such as a conjoined twin. People see you as strange, and it can be difficult for them to manage two people. However, you will encounter some who are not discouraged. The best tip we have for you is not to let go of such friends. The Hensel twins have supportive friends that they’re proud of. They are also protective of their loved ones. So take some tips from their relationships. This was all about conjoined twins. If you want to know more about extraordinary people, continue reading the following entries.

Weird Stares

The twins do a lot of traveling and during their trips they are always accompanied by their friends. The friends ensure that they are safe and happy all the time. There is a reason behind their support towards the twins. When visiting new places, due to their appearance they get many weird stares. Therefore, to distract them and keep them happy it is important for the friends to be there. It is understandable as not every day you see conjoined twins walking down the streets. Abby and Brittany are lucky to have such friends.

Everyone Needs a Break

With all the fame and paparazzi around them, things can sometimes get overwhelming for them. It has not always been like this but in the recent years after gaining popularity the have been in the headlines for some time now. It is good in the start when you like the attention and fame. However, after a while it can get on your nerves. The twins have to experience this as well. Therefore, for a break they have great friends to help them have a good quality time away from all the problems and issues.

Mama Hensel

Here is the backbone of the Hensel family. Patty is the mother of the conjoined twins you are reading about. Abby and Brittany are lucky to have such a supportive mother. No matter what she is very proud of her children and love how they take things. It is important to have such a support system. After witnessing how her children are living their life all she wishes is nothing but their success. Mama Hensel is always there when the twins need any help or requires any advice. It is a blessing to have a mothers support every decision.

Next Step to Success

Nothing let the spirits down of the Hensel twins. In 2012, they got a new teaching job that was a big part of their success. After passing their interview, on merit they were selected as the math teacher of fourth and fifth grade. What a great inspirational pair of teacher they are. Other than math, the students will have a lot to learn from them. Not only that, the bond with the young students will help Abby and Brittany to spend some quality time and keep them busy. It is a lesson of life for both, the teacher and students.

Two Teachers in the Pay of One

After starting their job at the school, things got a bit easier for the Hensel twins. No doubt the school also had a good benefit of having two teachers in the pay of one teacher. Math is a challenging subject the two brains of the twins will help make it easier for the students. What is better than one math teacher? Two math teachers, it would be definitely a fun class for the students. In the picture above other than a teacher you can see the level of efficiency at its peak.

Time to Settle and Adjust

It was definitely an uncharted territory for the school. As the first conjoined twins teachers in the school, it may be a bit difficult for the twins to settle down and adjust in the environment of the school. No doubt it was one of the biggest challenges for them to create a bond with their students and their parents. To tackle this problem, Abby and Brittany sent out letter to the students’ parents to introduce themselves on the open house. This would make it easier for the Hensel twins to interact and create an understanding.

Now as we have already read the story of the Hensel twins, you might be interested in knowing more about some other unique and extraordinary people from around the world.

The Kid with Enlarged Hands

Many medical conditions may get you the title of being strange. Mohammad Kaleem suffered from this issue when he was born with hands twice the size of a normal infant. The worst part is that they continued to grow with age. So he had enlarged and heavy hands by age nine. Of course, medicine has progressed since Kaleem’s birth. So a doctor was able to help in 2014 when he was about nine. The kid underwent surgery that involved reducing the size of his hands for an easy life. Now he is no longer known as the boy with the world’s biggest hand.

Earth’s Tallest Man

As per the Guinness World Record, Sultan Kosen is the tallest male on this planet. He is a Turkish farmer born with gigantism and acromegaly. These are conditions that contribute to his high height of 8 ft. 2.82 in. He is suffering from growth due to a pituitary gland tumor. Sultan may not have enlarged hands, but that does not mean that his height is letting him live an easy life. Due to the high growth, he cannot walk without crutches. However, this has not discouraged Kosen from living his life. He is pretty proud of his achievements and handles everything with positivity.

Earth’s Shortest Man

Chandra Bahadur Dangi was the shortest on Earth. He was born in 1939 and was of Nepali descent. It is not known which medical condition limited his height growth. In 2012, Guinness World Records gave him the title of the world’s shortest man. Chandra rose to popularity after that and used his fame to promote his country. Unfortunately, Chandra Bahadur held the title for only three years and is no longer alive. He passed away in 2015 at the age of 75. The cause of his death was not revealed, but it is reported that he was suffering from pneumonia before his death.

Earth’s Shortest Female

Men are mainly taller than women due to different medical reasons. However, Jyoti Amge is the counterpart of Chandra Bahadur Dangi in terms of height. She is the shortest female on this planet, with a height of 2 ft. 1 in. Jyoti is actually taller than the Earth’s shortest man. If you find her familiar in this picture, it may be because she has appeared on multiple shows. Her most notable appearance was on the American Horror Story: Freak Show. Amge is the smallest woman because of achondroplasia, limiting her growth. People with this condition lack a protein that is essential for bone growth.

The Human Avatar

Avatars were fictional blue characters in the namesake science-fiction movie. Interestingly, a blue man lived on Earth a few years ago and resembled those characters in skin color. Paul Karson was born like every other human being, but he consumed colloidal silver to treat a skin condition. The silver reacted with sunlight and caused his skin color to change to blue. This condition is called argyria and caused Karson to gain high fame. After his incident, FDA also banned silver in over-the-counter medications. Unfortunately, Paul is no longer alive because of a heart attack in 2013. Of course, it wasn’t because of his argyria.

World’s Hairiest Man

Yu Zhenhuan from China has been titled the world’s hairiest man by the Guinness World Records. He was born in 1979, and he has been holding the title for the past two decades. 96% of his body is covered by hair, which is pretty noticeable. In his childhood, Yu Zhenhuan was called a caveman because of the huge amount of hair on his body. People also used to hit him with stones, but that didn’t affect his ambitions. He is an actor and debuted in a movie as a child actor. Zhenhuan has also had multiple surgeries to get rid of hair.

Plastic Surgery Gone Wrong

Many people and doctors advise against plastic surgery because of the harmful effects. You also risk your appearance, which can get worse after the surgery. Unfortunately, Jocelyn Wildenstein didn’t think twice before opting for plastic surgery to get a more cat-like appearance. She took this step because her husband liked such an appearance. Of course, Jocely had too many surgeries, and her appearance has changed drastically. To make things worse, she also got divorced from her husband in 1999 because he cheated on her. This is why it is advisable not to make life decisions of getting plastic surgery for trivial reasons.

The Man with Most Body Modifications

Rolf Buchholz is an interesting man for multiple reasons. He has various unique tattoos on different body parts, such as the back of his head. Besides that, he also has two horns on his forehead which he got through implants. However, he is most famous for having the most number of body modifications. As per Guinness World Records, Rolf has more than 516 body modifications. Interestingly, he is not satisfied with the number and plans to get more with time. Rolf has multiple piercings on his face, ear, and other body parts. He also has tattooed eyeballs giving him a unique appearance.

Strongest Man in the World

Appearance can be deceiving in many cases, so you should never judge someone by it. This is especially true for Zydrunas Savickas, a Lithuanian power lifter. He may not seem highly strong to you, but that is not true. Savickas is the world’s strongest athlete, as per many experts. He can lift about half a ton of weight without making much effort due to his strength. Zydrunas has also won multiple weightlifting championships adding to his fame. He is also improving every year and plans to break his own records. Most of his wins are also in international competitions, making him better than other athletes

The Black Rapunzel

Rapunzel may have been a fictional character in Tangled, but her human counterpart does exist. Asha Mandela is often called the Black Rapunzel because she has the world’s longest dreads. Her hair is tied into tightly woven braids, so you can expect to be amazed if you see Asha Mandela in loose hair. Guinness World Records gave her the title of a woman with the longest dreads a few years ago. Since then, Asha has gained significant popularity. The unofficial size of her hair is 55 feet 7 inches. It takes Asha six shampoo bottles to wash her hair and two days for the dreads to dry.

The Illustrated Lady

Julia Gnuse was titled the world’s most tattooed woman by Guinness World Records. She was also nicknamed The Illustrated Lady because of her ink. Gnuse got multiple tattoos on her body to cover scars from a skin condition called porphyria. This is also called the vampire disease because it results in skin blisters due to sun exposure. The blisters left scars on Julia’s body, and her surgeon suggested that she use tattoos to cover them up. You should note that the ink does not prevent more skin blisters because they are only aesthetic. Unfortunately, Julia no longer holds the title because she passed away.

World’s Most Tattooed Man

Lucky Diamond Rich was born in 1971, and his real name is Gregory Paul McLaren. He is a performance artist in New Zealand and the world’s most tattooed man by the Guinness World Records. Lucky has been maintaining this title since 2006. 100% of his body is covered in tattoos, including intimate parts. The artist has gotten ink on her eyelids, mouth, and other body parts as a hobby. Lucky was interested in people with most tattoos in his childhood. After getting his first ink, he got more and decided to break the record. His tattoos have taken more than hundreds of hours to complete.

The Woman with the Widest Hips

People have different kinds of goals in life. Some want to achieve high career recognition, while others love to gain fame by breaking world records. Mikeli Ruffinelli falls in the second group of people as her aim was to have the world’s biggest hips. Fortunately, she has achieved that goal. She claimed that she wanted the biggest hips even if the process of achieving the goal killed her. Currently, they measure at eight feet from all the way around. You can see the earlier picture to notice how big Mikeli is. The interesting part is that she is proud of achieving this feat.

A Rare Mutation

Genetic mutations are not always bad, but many cause serious harm. Because of a genetic disorder, Mandy Sellars is a female with the world’s largest legs. The mutation has caused abnormal growth of her lower limbs. In 2001, Mandy got one of her legs amputated due to a blood infection above the knee. After the surgery, the stump also started to grow, and now Mandy’s leg makes up 40 pounds of her weight. However, these things have not disheartened her. She takes stride in the issues and has appeared on many TV shows. She aims to improve awareness about genetic mutation.

One of Earth’s Heaviest Man

Patrick Duel was called the “Half-ton man” because of his weight of 1,126 pounds. While some people take pride in being the biggest person or heaviest individual on Earth, Patrick didn’t like his title. He also suffered a lot because of his weight when his bedroom wall had to be removed during a medical emergency so that he could be taken to a hospital. This incident caused him to make changes in life, and he got a gastric bypass surgery to lose weight. It was a success, and Patrick shed 700 pounds because of it. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2016 at age 54.

A Chimera

Taylor Mull has been famous for a strange birthmark on the left side of her stomach. Interestingly, that shaded area is not a birthmark but an indicator that she’s a Chimera. This is a condition in twin pregnancies where one of the twins pass away the surviving absorbs its embryo set. This means that Taylor Mull has two sets of DNA within her chromosomes. Most people with Chimerism remain undiagnosed because the individuals are like standard people. However, some of them do show unique features, such as Taylor Mull. The blood group can also change because of this condition if the other twin had a different group.

The Human Doll

Many people are famous for being beautiful and having a natural glow. However, Valeria Lukyanova is giving tough competition to some females out there. This is because of her doll-like appearance that resembles Barbie. So she is often called “Human Barbie” by herself and some fans. Valeria claims that her doll-like appearance is natural, and she didn’t get surgery for it. Besides that, she has admitted that she has breast implants. While some people doubt the claim, many also believe that her Barbie-like beauty is natural. Of course, only Valeria knows whether she is telling the truth or deceiving fans.

The Man with the Longest Tongue

Nick Stoeberl has been titled the man with the longest tongue on this planet by Guinness World Records. This body part is 10.1 cm long, allowing him to achieve fame because of it. Nick also participated in America’s Got Talent to showcase what he can do with his longest tongue. He used it for painting in the talent show but got reprimanded for it. Simon Cowell called his performance a waste of time and referred to Nick as stupid. Fortunately, this didn’t affect the record-breaker’s career much. This is because he primarily works as a model and is well-settled.

Earth’s Strongest Kid

There are many strong people in this world, but you may not have expected a three-year-old kid to be strong enough to lift weights. However, this is true in the case of Liam Hoekstra. He is Earth’s strongest kid because of a medical condition called hypertrophy, leading to increased muscle mass. The condition allows muscle mass to rapidly build up in his body while fat growth is inhibited. This is causing the young one to have relatively higher strength than other kids his age. Currently, Liam participates in wrestling events for children and puts his strength to good use.

The Girl Who Did Not Age

Brooke Greenberg was born in 1993 with an unknown medical condition. This is why she never exceeded the age of one physically and cognitively. Her size was also restricted because of the condition. So she looked like six months old even when she was eight years old. Her family took her to multiple doctors throughout her life, but none of them could reach a definitive diagnosis. Eventually, her condition was referred to as Syndrome X because of no details. Brooke lived till the age of 20 and passed away in 2013. You should note that this condition’s cause may be unknown, but it is common in kids.

The Rare Body Disease

Whitney Weldon is one of the 800 people who have been diagnosed with FOP. This is a medical condition in which tendons and muscles ossify after suffering a minor injury. The disease causes body parts to freeze in one place after the wound. So every time a patient falls, they risk losing mobility in a body part. Weldon’s first flare-up happened when she was only nine years old. The injury caused her arm to freeze at an angle of 120 degrees. She also can’t use her legs anymore because of the condition. So Whitney is wheel-chair bound due to FOP.

The Woman with the Longest Nails

Christine Walton is a famous singer hailing from Los Angeles. Her stage name is Dutchess, and she has great skills. However, her singing is not the primary reason behind her fame. It is her title of the woman with the longest fingernails. You can see in this picture that they resemble long noodles. Walton stopped trimming her nails in 1990 to break the world record. She managed to achieve the goal as her nails are now 19 feet and nine inches long. The part of her body has allowed her to gain popularity as people are fascinated by her long nails.

The Human Hulk

Sajad Gharibi may not be green like Hulk, but his physique and muscle mass resembles that of the superhero. He looks like an action figure because of his muscular body. The bodybuilder achieved such an appearance by working out and maintaining his diet. He is an Iranian weightlifter with a muscle mass of 390 pounds. The bodybuilder is known for being strict with his fitness routine. He also consumes English breakfast every day to gain energy. Besides that, Sajad also consumes fruits and fresh vegetables daily for a healthy diet. These foods allow him to remain energized and perform weightlifting easily.

The Jaguar Woman

Maria Jose Cristerna is the owner of a famous clothing line called the Vampire Woman. She is also a criminal justice attorney and has fought multiple cases. However, her fame comes from her huge number of body modifications. She also held the title of most tattooed woman by Guinness World Records for some time. Her body modifications are unique and include multiple things. For instance, she has gotten sub-dermal piercings, ear expansions, dental implants, and much more. Her modifications are not surprising to many people because Maria also owns a tattoo studio. You can see the picture above to notice the different piercings.