Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00In and Jan Bunker are known around the world as the original Siamese twins.
00:05They were born on May 11, 1811 in Siam, now called Thailand.
00:10They were joined at the chest by a small piece of tissue.
00:13Because of them, the term Siamese twins became widely used.
00:17As teenagers, they were taken to the United States by Scottish merchants.
00:22At first, they were shown in public as part of their traveling show,
00:25but they managed their own tours and became quite wealthy.
00:30In 1839, they settled in North Carolina and became American citizens.
00:35A few years later, they married two sisters.
00:37Together, they had 21 children.
00:40Even though they were joined, they ran a farm with families
00:43and lived in two homes taking turns every few days.
00:46In and Jan died in 1824, but their family lives on.
00:50Today, they have more than 1,500 descendants.
00:53Some have become well-known working in U.S. politics.