May 11: Chang and Eng Bunker

Chang and Eng Bunker, famous co-joined twins were born on this date in 1811. 10 things you might not know about them.

1. They were born in a floating house in a small fishing village about 45 miles south of Bangkok, Thailand. Back then, Thailand was known as Siam – this is where the term Siamese Twins comes from.
2. Even though they were born in Thailand, Chang and Eng Bunker weren't Siamese at all – their mother was half Chinese and half Malayan and their father was Chinese.
3. People back then were very superstitious and religious – people said the twins were the work of the devil, and even the midwives who attended their birth shrank back in horror, leaving their mother to disentangle them from the umbilical cord herself. As children, they were not only bullied but blamed for a cholera epidemic which killed 30,000 people, including their father and several of their siblings. Later on, a woman in America had co-joined twins and blamed the fact that she'd seen a photo of Chang and Eng while she was pregnant.
4. One day, they were spotted by a British merchant named Robert Hunter while they were out swimming. At first, Hunter thought he was looking at some strange animal, but quickly realised it was two boys. He could see they'd be a massive attraction at side shows and persuaded their mother to let him take them to America. Despite the superstition, Thailand was reluctant to let the boys go – it took five years to get them out. The then king of Siam only agreed to let them go, it's said, when an American captain called Abel Coffin bribed him with a troupe of dancers and a Telescope.
5. Chang and Eng were connected by an appendage made up of ligaments and cartilage, below their breastbones. Their mother encouraged them to exercise so that this appendage stretched to 13cm/5in, which would allow them to swim and do gymnastics. They became quite skilled at gymnastics – their signature act was walking on their hands.
6. There is a story that the twins fought in the US Civil War, on opposite sides, and took each other prisoner and an army court had to decide who had captured who. This isn't true – it was a comic story by Mark Twain. Eng was called up by the rebels, but Chang refused to join, so they were both let go. Two of their sons did fight, however, for the Confederates. They even owned some slaves. The media spread rumours that they treated their slaves badly, but they actually treated them well and risked the death penalty by teaching their slaves to read and write.
7. In due course, Chang fell in love with a woman called Adelaide Yates. She had a sister, Sarah, who in time, fell for Eng. They were married in a double ceremony but since their marital relations had to involve three or four people in a bed many people denounced the marriage as scandalous. Nevertheless, the two couples had 21 children between them.
8. None of their children were twins. There are 1,500 or so direct descendants alive today and the family tree does include 11 sets of twins, although none were co-joined. The first twins in the extended family were Eng's great grandsons, who were named Chang and Eng.
9. Like any siblings, they had their differences of opinion and sometimes argued. Eventually, they bought a second house so that each twin could have a home that matched their personality. They had a schedule whereby they'd spend three days in each house and one twin would make all the decisions while they were living in his house. One difference was that Chang enjoyed a drink and Eng didn't like his brother much when he was drunk. The tale that if Chang drank, Eng got drunk as well was a myth, but it was at those times that they'd have their most serious arguments.
10. The twins died in 1874, at the age of 62. Eng woke up one night to find that his brother was dead. He died just two hours later. It's sometimes said that Eng died of fright after seeing his brother was dead, but a more likely explanation was that their blood supply was connected through the appendage and after Chang died, Eng's blood was pumped into Chang as usual, but he didn't get it back and died from blood loss.

NEW!

Killing Me Softly

Sebastian Garrett is an assassin. It wasn’t his first choice of vocation, but nonetheless, he’s good at it, and can be relied upon to get the job done. He’s on top of his game.

Until he is contracted to kill Princess Helena of Galorvia. She is not just any princess. Sebastian doesn’t bargain on his intended victim being a super-heroine who gives as good as she gets. Only his own genetic variant power saves him from becoming the victim, instead of Helena. 

Fate has another surprise in store. Sebastian was not expecting to fall in love with her.

Available on Amazon:

Paperback

E-book