The “Jim Twins”
An Interesting Test in
Nature vs. Nurture
The Jim Twins were separated at four weeks old
and adopted by families living forty-five miles
apart in Ohio. Coincidentally, each was named
‘Jim’- one Jim Springer, the other Jim Lewis.
Apparently, each had been told he was a twin,
though one had been informed that his twin
brother had died. They were reunited at the age
of 39, and eventually interviewed and tested at
the University of Minnesota. There, Thomas
Bouchard studied over 300 twins pairs, 44 of
which were identical twin pairs that had been
raised apart.
It was discovered that the Jim Twins
• Both drove the same make and color of Chevrolet
• Both chain smoked Salem cigarettes
• Both drank the same brand of beer, Miller Lite
• Both compulsively bit their fingernails
• Both had hemorrhoids, migraine headaches and high blood pressure
• Both worked as deputy sheriffs
• Both had mechanical drawing workshops in their basements
• Both had vacationed at the same beach in St. Petersburg, Florida
• Both built benches around the trees in their yards
• Both had an adopted brother named Larry
• Both had a dog named Toy
• Both married a woman named Linda, got divorced and married a woman
named Betty
• Both had a son; one named James Alan, the other named James Allan
• Both scored almost identically on measures of personality, sleep patterns and
intelligence
Follow-up Questions
• What more would I need or want to know to make a
judgment as to the value of these striking similarities?
• Statistically speaking, how truly rare are such parallels?
• Were those who studied twin pairs at the University of
Minnesota perhaps influenced by confirmation bias?
• Were differences between the twins systematically noted?
(The Jim Twins did have different haircuts, and one had
been married a third time, to a woman named Sandy)
• Is there a genetic predisposition to name your dog ‘Toy’?