>>> TWO SETS OF IDENTICAL TWINS SHARE ONE INCREDIBLE AND PERHAPS UNPRECEDENTED STORY. ONE BROTHER FROM EACH SET WOUND UP GOING HOME WITH THE WRONG FAMILY. THIS HAPPENED WHEN THEY WERE NEWBORNS. THEY ALL STAYED AT THE SAME HOSPITAL IN COLUMBIA. STAY WITH ME. CARLOS HERE WENT HOME WITH JORGE AND, IN TURN, THAT MEANT THEIR TWINS, WILLIAM AND WILBUR, THEN GREW UP TOGETHER. THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE FRATERNAL AND NOT IDENTICAL. THIS IS A DOUBLE CASE OF SWITCHED AT BIRTH. A FRIEND RECORDED THE MOMENT WHEN ONE PAIR OF IDENTICAL TWINS MET ONE ANOTHER FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME. [ SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE ] >> HOW WILD IS THIS? THE STORY MAKES FOR A FASCINATING CASE OF NATURE VERSUS NURTURE. WITH ME NOW IS THE MAGAZINE'S EDITOR-IN-CHIEF JAKE SILVERSTEIN. JAKE, THANK YOU FOR JOINING ME AND THANK YOU FOR BRINGING FRUIT BECAUSE WE NEED VISUALS IN THIS KIND OF STORY. THIS IS A SITUATION OF TWO SETS OF TWINS SEPARATED AND SWITCHED. >> THAT IS RIGHT. IT'S VERY HARD TO FOLLOW. THIS STORY IS CONFUSING SO I HAVE FOUND IN EXPLAINING THE STORY THAT A VISUAL AID OF SOME KIND HELPS. AND SO YOU EXPLAINED IT PRETTY WELL WITH THE PHOTOGRAPHS AT THE OUTSET. YOU HAVE TWO SETS OF IDENTICAL TWINS, JORGE AND WILLIAM, AND THEY ARE BORN -- ONE THING YOU DIDN'T GET INTO IS HOW DIFFERENT THE ENVIRONMENTS WERE THAT THEY WERE BORN IN. THEY WERE BORN WHERE THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE BORN, IN BOGATA IN THE CITY. THESE GUYS OVER HERE, CARLOS AND WILBUR, FROM A RURAL PART OF COLOMBIA, THE HOUSE THAT THEY ARE FROM, NO RUNNING WATER OR ELECTRICITY. YOU HAVE TO WALK THROUGH THE MUD TO EVEN GET THERE FOR MILES. THEY GET SWITCHED LIKE THIS AND SO THESE GUYS GO HOME TOGETHER AND THAT'S WHERE OUR STORY KIND OF BEGINS. >> I WAS GOING TO GET TO FACT THAT ONE SET ENDED UP AT THE RURAL FARMLAND THINKING THEY COULD HAVE GROWN UP AND GONE TO SCHOOL IN BOGATA. >> RIGHT. >> THIS WHOLE THING CAME TO LIGHT AS A TOTAL COINCIDENCE AT A GROCERY STORE? >> THAT'S RIGHT. WHAT HAPPENED IS THESE TWO GUYS -- THE TWINS -- THIS IS WILBUR AND THIS IS WILLIAM. AND THEY ARE RAISED IN THE COUNTRYSIDE. THEY MOVED TO BOGOTA. THEY BOTH END UP WORKING AS BUTCHERS IN A GROCERY STORE IN BOGOTA. JORGE WORKS AT LIKE A PIPING COMPANY. HE WORKS IN THE PIPING DEPARTMENT OF A NATURAL GAS COMPANY AND SOMEBODY HE WORKS WITH GOES INTO THEIR BUTCHER SHOP AND CESEES WILLIAMS AND SA WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU WORK IN PIPING? AND HE'S LIKE, I'M WILLIAM. AND SO TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT -- BECAUSE IT'S QUITE A LONG STORY -- >> "NEW YORK TIMES" MAGAZINE. >> THIS SUNDAY. THEY GET A PHOTOGRAPH OF WILLIAM, THE BUTCHER, AND SHE BRINGS IT AND SHOWS IT ON HER PHONE TO JORGE, HER CO-WORKER. HE THINKS THAT'S CRAZY AND THEY LOOK AT WILLIAM'S FACEBOOK PROFILE AND JORGE SEES ON WILLIAM'S FACEBOOK PROFILE THAT WILLIAM HAS A BROTHER THAT LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE JORGE'S BROTHER. >> OH, MY GOODNESS. IDENTICAL TWIN, NOT JUST FRATERNAL TWIN LIKE I THOUGHT FOR MY 20 SOMETHING YEARS OF LIFE. WE SHOWED THE VIDEO AND ONE WAS SAYING, I DON'T KNOW IF I WOULD HAVE RATHER FOUND OUT THIS WAY OR WALKING DOWN THE STREET AND SEEING THE MIRROR IMAGE OF MYSELF. THE OTHER FASCINATING PIECE OF THIS MASSIVE ARTICLE IS THAT ABOUT -- HOW DID YOU PHRASE IT TO ME? TWINS -- THE TWINS RESEARCH. AND WE TALK A LOT ABOUT NATURE VERSUS NURTURE. THE QUALITIES ARE SO SIMILAR EVEN THOUGH THEY GREW UP SO SEPARATELY. >> THIS CAME TO US FROM A WOMAN NAMED NANCY SEAGUL, A RESEARCHER AT CAL STATE FULLERTON. SHE'S WRITTEN BOOKS NOT JUST ON TWIN RESEARCH AND STUDIES BUT REARED APART TWIN STUDIES. THAT IS TO SAY, TWINS -- IDENTICAL TWINS RAISED APART AND REUNITED TO SEE HOW SIMILAR ARE THEY. IT WAS A FASCINATED FIELD MENTORED BY A GUY WHO TAUGHT AT MINNESOTA UNIVERSITY AND HIRED THIS FIELD WITH THE STUDY OF TWO IDENTICAL TWINS, JIM AND JIM FROM OHIO WHO IN 1979 RECOVERED EACH OTHER. THEY WERE 39 YEARS OLD AND HAD TREMENDOUS SIMILARITIES. THEY VACATIONED AT THE SAME BEACH, ALL OF THIS >>> SO ALL OF THIS TWIN SCIENCE IS WOVEN THROUGH THIS ENTIRE PIECE, JUST FINALLY AND I'LL LET YOU GO. ARE THEY BITTER? >> IT'S INTERESTING. >> TO ME THE HEART OF THIS STORY ARE THE TWO BROTHERS RAISED IN THE WRONG PLACE. ON THE ONE HAND YOU HAVE CARLOS, WHO HAD A LOT OF BENEFITS, RAISED IN THE CITY, HE WAS ABLE TO GO TO NICE SCHOOL, ET CETERA. HE SOMETIMES WONDER, CORING TO OUR STORY, WOULD I HAVE THE SAME LIFE IF I HAD HAD A MUCH HARDER UPBR UPBRINGING, I THINK WRM FEELS BITTER HE MISSED OUT ON CERTAIN OPPORTUNITIES. HE NEVER GOT TO KNOW HIS MOTHER. THESE GUYS' MOTHER DIED THREE YEARS BEFORE THIS CAME OUT. ON THE OTHER HAND, THE FOUR OF THEM ARE NOW ALL KIND OF LIVING TOGETHER, LIKE ONE BIG CRAZY FAMILY. WHEN JOSE COMES HOME
That's crazy. I have a brother, and I couldn't imagine finding out one day that my brother was actually a lime.
Who is this 4Chan?
"This story is really quite confusing, so we brought in 2 lemons and 2 limes to help!"
No, no it was quite easy to understand CNN tha- ....oh...okay youre going to continually pick up lemons and limes as we refer to all 4 participants. Ok then.
I remember reading the New York Times article last year. It is an amazing read, but also really sad because you can see how the socio-economic disparity between the families has led to the class difference between twins.
Here is a video about the other twins (Jim and Jim) mentioned in OPs link.
I was a twin - was told my brother died at birth. Not a day goes by that I dont wish I ran into him by coincidence and find out it was all a lie.
Damn, this would be a great set up for a short story.
It's always weird hearing about Colombia because that's where I was born, but living in Florida, I feel like no one has anything nice to say about either. I honestly hope these guys are actually living in the same place like the story implies at the end
I wonder if they can sue the hospital for the mix up. I imagine legal issues aren't the same down there as they are in more developed countries.