Identical twin sisters Elizabeth and Eleanor (not their real names) say that when they entered the world on November 19, 1939—Elizabeth first, then Eleanor 8 minutes later—their mother was rather shocked. She’d been expecting just one baby, not two. But that day, she made a vow: The girls would always be treated the same, so that there would be no competition between them.
Their mother was true to her word. As children, Elizabeth and Eleanor wore the same outfits in the same colors, shared school classes, and had the same group of friends. “We were treated like a unit—more like one person instead of two separate individuals,” says Elizabeth.
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