We usually approach the items in our Mondo Bizarro category with a certain amount of playfulness, but some events defy any attempts to be humorous. On Monday an actual two-headed, un-Photoshopped baby was born in Anajas, Brazil to 25-year-old Maria de Nazare (which would translate to Mary of Nazareth). The mother received no ultrasounds during her pregnancy, and only learned of the infant’s condition minutes before the birth.
Despite the surprise, the new arrival has been welcomed into the de Nazare family with an outpouring of joy. Named Emanoel and Jesus, the children cannot be separated and will live their lives conjoined. It’s difficult yet to predict how long those lives will be—another pair of Brazilian twins fused in exactly the same way died earlier this year due to lack of oxygen to one of the heads—but thus far doctors say these children are healthy, managing to functionally share heart, lungs, and digestive tract.
Whether one, both, or neither twin controls the body’s movements is a question for the future. And of course, beyond that, you have to wonder what happens when one twin hogs the Xbox 360 or one of them decides to go Vegan, but here’s hoping they actually get the chance to have those arguments. Because somewhere down the line we think maybe, just maybe, Emanoel and Jesus can teach the rest of us a little something about ourselves.
Update: The British television show Bodyshock reported that the twins died aged six months.
