Unlike most siblings and twins, Jim Springer and Jim Lewis have the same first name, not last. The Jims were separated right after birth and adopted by families who turned out to be very much alike (not only because they both named their sons James).

So began their lives apart, and 39 years later, we learn the truth about how the brothers lived their lives. Growing up in separate homes, the two both knew about each other. Springer thought his brother didn’t make it through birth, while Lewis was simply not interested in meeting his other half.

However, in 1977, everything changed. Lewis, 37 at the time, decided to look for his brother, and found Springer’s name through a courthouse where he lived. The two spoke on the phone, but were both too nervous to wrap their heads around it, so they agreed to meet. In 1979, the bond between two brothers was finally back, and if you ask both Jims, it was the most memorable day of their lives.

Although not all twins are alike, Jim and Jim found out that they actually led very similar lives, even though they spent 37 years apart. Springer and Lewis grew up a mere 45 miles apart, both in Ohio, and both had favorite family dogs named “Toy”! Wait, that’s not even the creepy part. Both Jims were married twice – once to a woman named Linda, and to women named Betty the second time around; both Springer and Lewis had children, including sons called James Allen; both drove Chevrolets, were appointed sheriffs in different Ohio counties, and were chain smokers.

The Jim twins, as they are now referred to, were the perfect subjects for studies in behavioral sciences. Specifically, Dr. Thomas Bouchard of University of Minnesota conducted a study on the reunited twins. The results were so similar for the brothers that it could’ve easily been the same person taking the test twice. Everything else, including medical histories and brain-wave tests, were also near identical.

This case of identical twins separated at birth is often used as a part of the nature vs. nurture debate. In other cases, the Jim twins are used as evidence supporting telepathic connections between twins. All we know, at this point, is that the two are connected in a myriad of ways.