Conjoined twins Brittany and Abby Hensel reveal details about how they get paid and people are seriously confused
Topics: Reality TV
Jen Thomas
Featured Image Credit: Facebook/Josh Bowling
Topics: Reality TV
Conjoined twins Brittany and Abby Hensel regularly educate people about what life is like for them, and it often raises questions many people wouldn't think of.
The sisters are dicephalic parapagus twins, and were one of the first sets of conjoined twins to survive infancy, and they share one body.
The twins share some of the same organs, including their bladder and reproductive organs, but have their own brain, heart, stomach and lungs, and they are joined at the pelvis.
Each sister controls one side of their body, with them using their coordination to play piano and drive a car and Abby has recently got married.
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However, they have come across conflicting opinions over whether they can share items or if they need their own.
For example, they each have a separate driving license, as they were required to pass their test separately despite sharing limbs, because the state of Minnesota needed them both to have their own license.
Brittany revealed: "Abby does the pedals and the gear shifter. I take over the blinkers and the lights. But she likes driving faster than me."
They attended Bethel University, graduating with a degree in education in 2012, but each of them had to get their own diploma.
Now aged 34, the twins work as teachers in a primary school, specialising in teaching maths to year 5 and 6 students.
Despite having to both pay for their college education, it was revealed that they only receive one salary for their work as a teacher.
The twins said when they first accepted the job they were OK with the single salary as they were ‘doing the job of one person'.
However, in 2013, Abby said to the BBC they they were hoping to negotiate.
"Maybe as experience comes in we’d like to negotiate a little bit, considering we have two degrees and because we are able to give two different perspectives or teach in two different ways."
Brittany agreed: "One [of us] can be teaching and one can be monitoring and answering questions. So in that sense we can do more than one person."
Fans of the sisters shared their confusion at the arrangement, writing above a post which confirmed they both had to pay for college but only get one salary: "What type of scam is this…"
However, another X user argued: "Two brains are benefitting from university, but they share one body and can only output as much as one worker."
"2 brains got educated, but only 2 hands can type on the computer," insisted another, while one argued: "They are two people. Two incomes."
"I would think it depends on the job. Just like learning is a mental thing, and having two minds makes sense for two tuitions, if their work is primarily physical, or dependent on physical capability, then I get one income. If their work is mental and doesn't require physical activity, then they should get two income streams," said one commenter.
Another asked: "Do Abby and Brittany have two Social Security numbers? How would taxes work? Aren't they considered 2 people or do employers just consider them one out of greed?"
Hopefully they'll get a pay rise soon.