World's oldest conjoined twins, Five

The truth is that sideshows have given way to TV and computer screens; we feed our appetite for the outlandish in cyberspace, not at the fairground.

Inside The Box - The World's Oldest Conjoined Twins

Extraordinary people: World's oldest conjoined twins, Five

Straddling these eras was the gently touching tale of Donnie and Ronnie Galyon, aged 57, truly Extraordinary People: The World's Oldest Conjoined Twins (Five). The senses have been numbed by a plethora of The Man With A Tree For A Head type shows but Kerry Brierley told the Galyons' story with rare sensitivity.
Donnie and Ronnie have spent their entire lives facing each other, joined at the base of the sternum down to the pelvis. They spent three decades as a sideshow attraction, the best way their father could find to support his family of nine. But, refreshingly, they had nothing but fond memories of the experience: it made them feel special.
There was a slightly spurious 'trip of a lif

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etime' drama sub-plot as the brothers achieved their ambition to see the Dallas Cowboys.

But what this was really about was the power of love: the brothers' grudging affection for each other and the love they shared with devoted younger brother Jim, who cared for them every day while holding down a full-time job. The lack of self-pity on show was humbling.