Doppelganger comes from Germany, where
doppel means
double and
ganger is a
walker, that is, a person who looks like you. If you encounter your doppelganger, recent
scientific evidence indicates that you probably have similar genetics.
We all have hair in the same area of the body and the same number of limbs, eyes, nose, and so on. With 8 billion of us living on the same planet, it's only to be expected that some will have physical counterparts.
Let's take someone at random. Say, the writer Ernest Hemingway, who passed away around 60 years ago.
In 1977 an International Imitation Hemingway Competition began in Harry's Bar and American Grill, Century City, California. The winner got two round-trip tickets to Florence, Italy, and dinner for two at Harry's. Not sure why, for the
Harry's Bar where Hemingway drank was in Venice. The contest is now held at Sloppy Joe's in Key West, where he frequented for a dozen years when he lived there. Actually, there are/were three SJ's, one in Havana, and he went to all of them.
He
drank virtually anything, but imbibed a lot of gin, and especially scotch and soda. Had four wives, was mentally ill, and at the age of 61, killed himself with a firearm, just like his father.
According to Wikipedia, there were more than 24,000 entries only in the first ten years of operation. In the 11th, HB&AG closed, so the contest was moved to Harry's in San Francisco, then to Key West. The latest competition was won by Jon Avuil (left) over 124 contestants.
The whole point of the above is that there similarly could be thousands of individuals who look like you in the world. However, in
2015 Teghan Lucas of Australia calculated that two people matching up exactly in eight key facial features is one in a trillion. Even if you include the 100 billion
Homo sapiens who have ever lived, the odds are then low that anyone ever looked exactly like you. Yet, according to Lucas, there is a one in 135 chance that someone kind of looks like you somewhere on Earth. So maybe there is hope for you.
But what are the chances of you seeing your double? Probably low, except that today you have search options. What about Facebook? Has worked for some. Here are 8 online tools at your disposal:
If you look like Abraham Lincoln or Mary Todd, and you want to be dazzled in a sea of doppelgangers, at 11AM on Saturday, October 1, 2022, go to the 51st annual Lincoln Days Celebration in Hodgenville, KY, the birthplace of our 16th president. Both Abraham and Mary look-alikes will be selected. A bit more than physical, for contestants need to spend three minutes doing something related to them. Winners get $125 each.
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Doppelganger comes from Germany, where doppel means double and ganger is a walker, that is, a person who looks like you. If you encounter your doppelganger, recent scientific evidence indicates that you probably have similar genetics.
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