Paul Olson., age l4., Of San Diego, Calif.., for his question:

How did the term siamese twins arise?

Eng and Chang were born in 1811. Their parents were Chinese and they were born in the land of Siam which we now call Thailand. The little boys were identical twins and their bodies were joined together at birth. Their mother was one of those splendid women who refused to be daunted by hardship. True, her boys were handicapped but she set about training them as much as possible for normal lives. The little boys even learned to swim.

The courage of the mother and her two sons attracted wide attention and the handicapped twins from Siam toured the world. Chang and Eng lived their almost normal lives for 63 years and the example of their courage will be forever. Because of them, twins joined together at birth are called siamese twins.