They never met before – and, as far as they know, they are not related - but Sara Nordström from Sweden and Shannon Lonergan from Kerry could be twin sisters. Thanks to social media, images of the two strangers have gone viral after they met via the online project twinstrangers.com
The website, run by a Dublin-based company, allows people to upload images of themselves, highlight their features, and send messages to people they think look like themselves.
Sara, a high-school student from Örebro in central Sweden, signed up and spotted a photo of 21-year-old Shannon Lonergan, a business student from Co Kerry.
But when Lonergan didn’t reply the website administrators, amazed at the similarity, arranged for the two young women to meet in Ireland.
A video on YouTube shows what happens next.
“It felt a bit surreal,” said Ms Norström, “a bit like looking at yourself.”
Ms Lonergan agreed, saying it was scary how “incredibly alike” they were.
She admitted she was a little frightened – in a good way – at seeing the images and “a little sick” before their meeting.
“When I saw Sara standing there my heart literally jumped into my mouth,” she said. “We have exactly the same ears, lips, expressions, pout, smile, it’s just weird. As I spent more time with her I noticed how our expressions and ways of moving were exactly alike.”
The similarity goes beyond looks and expressions: both enjoy sports and both sets of parents own furniture shops.
“Shannon’s Dad thought we could both be his daughters which was kind of crazy. He was definitely a little freaked out!” said Ms Nordström, who admitted it is easier to bond with someone who looks like you, even if you grew up 2,500km apart.
The two hope to stay in contact and become friends – either online or in real life.
“I know we’ll stay in touch,” added Ms Lonergan. “The experience was one in a million!”