Who’s your double?

Ever had someone tell you that you bear a striking resemblance to someone else? More than likely, it is someone well known and depending on who it is; you are either flattered or wonder if the person, who made the comment, needs to have his/her eyes checked.

When it’s someone with good attributes and so on, many people are flattered. Note that we are talking about physical resemblances here. But what happens when you would rather not be compared to a particular person or would not like to highlight that resemblance, faint as it may be? Or what if you don’t see the resemblance at all?

We are sure that many of you have been told, at one time or the other, that you resembled someone else.

And we are not talking here about someone trying to flatter you by saying that you resemble this good-looking person just because he or she wants to get something from you, but people who actually believe that you bear a resemblance to someone else.

Have you ever been mistaken for someone else, or hailed a stranger whom you mistook for a friend or relative? It has happened to us and sometimes with embarrassing consequences; at other times the hilarity of the incident leaves everyone rocking with laughter.

There are some people, who seem to spot these resemblances quite quickly even though another person might not see it, try as they might. Ever went with someone to see a baby for the first time and the person exclaims right off the hook “he/she looks just like his/her mother (or father)” and you are frantically looking for any resemblance because to you the baby looks just like… well, a baby. Sometimes in particular cases, you can see a resemblance right away, in others try as you might, you cannot even though others say that there is a resemblance.

Then there are people who try their utmost to look like another person (mostly a celebrity). We were watching the TV reality show ‘America’s Got Talent’ a while back and there was this person dressed like Britney Spears and bearing a resemblance to her. But it was contrived and make-up was used to emphasize the resemblance.

Some people, when they change certain things about themselves, like their hairstyles can suddenly bear a resemblance to someone else. Others like to think that they resemble someone else and go to lengths to point this out. They really aren’t fooling anyone. Maybe, if we had a lot of drinks in our system and the lighting was at a certain angle, then maybe but you shouldn’t take our word for it.

There are certain personalities in Guyanese society, who it is said look like well known people or characters — Idi Amin, Old Mother Hubbard and Barack Obama. We are not too sure about the Obama one, but that’s what we have heard.

There are also persons, who by virtue of an outstanding facial feature, make one think of someone or something else, not always flatteringly. Did you read the article about the study that showed dogs and their owners grow to resemble each other? Ouch! What breed of dog do you have, again? A bulldog?

Then there is the other one that says; “enemies, as well as lovers, come to resemble each other over a period of time”. In that case, can we just be friends so that there is no possibility that I am ever going to resemble you? (thescene@stabroeknews.com)