Two baseball players have the same name, height, and surgery scar. A DNA test revealed the truth.

A surgery mix-up led a pitcher to discover his exact doppelganger on another team.

By

Adam Albright Hanna

By

GOOD Staff

Dec 5, 2025

By Adam Albright Hanna and GOOD Staff

December 5, 2025

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Photo credit: Canva – Baseball player at the plate waiting for the pitch

The odds of meeting someone with your exact name are relatively high. The odds of that person also being a minor league baseball pitcher who stands exactly 6-foot-4 with red hair, a red beard, and thick glasses are astronomically low. But for two men, both named Brady Feigl, this statistical impossibility is their real life.

The two pitchers look so similar that they have baffled teammates, fans, and even medical professionals for years. The resemblance is so uncanny that Inside Edition eventually stepped in to conduct a DNA test to see if they were actually long-lost brothers.

The two Bradys first became aware of each other’s existence through a bizarre medical mix-up in 2015. Both players underwent the exact same elbow procedure—Tommy John surgery—performed by the exact same doctor, Dr. James Andrews.

Brady Feigl and Brady Feigl each recently took a DNA test.

The results confirmed they are not related and there is, in fact, a glitch in the Matrix. pic.twitter.com/CWHEY1Bbhd— Dan Clark (@DanClarkSports) January 12, 2023

“I was probably six or seven months out of surgery and their office called our trainer and said, ‘Hey, when’s Brady reporting for surgery? Is he getting down here tomorrow?’” the younger Feigl recounted to The Clarion-Ledger.

The confusion was immediate. “He was like, ‘He had it six months ago. What are you talking about?’” Brady explained. “That’s how I found out there were two of us.”

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The identity crisis continued in 2017. As reported by the New York Post, the University of Mississippi’s baseball team accidentally tagged the wrong Brady Feigl in a birthday tribute on Twitter. The pitcher had to jump in to correct the record, replying, “Wrong Brady Feigl… Might be looking for @bfeigl39…”

Finally, in 2019, the pair decided to settle the mystery once and for all. Inside Edition brought the two men together to swap stories and spit into test tubes. The question on everyone’s mind was simple: Were they separated at birth?

Brady Feigl, doppelgangers, baseball, DNA test, virtual twins, Tommy John surgery, Inside Edition, genetics, coincidence, lookalikes — Brady Feigl in February 2019. InsideEditionu00a0viau00a0Wikimedia Commons

The results were anticlimactic yet fascinating. The test revealed they were not related in any way. They did, however, share a very specific ancestral link. “It says I’m 53 percent Germanic Europe,” one Brady noted, a trait shared by his counterpart.

Despite the lack of a biological bond, the two men formed a friendship over their shared absurdity. “We’re still brothers in a way I guess,” one Brady said. The other agreed: “And we’re always going to be Brady Feigl.”

While their case is extreme, science suggests it isn’t unique. A study published in the journal Cell Reports and highlighted by Smithsonian Magazine examined “doppelgangers” who look alike but aren’t related. Researchers found that many of these lookalikes share common genetic variations.

As Manel Esteller, a geneticist at Spain’s Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, explained to Gizmodo’s Ed Cara: “These pairs are therefore like virtual twins.” For the two Brady Feigls, “virtual twins” is the perfect description for a coincidence that defies the odds.

This article originally appeared last year.

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Exploration, Science

Humans nearly vanished 800,000 years ago, revealing a quiet truth: most family lines disappear

Your lineage is one of the few that never broke.

Mark Wales

4/24/2026

There was a moment in human history when our entire existence may have desperately clung to a thousand or so people. A DNA-based study found that between 800,000 and 900,000 years ago, our ancestors experienced a severe population crash.

This wasn’t humans dealing with a giant meteor like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs. It was a much slower stretch during which humanity teetered on the brink of disappearing completely. This bottleneck in the human gene pool, comprising roughly 1,280 breeding individuals, lasted about 117,000 years.

Removing representation of a human population group.
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Human population levels plummet

According to Scientific American, the study analyzed modern human genomes to piece together what the early human population looked like. By constructing a complex family tree of genes from present-day humans, researchers were able to identify important evolutionary events.

During the Early-Middle Pleistocene, a period within the Ice Age, humans faced severe weather and intense glacial cycles. Most human ancestors may have died out, clearing the path for a new human species to take their place.

Focusing on Africa, the study showed that 813,000 years ago, human populations began to recover and grow again. With an estimated two-thirds of genetic diversity potentially lost, traits like brain size appear to have been among the important features that survived. “It represents a key period of time during the evolution of humans,” population geneticist and study co-author Ziqian Hao said. “So there are many important questions to be answered.”

DNA genome sequences.
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Understanding evolution and ancestry

What we know about evolution reveals a different story than a simple, continuous line of human improvement. Over time, genetic lines disappear—not dramatically all at once. It’s a slow and steady change, generation after generation.

Human existence isn’t inevitable. Species strength or technical advancement doesn’t guarantee the future or explain our past. It’s contingent on narrow, accidental circumstances. A 2021 study showed that human evolution is better seen as a continuous flow of incremental fragments over time. Categorizing people into races and groups oversimplifies human history.

A diverse group of wooden figures.
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What does the bottleneck study say about us?

The study reveals humanity didn’t simply decline; it nearly collapsed. With over 98% of our genetic diversity erased, entire branches of the human family tree permanently ceased to exist.

It’s quite possible that if even a few more of those genetic lines had ended, human history could have vanished with them. Most branches of life don’t continue. What we witness today reflects biological persistence and countless moments that could have gone another way.

A 2024 study conducted five billion simulations, revealing that as a species’ population shrinks, its risk of extinction rises. Even stable groups can quickly collapse if their numbers suddenly drop low enough.

A 2025 study found that small populations erode genetic diversity. Isolation increases inbreeding and elevates the risk of extinction. Once a lineage shrinks, recovery becomes vastly more challenging over time. Long-term survival is an exception, not the guiding rule.

Humanity likes to think of itself as the result of an incredibly unique progression. Perhaps studies like these suggest that we are actually what remains when everything else disappears. The reason any of us live today comes down to a small group of ancient outlasters: persevering individuals whose genetic lines are the building blocks of every human living today.

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Photo credit: University of St Andrews/YouTube – Sperm whales headbutting.

Exploration, Science

Researchers capture sperm whales headbutting on camera, validating what sailors have said for centuries

“It’s exciting to think about what as-yet unseen behaviours we may soon uncover”

Mark Wales

3/27/2026

For centuries, sailors have told wild tales of whales ramming ships. Reports of a sperm whale smashing and sinking the Essex in 1820 inspired Herman Melville to write Moby-Dick. Scientists had never witnessed it themselves—until now.

Researchers have captured the first-ever drone footage of sperm whales headbutting each other. During fieldwork off the coast of the Balearic Islands, they recorded three separate incidents between 2020 and 2022.

Drone footage captures sperm whales headbutting

The new study was published in the journal Marine Mammal Science. Using drones, researchers from the University of St Andrews, the University of the Azores, and Asociación Tursiops captured video evidence of sperm whales headbutting. They found that most of the whales were young, immature males. In one incident, a young male circling near a female suddenly charged and slammed into her, knocking her off course. After the impact, she broke away from the group and did not return.

The researchers estimated impact speeds ranging from 1.8 to 8 miles per hour, with collisions generating forces of up to 20 tons of pressure. The impacts captured on video were not necessarily considered aggressive. In fact, researchers believe the behavior reflects rough play or forms of mock combat. Similar behaviors can be seen in other mammals, like dolphins and lions.

A depiction of Moby-Dick.
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Observations of sperm whale behavior

Using their large heads, sperm whales have been reported by whalers to strike and move objects since the 19th century. “It was really exciting to observe this behaviour, which we knew had been hypothesised for such a long time, but not yet documented and described systematically,” said Dr. Alec Burslem, lead author of the study.

“It’s exciting to think about what as-yet unseen behaviours we may soon uncover, as well how more headbutting observations may help us to shed light on the functions the behaviour may serve,” Burslem added.

Documented, unprovoked attacks on humans by sperm whales are exceedingly rare, with most occurring during historical whaling incidents. Research indicates that sperm whales do not naturally exhibit aggression toward humans. While they can be curious, they often avoid vessels and observers. Historical accounts of whales ramming ships are likely defensive reactions rather than predatory attacks.

A sperm whale.
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Language and cultural identities

Whales use clicks like letters, combining them into sequences that function like words in a complex form of communication. A 2024 study found that sperm whales use a highly sophisticated communication system with structures resembling a phonetic alphabet. These audio cues are used for coordination, caregiving, and social interaction.

A 2022 study found that specific click patterns serve as symbolic markers that help establish cultural identities within sperm whale pods. Researchers identified seven distinct clans, each with its own unique dialect. This provided quantitative evidence of whale social structures known as identity codas.

Studying this new drone footage offers fresh insights into whale social groups and behavior. While the headbutting may look aggressive, researchers interpret it as rough play. With technologies like drones giving scientists unprecedented access to these interactions, it’s exciting to think of what discoveries are yet to be made.

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Photo credit: Canva – (L) A man gives a thumbs up; (R) An eviction notice

Exploration, Science

Study reveals startling truth: Intelligence lowers our empathy toward other people

“Smart people care less about moral judgements.”

Mark Wales

GOOD Staff

3/27/2026

A recent study conducted on adults in the UK found that people with higher cognitive ability scored lower on moral foundations. The study, published this summer in the journalIntelligence, sought to gage people’s response to the Moral Foundations Theory based on their overall intelligence. After two different studies, no difference was found between genders, but a person’s intelligence revealed a different story.

The research suggests that analytical thinkers tend to override their baseline moral intuitiveness. But what does that actually mean? First, cognitive ability refers to problem solving, abstract thinking, memory, logic, language comprehension, and basic critical thinking. This isn’t only IQ, but a person’s ability to process and apply their knowledge. Think of it as a living scholastic aptitude test (SAT.)

Man embraces a sunset. Photo Credit: Canva

After testing to rate cognitive ability, subjects were then tested against The Moral Foundations Theory. The idea behind the theory is that, despite different cultures and populations, people tend to follow a similar set of themes and intuitive ethics. The theory follows six core ideas: care, equality, proportionality, loyalty, authority, and purity.

Surprisingly, the results of the tests found that people with higher intelligence found the moral foundations to be less important.

Care

Care has to do with the virtues of kindness, gentleness, and nurturing. This is the foundation of empathy. By feeling connected and emotionally attached to the community, people gain purpose and a strong feeling of belonging.

Equality

Symbols for equal diversity. Photo credit: Canva

Always a hot topic on the political playing field, equality looks to create fair circumstances. The idea is all people have equal opportunity and treatment. Communities offering equality have reduced resentment and foster a cooperative environment where people feel respected and included.

Proportionality

This concept is based on fairness and merit. People should get what they deserve and be treated by what they do, not just who they are. What you put in, you get out. This is a driving principle underlying a core belief of this country: that anyone can achieve most anything if they are willing to put in the work. Many would argue for its merit while others would call it wishful thinking.

Loyalty

Hands come together. Photo credit: Canva

This is another popular topic of political leaders and followers. We are tribal by nature and greatly benefit from a feeling of belonging. Sacrificing the individual wants for the needs of the group, this is one of the foundational cornerstones of building communities.

Authority

Leader in front of group. Photo credit: Canva

Authority encompasses the concepts of hierarchy and respect for traditions. Research shows we are genetically programmed to seek a social hierarchy. As much as many fight to climb to the top, feeling a part of the system is often enough to supply someone with a great amount of emotional security.

Purity

Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase, “Your body is a temple.” The ideal is expressed through self-discipline, self-improvement, and spirituality. Striving to be noble and less carnal, people try to be the best version of themselves. The moral advancement and the elevation of the social consciousness of the community is believed to have incredible value.

These core values are believed to be inherent in all people, but are they? At least according to this most recent study, the more intelligent you are, the less you might care about them. However, author and literary genius Leo Tolstoy once famously claimed that kindness is one sure sign of a highly intelligent person and other studies back up his views. Maybe when it comes down to it, it depends on the person.

This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.

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