TWIN FACTS
- Twins are two children born of the same pregnancy. Identical twins (monozygotic) come from one fertilized egg that splits in two to form two babies who have the exact same genetic makeup. Fraternal twins (dizygotic) come from two separate eggs fertilized by two different sperm and are as alike as two siblings born at different times.
- Twins do not have identical fingerprints.
- Massachusetts has the most twin births of any state in America.
- Mirror image identical twins have reverse asymmetric features
- Identical twins do not always have the same genetics
- Some conjoined twins can feel and taste what the other one does
- Forty percent of twins invent their own languages.
- After digging up the birth records of more than 59,000 women between 1800 and 1970, University of Utah researchers found that moms of twins tend to live longer than moms without twins
- If you’ve ever heard stories about families with multiple sets of twins there’s a scientific reason for that; the twin gene causes women to release multiple eggs during ovulation, which increases the chances of her having fraternal twins. Since genes are passed on to family members, it’s both possible and even likely that a twin will give birth to twins
- A popular myth surrounding twins is that they have some kind of ESP or special telepathic ability that allows them to read each other’s minds. While no genuine scientific evidence exists to prove the claim, numerous personal accounts by twins describe a unique mental connection
- Some identical twins are actually mirror images of one another. Mirror twins are born with birthmarks on opposite sides of the body from each other, opposite dominant hands, and occasionally, reversed organs. When these twins look at each other, it’s literally like seeing their reflection in a mirror. (Denny and Billy are Mirror Image Twins)
- Billy and Denny once switched classes in High School for one hour. The next day they were called to the office by the principal. The principal told them that it was unacceptable to switch classes and asked us why we did it. Billy said to the principal, “We didn’t switch classes, I saw Denny in the bathroom, so we switched shirts to make it look like we switched classes!” The principal didn’t know what to say except, “Don’t do that again!”
