15 Fun Facts About Twins That May Surprise You 

Twins are like sharing the same soul. They usually share similar thoughts or can read each other’s feelings like magic. However, twins aren’t physically and biologically really the same. Twins are born with different fingerprints and their DNA is unique. In addition, there are so many fun facts you probably didn’t know that are contrary to popular beliefs. If you are having twin family or friends, then this article will tell you some interesting facts about twins. 

Let’s take a look at some fun facts about twins that will blow your mind. We also will reveal some facts and stats based on several studies about this special pair. Whether you are one of the twins or simply an outsider who is interested in twins, this article will surely broaden your knowledge with new insights!

1. Twins Are Always Increasing

The twin birth rate has increased by 70% since 1980, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. At the moment, it is 32.6 per 1,000 live births. Triplets and other higher-order multiple birth rates sharply increased. Why is there a boom in binary births? A woman in her thirties is more likely to have twins than one in her twenties, and as moms have gotten older over time, this trend has also increased the number of twin pregnancies.

Since the usage of IVF has increased and more individuals are having families later in life, there are more twins being born now than ever before. However, because fertility clinics are improving their methods, the rate of twin births might be at its peak right now.

2. Twins Can Be Born Years Apart

Twins with different birthdays are uncommon. Even though it is unusual, twins can be born in different years. When a lady gives birth to twins around midnight, this may normally occur. One example, according to MedStar Washington Hospital Center, resulted in two babies born in 2013 and 2014. Only three minutes separated the twin births, which took place at 11:58 p.m. and 12:01 a.m.

Additionally, it is possible thanks to IVF technology. The son of a Gloucestershire couple has returned to school, but it will be another five years before his twin sister is old enough. This is due to the fact that Reuben Blake and his sister were both born to parents Simon and Jody Blake five years apart, despite the fact that they were both conceived from the same batch of embryos.

3. Twins Can Have Different Dads and Be Different Races

Heteropaternal superfecundation, commonly known as the release of two eggs at ovulation and simultaneous conception by two distinct men. It is a rare but probable occurrence. Actually, according to Hilda Hutcherson, MD, clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Columbia University, 1 to 2 percent of all fraternal twins had different fathers.

Moreover, an improper fertilization method might potentially lead to heteropaternal superfecundation. One especially horrific instance included Dutch parents Wilma and Willem Stuart, who were taken aback when they gave birth to twin boys, one of whom was white and the other black. The couple learned that Mr. Stuart’s sperm had unintentionally been combined with another man’s during the in vitro procedure a year and a half later.

4. Approximately 40% Twins Invented Their Own Language

If you’ve ever seen two young siblings talk casually incomprehensibly to one another, you’ve probably experienced idioglossia. This is an autonomous language frequently developed and shared by twins. In fact, about 40% of twins invent their own languages, according to study in the journal Institute of General Linguistics. 

The researchers contend that even when sounds are completely meaningless, extremely close siblings will occasionally use one another as role models for learning vocabulary. Their distinct language typically vanishes as their vocabulary grows and by the time kids attend school.

5. Twins Start Bonding in Mom’s Belly

Perhaps the reason why twins can understand each other is because they already started their bonding in the womb. Recent 3D ultrasound studies of five sets of twins in the womb were conducted by researchers at the University of Padova in Italy. The researchers first noted that the pairings appeared to be reaching out for one another at barely 14 weeks old, touching head to head and arm to head. They were in physical contact around 30% of the time and were stroking each other more frequently at 18 weeks.

What was even more amazing was how tenderly the fetuses touched the area around their siblings’ eyes. Prior studies have found that a few hours after birth, twins seem to socially connect with one another.

6. Brazilian Twin Town 

The world’s twin capital could very well be the modest South American town of Cândido Godói. In So Pedro, one of the town’s settlements, 8 percent of births from 1959 to 2008 occurred in twins.  However, Cândido Godói is not the only location to draw attention for having a high twin population. When 12 pairs of twins graduated from Baker High School in Baldwinsville, New York, at once in 2010, it broke the Guinness World Record.

Why do there seem to be so many twins? The  recent research by a group of Brazilian geneticists mentioned that a hyper-ovulation gene that makes women more likely to conceive twins is discovered in abundance in the town. According to a set of DNA tests the researchers conducted, perhaps as a result of high levels of inbreeding.

7. Identical Twins Aren’t Exactly Identical

Although identical twins develop from the same egg and receive the same genetic material from their parents, this does not indicate that when they are born, they will be genetically identical. Identical twins differ on average by 5.2 genetic mutations, according to research in the journal Nature Genetics. The tiny genetic variations between identical twins may alter how scientists approach the study of human development.

Along with having unique DNA, twins also have unique fingerprints. In fact, according to the National Forensic Science Technology Center, no two people including identical twins have ever been determined to have the same fingerprints.  Additionally, it’s crucial to keep in mind that each of your fingers has a distinct fingerprint, which implies that fingerprints vary between individuals.

8. Mom Twins Tend To Live Longer

Researchers from the University of Utah discovered that mothers of twins typically live longer than mothers without twins. The data suggest that healthier women have a higher likelihood of having twins, not that having twins is healthy for women. In addition, mothers who have twins live longer, have more children than they should, have them more often and for longer periods of time, and were older when they gave birth to their last child.

The study based of data for 59,000 non-polygamous Utah women who were born between 1807 and 1899, lived to age 50, and married once after 1850 to husbands who were still alive when their wives were 50. Of those, 4,603 of them were twin mothers, while 54,183 only had one child at a time.

9. There Are More Than Two Types of Twins

Do you believe twins can only be fraternal or identical? There are additional kinds of twins, however those are unquestionably the most typical. For instance, you might create identical twins with “mirror image” birthmarks and features called mirror image twins from an egg that is divided into two later than typical. They may have the same birthmarks but on opposite sides.

Your twins may occasionally be born through a process known as superfetation, in which the eggs from two different menstrual cycles are released, fertilized, and then implanted in the uterus. These twins could have different due dates, and in some cases, they could have been born weeks or months apart.

10. You Will Likely Give Birth To Twins Early

With the average twin pregnancy lasting 35 weeks, women who are expecting twins are more likely to give birth early. Moreover, more than 60% of twins are born prematurely. While your unborn children will undoubtedly be healthy, you will need additional monitoring during your pregnancy, and if they are born weighing less than 5 pounds, they may need to spend some time in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Because twins are more likely to experience a stillbirth, they are frequently delivered earlier. According to studies published in The BMJ, it can be up to 13 times greater in twins who share a placenta and 5 times higher in twins who have separate placentas. A placental abruption or placenta previa are two conditions that could cause labor to begin early.

11. Twins Can Affect Each Other’s Sleep For Years

If you have twins or multiples, you might be concerned about how safe it is for them to share a bed at home. Perhaps your twins prefer to sleep next to one another, or you remember from when they were in the NICU that co-bedding multiples has certain advantages. Allowing twins to sleep together may have advantages, but it may have negative effects.

When they are infants, their cries for food in the middle of the night will usually wake the other twin up. Even if they don’t, you will likely disturb the sleeping twin when the other wakes up to eat. Even as older children, even if one twin is utterly exhausted, she probably won’t go to sleep if the other one is up because she doesn’t want to miss anything her twin may be doing.

12. The Longest Time Interval Between Delivering The First And Second Twin

Molly and Benjamin West, fraternal twins born in Baltimore, Maryland, to parents Lesa and David West on 1 January and 30 March 1996 in the USA, had the greatest gap between their births at 90 days. On January 1st, Molly was delivered three months early. However, Lesa’s contractions were stopped so that she could carry Benjamin for as long as she could.

In addition, the average of the first twin and the second twin were delivered vaginally 15 minutes apart. According to Obstet Gynecol Journal, all second twins delivered after 15 minutes did well and showed no symptoms of excessive trauma or poor five-minute Apgar scores, excluding problems generally linked with prematurity.

13. About 25% of Identical Twins Are “Mirror Image Twins”

According to Laura Segal, director of the Twin Studies Center at California State University in Fullerton, around 25% of all identical twins experience the mirror image phenomenon. In other words, they are exact duplicates of one another. For instance, the freckle under the right eye of one person will be under the left eye of the other.

How could this possibly occur? The process begins with a single egg being fertilized by a single sperm, splitting, and continuing as it does with identical twins. The fertilized egg splits in mirror image twins more than a week after conception, which is thought to be the main difference.

14. Most Sets of Twins Born To Same Mother

The family of Russian peasant Feodor Vassilyev would have completely enraged British tabloids in the 18th century if they had existed. The global record for having the most children belongs to his first wife, whose name has been lost to time. In a report to the Moscow government from a nearby monastery, Mrs. Vassilyev is said to have given birth to 16 pairs of twins, seven sets of triplets, and four sets of quadruplets over the course of 27 consecutive labors between 1725 and 1765.

Additionally, in seven years, Barbara Zulu of Barberton, South Africa, gave birth to three sets of females and three mixed sets in 1967–1973. In 1960, Johannesburg, South Africa’s Anna Steynvaait, produced 2 sets in just 10 months.

15. Twins Day Is Celebrated In Twinsburg, Ohio Every Year

Every year, Twinsburg, Ohio, celebrates Twins Day. A few days are set aside annually in the town, which has a population of just under 20,000, to honor “the uniqueness” of twins and multiples. When it was decided that a town named for the Wilcox twins would dedicate one day a year to celebrating twins, the festival had its start back in 1976 as part of the bicentennial celebrations.

Moreover, identical twin pairs wander the town for three days wearing matching outfits as they socialize and bond with one another. Researchers are drawn to the event because it may contain a wealth of human data that may be used for scientific research. Its 47th anniversary was held this summer, on August 5-7, 2022.