Courtesy of Caitlin HartsellAs long as life has existed on earth, there have been twins. Twins are something of a common phenomenon, appearing frequently enough to be exempted from the ‘freak of nature’ category, but not often enough to escape endless fascination.
Twins have been the feature of countless movies and television shows; we have Mary-Kate and Ashley to thank for gaining a new appreciation of the phrase “two of a kind.” “Full House” snuck two sets of twins onto their set. Famous twins attract a special kind of limelight, capitalizing on the fact that – as the “Sister, Sister” tagline goes – “We look the same, but we’re different.”
As a twin, I have found myself parroting Tia and Tamara’s line more often than I’d like – this is despite the fact that my twin sister and I don’t look the same at all. The most frequently asked question: “Do you look the same?” Then, “Are you guys best friends?” “Do you like the same things?” “Why didn’t you go to school together?”
My twin sister and I are fraternal; that means I invariably disappoint my inquisitive friends when they start a twins-themed round of 20 questions, especially when they find out that my sister and I have never even tried to switch places. Contrary to the assumptions, however, most twins cannot switch places, because only ten percent of twins are identical. Genetically, the other 90 percent of twins only share about 50 percent of their DNA – the same percentage that is shared among brothers and sisters.
Identical twins hit closer to that mark. They result when one embryo splits in two and share the same genetic material; they end up looking very similar, if not exactly the same.
The question of silent communication among twins is often posed. This phenomenon of a “secret language,” called cryptophasia, tends to exist among babies, and often happens (much to the dismay of parents) when the babies are alone in their crib or playing by themselves. This incidence seems to manifest itself in grown-up twins as well, although it is not a documented phenomenon. Freshman Julia Keighley often experiences this connection with her twin brother.
“Sometimes I [would] be singing a song in my head and my brother would walk into the room [and] be singing it out loud. I would ask him, ‘Why are you singing that song?’ but there isn’t usually a reason. This happens frequently,” she said.
Researchers and twins are quick to verify that growing up in such immediate proximity with someone who, in some cases, looks exactly like you, forges a bond that extends beyond siblinghood.
Keighley recalled early memories of this closeness.
“When [my brother and I] were babies and still slept in the same crib, though [our mom] would place us at opposite ends of the crib when we fell asleep, by morning we would always be cuddled up right next to each other,” she said.
Senior Jess Friedman, an identical twin, also experiences this connection with her sister.
“We’ve spent so much time together that we argue over who had which nightmare when we were younger – it’s so vivid that each of us thinks it’s hers,” she said.
Being an identical twin, Friedman encounters another kind of link with her twin. “When one of us.looked in the mirror as a little kid, we thought it was the other one,” she said. “This still happens to me sometimes.”
With the secret languages and instinctive closeness that comes from being a twin, and the fact that twins themselves can get mixed up, one has to wonder just how similar twins really are. There is no question that physical similarities affect the perception of twins; many attest to the fact that people tend to view twins as a single unit.
“I think people often view us as a set instead of individual people,” said senior Patti Jo Jaiyeola, whose twin sister Diana also goes to Wash. U.
Hartsell encountered a similar reaction throughout her childhood. This perception can have sticky results: “When we were little, people felt like they had to invite both of us to everything,” she said.
This poses an interesting problem: how are you supposed to know the right way to treat twins? Are they better off experiencing the endless typecasting of being “inseparable,” as so many twins have? Do most twins actually feel that way? And how, when it comes time to actually grow out of those matching clothes, do twins attain individuality?
Friedman found herself reacting against the constant closeness she and her twin experienced growing up.
“Instead of trying to figure out where I fit into all of the social stuff, I focused on differentiating myself from [my sister] Kaitlin,” she said.
Hartsell noticed that the school environment also worked its way into this quest for individuality. “Even if neither one acknowledged it, everything in school was always a contest to see which twin could do better.”
The solution some twins reached was to go to different schools, sometimes to avoid competition, but often because they were looking for different things.
“We didn’t necessarily separate on purpose,” said Keighley. “We both looked for what was right for us.”
With this idea of separation comes the realization that no two people are exactly alike. The Jaiyeolas realized they were living examples of this fact early on. “We have totally different personalities and interests,” said Patti Jo.
“I was always more athletic and played soccer and track while [my twin sister] Meghan was into theater and singing,” said Hartsell.
For Keighley, the differences are a little more obvious. “The fact that we [are] different sexes definitely makes us more different.”
The issue of similarity, however, is not always black and white.
“I think in terms of our natures, we are very similar,” said Keighley. “I say things sometimes that are so much like him, I feel like he could have said them.”
For many twins, the difficulty is in striking the right balance between the undeniable similarities and those distinguishing characteristics that make each part of the pair unique.
This problem, however, is not without accompanying benefits. There is a certain advantage in having a constant companion, even if it gets exasperating. When it came to the best part about being a twin, virtually everyone had the same opinion.
“It’s like a built-in best friend,” said Hartsell.
For Friedman, the feeling is sentimental, yes, but true. “She’s my best friend and the only friend I’ve had for such a long time.”
Jaiyeola echoed that sentiment. “I always have someone to chat with who knows me better than anyone else in the whole world.”
The benefits extend to the curious friends, too, when they get to meet ‘the other half.’
“They sound the same!” was a common reaction from Friedman’s friends. “About 10 minutes into [meeting my sister], people are rolling their eyes because we’re laughing about the same thing, in the same way.”
So, is being a twin all it’s cracked up to be? As Lord Byron said, “All who would win joy, must share it; happiness was born a twin.” And it’s something Keighley would like to repeat.
“I honestly think it has been a great experience in my life and if I could, I would want to have twins.”
By now, we don’t need to ask why. “I don’t remember [hardly] any lonely times in my childhood,” she said. “The best part about being a twin is having a friend always by your side.”
Twin fun facts
Compiled by Indu Chanrasekhar
– “Twin” comes from the German word “twine,” which means “to wind together.”
– Two to three percent of the world’s population are twins.
– In the Yoruba and Hausa tribes in Africa, the frequency of twins is five times higher than in the rest of the world.
– Twins and multiple births occur most frequently in African cultures and least frequently in Asian cultures.
– Boy-girl twins are the most common, making for about 40 percent of all twins.
– Female fraternal twins are more common than male fraternal twins.
– Identical twins are less common, accounting for about 10 percent of all twins. Male identical twins are the least common.
– Twins typically stay in the womb for 37 weeks, three weeks shorter than the average term.
– The frequency of twins has increased 50 to 60 percent over the last 25 years, due to women having children later in life and the increased use of fertility treatments.
– There is a higher instance of left-handedness among twins – 18 to 22 percent; that is almost twice that of the worldwide frequency – 10 percent.
– Most twins are both right-handed; about 20 percent are one of each. Two left-handed twins are incredibly rare.
– Despite the corresponding fame, the frequency of conjoined, or Siamese, twins is one out of every 200,000 births, or just 0.0005 percent.
– Every year, over 90,000 people gather at the Twins Day Festival in Twinsburg, OH.
– In the United States, at least 150 of identical twins are married to identical twins.
– The current Prime Minister and the President of Poland are identical twins.
– A certain species of armadillo naturally gives birth to two sets of twins every gestation cycle.
– Twins are found among the best and worst of us; Aaron Carter, Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder), Liberace, Fred and George Weasley, Jose and Luis Mendez and Jenna and Barbara Bush have all shared the womb, the spotlight and our hearts.