The Mysteries and Fascinating Facts on Twins

Twins are a mystical aspect of life that are both fascinating and a mystery involving our very existence here on the planet as these duos enter the world as a matched set with separate DNA. And each year the mystery deepens as there are more then 100,000 sets of twins born in the United States, with the vast majority of them hailing from the eastern states of Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Connecticut. However the title of the most twins born per year in the World goes to the quiet community of Igbo-Ora, Nigeria which holds a current record of twin births at four times the national average.

This data is compiled from a variety of sources including country, state, medical and government vital statistics that are collected from institutions where babies are born and where documentation on the birth is made final. Eventually the information is entered into a data base that can later be used for future studies. The compiled statistics that involve twin births and the possible causes of these multiple births can also later be used for census purposes, surveys, and national averages.

No one single answer sums up a sole reason for twin births, but scientists have concluded that multiple births more than likely come from a few different sources that may involve fertility drugs, heredity, food choices, race and age. One theory derives from several medical studies of women who eat cassava plants (relative of the sweet potato) on a regular basis. The plant contains a chemical found within the peelings and the tuber root which is a big part of the diet of the people of Igbo-Ora, and Nigeria is the World's largest producer of cassava.

According to medical research and government statistics, therapy including assisted reproductive strategies including in vitro, ovulation-inducing drugs and artificial insemination account for a fair percentage of multiple births. According to data provided in the last decade for the U.S. involving twin birth statistics, women over the age of 45 have a one in five chance of delivering twins due to hormonal changes, with the eastern states having a higher percentage of women who wait to have babies until their mid-forties.

According to the 2009 National Vital Statistics Reports, New Mexico is reported as having the least amount of twin births, with Alaska and Arizona following closely behind. One study published by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology correlates the rise in multiple birth rates with rising rates of obesity, and according to the national statistics obesity among the general population is lower within these western states.

Heredity can factor in when it comes to having twins, but this falls under the luck of the draw when you consider that dizygotic or fraternal twins are medically influenced by heredity, and then this occurs only in some cases. General this scientific marvel comes into place when your mother or maternal grandmother was or had fraternal twins. Then and only then will you have possibly inherited a gene for hyper ovulation, which highly increases your chances of conceiving twins as well.

Twins generally fall into a few different categories depending on their birth facts which are commonly known by society as identical twins, meaning that they develop from one zygote that splits and forms two embryos. Then there are fraternal twins which develop from two separate eggs that are fertilized by two separate sperm. The birth of conjoined or Siamese twins occurs in 1 in 50,000 pregnancies, but most can be separated when no vital organs will play a fatal role in the separate body functioning that could occur after surgery.

According to one national study the rise of twin births has risen 70 percent since 1980. With this kind of growth spurt in twin births the possibility of having a set of your own is quite possible, and with these kinds of odds comes double the trouble, as in two sets of everything. Most people expect to come home from the hospital with one baby, but God gave us two arms for holding two babies at one time, so he must have had a sense of humor when it came to giving some parents a bonus baby.

Twins Days Festival, 9825 Ravenna Rd, Twinsburg, Ohio

Twins and multiple births have become so popular that some towns celebrate their very existence on the planet as if it were the most special event in the universe, and perhaps it is according to the residents of Twinsburg, Ohio. The event has been going strong since the very first 37 sets of twins attended the 1976 bash that featured the now famous Revco Marathon, enough food for an Army cooked and served by the local Firemen's Association, and live entertainment from Thunder Chicken.

The annual event has grown extensively and now brings in thousands of sets of twins from all over the nation to march in the "twin double take" parade and compete for cash prizes for different events designed just for twins. The August 2010 Twins Day Event kicked off on the 6th with a golf tournament and raffle. Featured are a 5K race and twin talent show as well as a contest and group photo on the 8th. A registration form for the event is available online or you can register on site. For more information go to http://www.twinsdays.org/

Facts about Twins

The Guinness Book of World Records documented that in the US there are three known cases where parents gave birth to two sets of twins siblings on the same day.

A common misconception is that identical twins are completely identical. Indeed they are very much their own person with separate personalities and physical appearances that can usually be detected by those close to them.

The month of July ranks number one for the conception of fraternal twins.

China has the lowest rate of twin births in the world.

The Guinness Book of World Records lists the tallest female twins in the world at 6'6" sisters, and they are Ann and Claire Recht, of Canby, Oregon.

Twenty-five percent of identical twins are classified as mirror-image twins. Typically one is left handed and the other is right. In my family this holds true for my dad and uncle.

Twins are not fond of negative-positive comparison comments of each other when it comes to physical, mental or personality traits.

A woman carrying twins is considered full term at 36 weeks and 3 days.

The term Polar twins occurs when a woman releases just one unfertilized egg, and then it splits into two, and then each egg is then fertilized by two different sperm. The twins will then have the same genes from their mother, but different genes from their father, which makes them half-identical.

While identical twins share DNA, they do not share identical DNA.

Identical twins are almost always of the same sex. Only a small percentage comes out boy-girl.

Twins can have different birth dates, including the year. This happens when the birth is close to midnight or a delayed interval birth occurs. This can cause the babies to be born minutes, days, weeks or even months apart.

Celebrity Twins

Ashton Kutcher has a fraternal twin brother named Michael.

Diane and Elaine Klimaszewski, the Coors Light twins who born on September 13, 1971. The beauties are also models and actresses that were briefly members of World Championship Wrestling's Nitro Girls.

Justin Timberlake has a twin sister named Laura.

Mary-Kate and Ashley Fuller Olsen are famous fraternal twins who are both actresses and successful business women.

Tamera Darvette Mowry and Tia Dashon Mowry Hardrict are famous identical twin sisters and actresses.

Scarlett Johansson has a twin brother Hunter who People.com named as one of the sexiest single men of 2008.

Robin and Maurice Gibb are twin brothers and part of the singing sensation; the Bee Gee's.

Tiki and Ronde Barber are twins and double trouble on the football field.

Kiefer Sutherland has a twin sister Rachel who prefers being behind the camera post-producing.

Vin Diesel has a fraternal twin brother named Paul who is a film editor.

Electra and Elise Avellan of the Babysitter Twins" of Grindhouse fame.

Gisele Bundchen has a fraternal twin sister named Patricia who also models and manages her famous sister.

Shane and Sia Barbi, identical twin sisters born April 2, 1963. They are models known as The Barbi Twins, but have recently become health and fitness authors along with being animal activists.

Alanis Morisette has a twin brother named Wade that is a yoga instructor and a musician.

Celebrities with Twins

Sarah Jessica Parker had twin girls, Marion and Tabitha on June 22, 2009.

Angelina Jolie gave birth to boy-girl twins, Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline on Saturday, July 12, 2008.

Rebecca Romijn gave birth to twin girls, Dolly Rebecca Rose and Charlie Tamara Tulip on December 28, 2008.

Jennifer Lopez had boy-girl twins, Max and Emme in February 2008.

Marcia Cross gave birth to fraternal twin girls, Eden and Savannah on February 20, 2007.

Julia Roberts gave birth to boy-girl fraternal twins, Hazel and Phinnaeus, in November, 2004.

Lisa Marie Presley gave birth to Finley and Harper on October 7, 2008.

Dennis Quaid and wife Kimberly Buffington became parents to boy-girl twins Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace on November 8, 2007. Ironically Quaid played the parent of twin girls in The Parent Trap.

Laura Bush gave birth to twin girls, Barbara and Jenna Bush, born in 1981.

Jane Seymour became mom to twins Johnny and Kris in 1995.

Egyptian queen Cleopatra had boy-girl twins, Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene.

Tracy Pollan, wife of Michael J. Fox gave birth to twins Aquinnah Kathleen and Schuyler Frances on February 15, 1995.

Beverly D'Angelo gave birth to twins Anton and Olivia Pacino on January 25th, 2001.

Country singer Loretta Lynn, models Niki Taylor and Cheryl Tiegs, television journalist Jane Pauley, actress Cybill Shepherd, and "Iron Lady," Margaret Thatcher all gave birth to twins.

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