About Twins The modern day word 'Twin' is derived from an ancient German word 'Twine' meaning
'two-together'.
Gemellology is the term for the scientific study of twins.
'Twin talk', 'Twin speak' or the medical term 'Cryptophasia' is a peculiar language developed by identicial twins that only the two children could understand. The word has its roots from 'crypto' meaning secret and 'phasia' meaning speech disorder.
57 Children!
Peasant Kirilow was presented to the Empress of Russia in 1853, at the age of seventy years. He had been twice married, and his first wife had presented him with 57 children, the fruits of 21pregnancies. She had quadruplets four times, triplets seven times, and twins thrice. By his second wife he had 15 children, twins six times, and triplets once. This man, accordingly, was the father of 72 children, and, to magnify the wonder, all the
children were alive at the time of presentation. Source:Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine published 11-12-1996
85 Children!
At the age of eleven years, Margarita Goncalez, whose father was a Biscayian, and whose mother was French, was married to her first husband, who was forty years old. By him she had 78 boys and 7 girls. He died thirteen years after the marriage, and, after having remained a widow two years, the woman married again. By her second husband, Thomas Gchoa, she had 66 boys and 7 girls. These children were all born in Valencia, between the fifteenth and thirty-fifth year of the mother's age, and at the time when the account was written (1585) she was thirty-five years old and pregnant again. Of the children, 47 by the first husband and 52 by the second were baptized; the other births were still or premature. There were 33 confinements in all. Source:Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine published 11-12-1996
87 Children!
Herman, in some Russian statistics, relates the instance of Fedor Vassilet, a peasant of the Moscow Jurisdiction, who in 1872, at the age of seventy-five years, was the father of 87 children. He had been twice married; his first wife bore him 69 children in 27 accouchements, having twins sixteen times, triplets seven times, and quadruplets four times, but never a single birth. His second wife bore him 18 children in 8 accouchements. In 1872, 83 of the 87 children were living. Source:Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine published 11-12-1996
Athletics
In 1999, Sergio Motsoeneng decided to boost his chances of victory in the lucrative Comrades ultra-marathon in South Africa by getting his twin brother, Sefako to take over for part of the 87-kilometre race. But they forgot one crucial detail … they wore watches on different wrists, and thus the scam was exposed.
Black and White Twins
When Kylie Hodgson gave birth to twin daughters by caesarean section, she was just relieved that they had arrived safely. It was only when the midwife handed them over for her to hold that she noticed the difference between them. Remee, who weighed 5lb 15oz, was blonde and fair skinned. Her sister Kian, born a minute later weighing 6lb, was black.
(Photo Gary Roberts)
The odds against of a mixed race couple having twins of dramatically different colour are a million to one. Skin colour is believed to be determined by up to seven different genes working together.
If a woman is of mixed race, her eggs will usually contain a mixture of genes coding for both black and white skin. Similarly, a man of mixed race will have a variety of different genes in his sperm. When these eggs and sperm come together, they will create a baby of mixed race.
But, very occasionally, the egg or sperm might contain genes coding for one skin colour. If both the egg and sperm contain all white genes, the baby will be white. And if both contain just the versions necessary for black skin, the baby will be black. For a mixed-race couple, the odds of either of these scenarios is around 100 to one. But both scenarios can occur at the same time if the woman conceives non-identical twins, another 100 to one chance.
This involves two eggs being fertilised by two sperm at the same time, which also has odds of around 100 to one. If a sperm containing all-white genes fuses with a similar egg and a sperm coding for purely black skin fuses with a similar egg, two babies of dramatically different colours will be born.
The odds of this happening are 100 x 100 x 100 - a million to one. Source: Daily Mail 2 March 2006
The World's Oldest Twins Who Ever Lived
The oldest twins ever documented are Eli Shadrack and John Meshak Phipps (USA) born on February 14, 1803 in Affington, Virginia. Eli died on February 23, 1911 at the age of 108 years; his brother John died on December 10, 1916 at the age of 113. The chance of identical twins both reaching and surpassing the age of 100 is about 1:700,000,000 (one in 700 million).
The World's Oldest Triplets Who Ever Lived
The longest-lived triplets ever recorded were Faith, Hope, and Charity Cardwell (USA) who were born on May 18, 1899. Faith died first on October 2, 1994 age 95 years 137 days.
The World's Oldest Living Triplets
Marjory Skeaping (neé Scott), Sheila Botterill (neé Scott), and David Scott (UK) have been verified as the world's oldest living triplets. They were born in Edinburgh, SCOTLAND on May 19, 1920. Curiously, their Uncle, Aunt, and their Mother's First Cousin also celebrate their birthdays on May 19th.
The World's Oldest Living Quadruplets
The oldest quadruplets were The Ottmans (GERMANY). Adolf, Ann-Marie, Emma, and Elisabeth were born on May 5, 1912. All four quads lived to the age of 79. In November 2000, there were 992 sets of quadruplets worldwide. Identical quads are quite rare - only about 20 sets worldwide.
Tallest Female Twins in The World**
Heather & Heidi Burge - 6' 4 and 3/4
They were born in 1971, Palos Verdes, Calif -
Tallest Male Twins in the World**
Michael & James Lanier
7' 4 born in Troy Michigan
Shortest Twins in the World**
John & Greg Rice
2'10 - reside in West Palm Beach, Florida
Longest time a twin has remain undiscovered**
7/97 - a fetus was discovered in the abdomen of a 16 year old - Hisham Ragab
of Egypt. A swollen sac found pressing against his kydney turned out to be
his 7 inch long, 4lb, 6oz identical twin
Longest Lived Conjoined Twins**
Chang & Eng Bunker from Siam (now Thailand). They were born 5/11/1811 and
they passed away within 3 hours of each other at the age of 63 on 1/7/1874
Ronnie & Donnie Gaylon are the oldest living male conjoined twins. They are
47 years old and live in Ohio. For 36 years they traveled in shows,
carnivals and the circus. They retired in 1991.
Heaviest Twins**
Billy and Benny Crary - Hendersonville, NC
They were normal in size until they were 6 years old. In 1978 Billy was 743
pounds and Benny was 723 pounds. Their waist measurement was 7 ft.
Largest Multiple Birth**
1971 - Dr Gennaro Montanino from Rome-Italy, claimed to have removed 15
fetuses from the uterus of a 35yr old woman after 4 months of pregnancy. A
fertility drug was responsible for these Quindecaplets.
**Source Guiness World Records 2000-Millennium Edition
