Perhaps this man, and others like him, would benefit from a lesson on the differences between fraternal and identical twins. In order to do that I'll need to go into the science of it a litle. Identical twins are always either two boys or two girls. They develop when one fertilized egg splits into two separate embryos. Usually they share a placenta and are in the same sac but this is not always the case. Although they are not *exactly* the same, their DNA is very similar.
Fraternal twins, however, can be two boys, two girls, or one of each and they come from two separate fertilized eggs. They each have their own placentas and sacs.
One of the couples we met at Costco has 4 year old twins- a boy and a girl. We were talking about the confusion many have between fraternal & identical twins when she told me she'd been asked before if her twins are identical. The last time I checked there are distinct differences between boys and girls. Anyone who has ever changed a diaper would know this.
3 comments:
So Rob is an identical twin and I always have people tell me, "Watch out...you could have twins too!!" Um, no. Identical twins are just something that randomly happens in development. And fraternal twins are passed down on the mother's side.
It's fun being married to an identical twin. Our kids and his brother's are genetic half siblings...just with a different mother. Also, just using DNA, one could be convicted of a crime that the other one comitted. Hopefully we don't have to worry about the last one!
Ha! That's so funny. I always run into a bunch of other twins at Costco too. And yes, it seems that so many people don't really understand the identical/fraternal thing.
Okay so I'm a little late on this comment seeing that you already have another post... but I had to share this little tidbit:
My step-sister Jamie had monoamniotic twins, really dangerous pregnancy, on bedrest FOREVER, and quite a miracle that they both survived and are fine. So people tell her all the time that the girls don't really look alike, is she sure they are identical? People will even tell her that maybe they are fraternal and she just thinks they are identical because they are both girls. People are you serious? They can only end up in the same sac if they have split from one egg. It makes her laugh, but I do have to say I think your boys look more alike than her identical twins do! Good job educating people though, maybe there will be one less person running around now clueless about twins!
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