Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy and can either be identical or fraternal. Twins seem to be quite the mystery to people on the outside looking in.
But twins aren’t as rare as you might think. As many as one in 30 babies born in the United States is now a twin. According to a report by the National Center for Health Statistics in 2012, the birth rate of twins in the U.S. rose 76 percent from 1980 to 2009 and the number of twins continues to multiply. This could be influenced by the fact that more women over 30 are having children and using fertility drugs or assisted reproductive technology, and as many as 1 in 3 women who use fertility treatments may become pregnant with twins.
There are more interesting facts about twins that probably would surprise you like identical twins do not have identical fingerprints, Massachusetts has the most twin births of any state in America, or that tall women are more likely to have twins. For those of you who are amazed and curious when it comes to everything twin-related, here are some twin confessions to give you a sneak peek into what it’s like to have a doppelgänger.
1. One of the most interesting things about twins is that regardless of how alike they may appear physically, oftentimes their personalities couldn’t be more different. Regardless of their differences in character, most people who have a twin will say there isn’t another bond quite like it.
2. Another perk of having a twin? Apparently, stealing their pictures to help your dating life. There’s already enough reason to question the validity of people’s profiles on dating apps, now we have to worry about twins tricking us too!
3. Some twins are identical and some twins are fraternal but what’s for sure is no set of twins are the same. In this instance, one twin was born deaf while the other was not, and because many people tend to focus on the similarities between twins it may be difficult for one twin not to resent or have feelings of jealousy towards the other.
4. Again, this person shows that the difficulty of being a twin is often due to the fact that people automatically pair them together, tend to focus on their likenesses and ultimately think of them as the same person. This can prove difficult to one half of the pair when trying to discover their own identity and grow into their own person. Sometimes, a twin can manage to navigate this problem and avoid it while others need to distance themselves from their twin in order to find themselves.
5. I don’t know that there is much of an explanation for this one… It’s one thing to forget a partner’s birthday, a parent’s birthday or even a friend’s birthday, but someone who shares the same birthday as you?!
6. One of the downsides of being a twin, especially if the two of you are identical, is the fact that there’re no escaping seeing them… not even when looking at yourself in the mirror.
7. Another common argument between twins is whether or not the twin that was born 2 minutes before the other is actually “older.” Personally, we think calling yourself the older sibling while only having two extra minutes of life experience is a stretch, but it tends to be a valid argument among many twins (particularly in heated arguments).
8. Twin imposters, otherwise known as twinposters, are everywhere. Never trust an identical twin who starts acting a little funny, because chances are it’s not actually them!
9. Unlike the movie Parent Trap would have us believe, this confession argues that sometimes, having an identical twin you can switch places with could be a curse just as much as it is a blessing…
10. Ah, the irony that comes with identical twins who attempt to criticize each other’s looks. If you find a flaw in your identical twin that you’re tempted to point out in a moment of anger, think about it a little harder before you actually decide to use it.
11. Another fun feature that comes with being a twin is the ability to mess with people. Not only can you switch places to fool teachers, friends, and even partners, you can make really sarcastic jokes when strangers ask if you and your doppelgänger are *gasp* twins.
12. At the end of the day, the positives far outweigh the negatives when it comes to twins. Whether it’s the ability of switching places or on a deeper level an unbreakable bond, there’s nothing quite like having a twin to help you navigate your way through life.
