Why the Fascination? - Myths About Twins

WHY THE FASCINATION? What the fascination over twins is I honestly do not know and I am not quite sure scientist themselves can tell you. One thing I am sure of is the curiosity dates back thousands of years to before even Christ was born. The Bible talks about a set of twin brothers named Esau and Jacob that were born 800 years before Christ. They are quite possibly the first known recorded set of twins. The mystery of twins has even found its way into Greek Mythology, Apollo and Artemis are twin brother and sister who were gods. So you see throughout time twins have been a topic of curiosity and mystic. Since 1970 twin births has been on the rise and continue to climb.

MYTHS ABOUT TWINS; There were those who believe that twins are a rare and special propagate and therefore felt certain that gods and heroes were twins. The Greeks and Romans were two such cultures who believed this. The Greeks even named a constellation or group of stars after twin brothers Castor and Pollex. This constellation was called “Gemini” meaning twins. Greeks also believed that the twin sons of Zeus, Amphion and Zethus founded the city of Thebes. The Romans had a similar belief about the twin brothers Romulus and Remus. Their father was Mars, the God of War; and their mother was Rhea Silvia, a vestal virgin and daughter of the King, Numitor. The two brothers were well known for their constant arguing with each other. Romulus wanted to build a city on the Palatine Hill, and Remus wanted to build a city on Capitoline Hill. Each brother ultimately built their own city like he wanted and where he wanted. Remus and Romulus continued to tease one another until the two cities went to war. Romulus won this war and became king of this new city called Rome.

FACTS ABOUT TWINS; Twins are complex and mesmerizing! Twin birth bestows instant celebrity on their parents, especially the mother. There are two types of twins, fraternal and identical. Fraternal twins are produced by two separate eggs that are each fertilized by two separate sperms. This results in two separate embryos with different genetic make-up. Forty percent of fraternal twins born today are male and female. Identical twins are the result of a fertilized egg dividing in two and producing two embryos with the same make-up. The probability of producing fraternal twins is about 12 out of a 1000, and identical twins are about 4 out of a 1000. In 2000 there were 118,916 twin births, so the chance of having twins is 3 percent according to Keep Kids health.com, Vincent Iannelli, M.D., F.A.A.P. According to Professor Charles Bocklage of East Carolina University, 1 out of 8 conceptions begin as twins, but for every twin born 10-12 pregnancies result in single births.

TWIN BIRTHS ON THE RISE AND WHY; Since the early 1970s twin births have more than doubled. Since 1980 twin births have risen 76% and 47% since 1990. The rate has slowed down between 2005 and 2009. For every 1000 births there are 33.2 twin