Marilyn's Photos - May 31st 2025 - Twin Things

 

Things about twins.  I found out last week about mirror twins - from Harry who ran Cole's Garden Centre - he has a twin and they are mirror twins.  I had no idea there was such a thing.  Here's the definition:  "The term mirror twin is used to describe a type of identical, or monozygotic, twin pairing in which the twins are matched as if they’re looking into a mirror — with defining characteristics like birthmarks, dominant hands, or other features on opposite sides."  How do they figure this out?  It is usually the twins who do. And then the CBC had an interview with an identical twin who spoke on the phenomenon of disputed memories - where the twins argue over who experienced a particular event.  There are many studies and articles on the subject.  This is a subset within the false memory phenomenon.  Who would guess such research areas.  What about this study?  "Twenty sets of twins disputed a total of thirty-six events, twenty-one of which were only discovered to be in dispute during the study." There are lots of "interesting" facts about twins - with more than 11 million identical twins with us today, they've been studied quite a bit.   Given so many twins are about, what are the possible good jokes to enjoy? There seem to be a lot of puns, but not accompanied by humour as in: We’re not just siblings; we’re twiblings! Twintuition: when twins think alike. Twinning is the ultimate form of synchronized living. And so on. Let's take a peak in the shop at the Strasburg Railway.

Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

July 6 2024 - Twin Facts

 

Twins usually are born one after the other and so on for multiple births.  Here are some of the circumstances that occur: Twins born minutes apart - on different days Twins born minutes apart - on different days, different months Twins born minutes apart - on different days, different months and different years The longest interval between the birth of twins is 90 days.   One was born on January 1st and the second on March 30th, 1996.  There are a few times that such long stretches have happened in the U.S.  Did you know that two children born within 12 months of each other are derogatorily  called Irish twins. That's an historical saying when the Irish Catholics emigrated to the U.S. For three born 3 years apart Irish triplets.  I guess it could go on.  Here are the "Short-and-Sweet Quotes About Twins" Definition of twin: two bodies, one heart Born with a built-in bestie Twins are double the work and double the joy BFF: Born Forever Friends Twins are a wish that came true twice And there are the twin jokes: My sister had twins, a boy and a girl, and asked for help naming them. She liked my suggestion of calling the girl Denise, but had second thoughts when I suggested calling the boy Danephew. Amal and Juan are identical twins. Their mom only carries one baby photo in her wallet. Because if you've seen Juan you've seen Amal.     This is the Ontario Regional Lily Show this weekend.  Here's one of the really pretty pink lilies, Elodie.

Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Aug 24 2020 - Beyond Twins

 

What about twins?  Yesterday's post was about the most celebrated twins - conjoined.  We know about identical and fraternal.  What else is there? Mirror image This is a subtype of identical twins that happens when the egg splits 7 to 12 days after fertilization, instead of during the first week. By this time, the growing embryo has already developed a left and right side. These twins are identical but mirror images of each other.  For example, their hair may spiral in opposite directions, their teeth may start coming in on opposite sides of their mouth, and one may be right-handed while the other is left-handed.  Parasitic - fetus in fetu and cardiac twins Parasitic twins are a kind of conjoined twin where a smaller twin is dependent on a larger one. The smaller twin isn’t fully formed and may not have vital organs such as a fully formed brain or heart. The small twin can form anywhere on the other twin’s body and appear as anything such as a small unnoticeable lump, a second nonfunctional head, or extra limbs attached to random body parts. Semi-identical  This type is the result of two separate sperms fertilizing a single egg. To survive, this egg must then split into two with each half having exactly the right number of chromosomes.There have only been two reported cases of semi-identical twins Boy/girl monozygotic (identical) In very rare cases, identical twins can be different sexes. These twins begin as identical male twins. Like all males, they both have XY sex chromosomes, instead of XX like all females do. Very soon after the egg splits in two, a genetic mutation causes one twin to lose its Y sex chromosome, changing it to X0. This mutation is called Turner syndrome. Since there’s only one X chromosome, the twin looks female but has developmental difficulties starting at birth and fertility problems later in life. The other baby isn’t affected. I had no idea there were so many variations on the theme of twins.  Our scientific knowledge now is significant and the science of twins seems like science fiction.  Our social interest in twins is long-standing and to pursue this and meet thousands of twins, we would go to Twinsburg in Ohio. It was named by identical twin brothers Moses and Aaron Wilcox.  Each year there is a twin festival - the next one is August 6 - 8 2021.   You can meet thousands of twins in Twinsburg. Today's image comes from a street festival in The Kingsway 10 years ago - what if Elvis was a twin?

Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com

Aug 23 2020 - Twin Stories

 

I saw a picture the other day that was strange - it was a person with two heads and one body.  I thought it was a photoshop creation.   No it is conjoined twins.  They have received media coverage since birth in 1990.  I've missed out on the story of Abby and Brittany growing up in Minnesota.  Don't worry - we can catch up as the news media and BBC have covered this often.  They had their own reality series at one point.  There are documentaries. They have graduated from Bethel lUniversity and are primary school teachers.  They drive a car. They have their own birth certificates, drivers licenses and passports.  They receive one paycheque between them. What distinguishes conjoined twins - previously known as Siamese twins? Conjoined twins develop from a single fertilised egg and are therefore always identical and of the same sex It is unknown why the embryo does not complete the process of separating into identical twins  Records over the past 500 years have shown around 600 sets of conjoined twins survived infancy - more than 70% of these were female Despite medical advancements, surgical separation remains rare There is great curiosity about what anatomy is shared and separate. This is covered in detail in the Wikipedia entry HERE.  And there now are stories of separating conjoined twins. The results are more successful today given how far medical knowledge and techniques have come. One can read about 7 living conjoined twins in the world today.  The oldest were Ronnie and Donnie Galyon from Beavercreek, Ohio. They were 68 years old when they died a few years ago.  Currently the oldest are Lori and George Schappell born in 1961.  George initially was Dori and identified as male, so changed his name.  A tragic pair were Ladan and Laleh Bijani born in 1979.  Their tragedy was that they had different personalities and wanted to separate from childhood.  They convinced a neurosurgeon from Singapore to perform the operation, involving 28 surgeons, but they died hours after separation.  Given the strange topic I thought I would conclude with a calm, pleasant picture of Koi at Royal Botanical Gardens in the Mediterranean Greenhouse pond.  Soon the building will be open to visitors and they will be happy to have company again.

Read past POTD's at my Blog: http://blog.marilyncornwell.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca