OT: Anna-my twin consultant

Hey Anna-

My Mom & I were talking today about twins and were curious about a few things. Be my 'twin consultant' and answer this if you know (Oh I'm sure you know everything about twins ) She said that the Olsen twins are fraternal. I didnt think she was right bc I think they look very alike to me and she said she seems some differences and that identical twins always look exactly alike (except for obvious things like hairstyles, weight gain etc). Is this true? Are you an identical twin bc I remember you saying you have a fuller face than your sis..My Mother's way of explaining it would not allow that with identical twins would have a fuller or thinner face (naturally I mean, not by weight gain). Don't fraternal twins always look different enough that people hardly believe they are twins? Of course I know frat can be same sex or opposite sex but...anyway you can see what i'm saying.

Also..I got curious and I know that twins have that twinship, that bond unlike any other. Does there tend to be a 'dominant twin'? LOL this all started b/c I was at her apt with Luke and she was watching Who wants to be a Millionaire and it was apparently twins week. With one set of twins, the one brother was always looking at the other, kind of for the final approval. Double-LOL: When I got to her apt, I just came from school and my Human Growth and Development class - I guess I was in the mindset the analyze it.

Goofy questions I guess but I got really curious


edited to add: my Mother was saying that one of the Olsen twins is a righty and one's a lefty - I don't know how she knows so much about them

Not Anna either (obviously ), but I had a twin in my class who looked EXACTLY like his brother, but they were fraternal. I would have sworn on a stack of bibles that they were identical, but their mom told me they were from 2 seperate eggs.

Interesting twin story...
I have a twin in my class this year who has a different birthday than his identical brother. One was born before midnight on February 28th, and one was born after midnight on March 1st. On leap years they are 2 days apart! I thought that was cool.

Liz,

Not silly questions at all. My sis and I are identical and we have almost always looked identical. To the point that when I look at childhood pictures, I dont know which one is me. But if I stare at it long enough, I can see the rounder face is me, and the longer face it my sister. Even though we have the same DNA (isnt that amazing ???), I think its impossible for 2 people to look completely completely identical. I have seen many sets of twins (we went to the Twins restaurant years back for a party - all twins!) and some were SOOO identical. Meeting twins for the first time is outrageous, mind boggling how identical they can be, but after you get to know them, you will note differences. So yes, they are identical, but I think there will always be suttle differences that only the immediate family will see more....

I have known many fraternal twins that just look like siblings. Different hair color, eye color, height, etc.

As far as the bond. My sis and I do have that bond unlike any other. If I have to explain something to her, I can use the stupidest, craziest ways to describe it (that I can do with no one else) and she would get it ! Anyone else would be like 'HUHHH ????' its like talking to myself ! As far as one being more dominant...hmmmmm.... I think we are both similar in alot of ways, yet different in alot of ways.
I think it has alot to do with life's experiences, and we look to eachother for things that the other has had more experience with. and if one of us is arguing with my mother, my mom knows not to try to get the other one on her side, because it just wont happen . Its hard to pinpoint if one is more dominant. We both have strong personalities, but we do have different characteristics...

Edited to add-Jenn thats soo cool about the different birthdays !!! My sis and I MUST spend the day together on our birthday, no matter what is going on in life. MUST MUST MUST. period !
When we were working, we took the day off. Have never worked on my birthday. Refuse!

Did I answer all your questions ?? Ask away !

Another twin question:

I know one Olsen twin is right handed while the other is left handed. Is this possible with identical twins?

Thanks!

Edited to say - Sorry Elizabeth - didn't notice you said the same thing!

Suz- Almost every set of twins I have ever met is one lefty, one righty. Including my sister and I.
I am lefty, she is righty. I have heard of this being referred to as 'mirror image' twins, but I think there is alot more to 'mirror image' twins than just handedness...
Also, my mom said that all 4 of us (we have 2 older brothers) were 'born' lefties, and she switched everyone over to righty (it was the 'proper' thing to do in the 70's ) and I was the only one who refused and remained lefty. So is my sister really a righty ??
I wonder about those things. Kids should be left to write as they feel comfortable right ??

Thanks for the info Anna. The whole topic has me intrigued - I did some reading up on the Olsen twins (LOL! Shoot me now...I have no life!!!) and they are fraternal twins. Interesting....so I guess fraternals dont always look very different. But you helped me understand that Indenticals can have some differences too. That's got to be wild to live as a twin.

You're right. I agree that a leftie s/b left a leftie.
Lefties are supposedly very creative people. So what if you look weird using a knife and can't use 'normal people' scissors. So you're the stubborn one in the family , eh?

Liz, the whole twin thing will always intrigue me, being a twin myself . I have always been interested in reading about twins, joining twin clubs, and meeting other twins...
Living as a twin, is all I know, but it really has been great ! I wouldnt trade it for the world....

I am creative (if i do say so myself) and I bring out my creativity more than my siblings...(oh no, is this because their lefthandedness was 'suppressed' ??)
Fraternal twins can look more alike than some identical twins. and Ive seen identical twins that look nothing alike...very weird...at a certain point alot has to do with lifestyle, taking care of your body, exercising, etc...

Alot of twins have craved their own identity, whereas my sis and I for years, up until all of JHS, we would say 'what are we wearing tomorrow ?' it had to be something alike or very close. It was a ritual, we loved dressing alike.
and now that we have kids. She likes to get her daughters some of the same outfits (they are 2 yrs apart) and her son and JohnAnthony, we like to get some same outfits for ! (they are 4m apart) Are we nuts ??
We took a Sears photo of the cousins, girls in the same outfit, boys in the same outfit. I'll try to post it, if i can take a digital pic of the photo.

For fun, on special occassions, we like to still dress alike. I think its a bond thing that we will never let go of..

to you still dressing alike occasionally, cute!

I dont think it's strange to bring the kids to do that, whatever will create special memories in your family is totally your prerogative. Sounds nice. I was actually thinking yeterday that I'd like to go with my SIL and take pics of the kids together. My niece is 2 and my nephew is one day younger than Lukie. My Mother would love it.