went to school with the brogden twins and the amerigo (of ice cream fame) twins

There was the Cookies at Fens but I don't know what became of them. Peter and Paul.

Our MP has younger twin brothers

We had a twin brother and sister at our school, the Ovingtons I know he was called Tigran(sp) but can't remember his sisters name.

We had the Gorman twins at Lister Street, Nicola and Melanie........The Twinnies!!

Any relation to the Ovingtons who had the fruit and veg shop on Elwick Road??

Yeah George who ran the shop was their uncle

Oh cool, his son David was a schoolmate of my older brother. George's wife was always a soft touch for a free apple.

Dr Mengele did some awful things with his twins experiments at Auschwitz.

no that just doc n grumpy to go with dopey and the other four dwarfs.

Twins as common as poo ... but identicle twins they are the BEST.... and are TRUE TWINS ..... none of this watered down daddies juice lower class of plastic twins for us ... What do you say TET..

now get stuck into this reading matter ...

Twins - identical and fraternal


Multiple births are more common than they were in the past, due to the advancing average age of mothers and the associated rise in assisted reproductive techniques such as in-vitro fertilisation. Twins account for over 90 per cent of multiple births.

There are two types of twins - identical and fraternal. To form identical twins, one fertilised egg (ovum) splits and develops two babies with exactly the same genetic information. This differs from fraternal twins, where two eggs (ova) are fertilised by two sperm and produce two genetically unique children, who are no more alike than individual siblings born at different times. Twins are slightly more likely to be female than male (50.3 per cent). Contrary to popular belief, the incidence of twins doesn't skip generations.

Factors that increase the odds of having twins
Some women are more likely than others to give birth to twins. The factors that increase the odds include:

Advancing age of the mother - women in their 30s and 40s have higher levels of the sex hormone oestrogen than younger women, which means their ovaries are stimulated to produce more than one egg at a time.
Number of previous pregnancies - the greater the number of pregnancies a woman has already had, the higher her odds of conceiving twins.
Heredity - a woman is more likely to conceive fraternal twins if she is a fraternal twin, has already had fraternal twins, or has siblings who are fraternal twins.
Race - Black African women have the highest incidence of twins, while Asian women have the lowest.
Assisted reproductive techniques - many procedures rely on stimulating the ovaries with fertility drugs to produce eggs and, often, several eggs are released per ovulation.
Fertilisation
Hormones secreted by the ovaries, and a small gland in the brain called the pituitary, control the menstrual cycle. The average cycle is around 28 days. After a menstrual period, rising levels of the hormone oestrogen help to thicken the lining of the womb (the endometrium) and release an egg from one of the ovaries (ovulation). If the egg is fertilised on its journey down the fallopian tube, it lodges in the thickened womb lining, starts dividing and evolves into an embryo.

Identical or 'monozygotic' twins
Around one in three sets of twins is identical. This occurs because the fertilised egg divides in two while it is still a tiny collection of cells. The self-contained halves then develop into two babies, with exactly the same genetic information. Twins conceived from one egg and one sperm are called identical or 'monozygotic' (one cell) twins. The biological mechanisms that prompt the single fertilised egg to split in two remain a mystery. Approximately one quarter of identical twins are mirror images of each other, which means the right side of one child matches the left side of their twin.

Fraternal or 'dizygotic' twins
Around two in three sets of twins are fraternal. Two separate eggs (ova) are fertilised by two separate sperm, resulting in fraternal or 'dizygotic' (two cell) twins. These babies will be no more alike than singleton siblings born at separate times. The babies can be either the same sex or different sexes, with the odds roughly equal for each.

The proposed 'third twin type'
Some researchers believe there may be a third type of twin, although medical opinion is still divided. It is proposed that the egg splits in two, and each half is then fertilised by a different sperm. This theory is an attempt to explain why some fraternal twins look identical.

Gestation for twins
The normal length of gestation for a single baby is around 40 weeks. However, gestation for twins, either identical or fraternal, is usually around 38 weeks. This shorter time is due to the increased demands on the mother's body, and the inability of the babies to receive all the nutrients they need in utero. Since twins are usually premature, this means they have lower birth weights. Prematurity is associated with increased risk of a number of disorders, including jaundice.

Giving birth to twins
Childbirth can give rise to complications when just one baby is present, so twins present extra potential for difficulties. It is advised that women carrying twins give birth in hospital, rather than at home. The babies can be delivered vaginally, but Caesarean section delivery may be considered a better alternative in some circumstances.

Zygosity testing
It is difficult to tell if twins are identical or fraternal at birth. Some identical twins may be born with individual sets of membranes, which may lead to the mistaken assumption that the babies are fraternal. One way to tell the difference is to have the twins DNA tested. Identical twins share the same genetic information, while fraternal twins share around half. The test can be done with a sample of cheek cells, collected painlessly. Other tests include blood group examinations.


Twins account for over 90 per cent of multiple births.
To form identical twins, one fertilised egg (ovum) splits and develops two babies with exactly the same genetic information.
To form fraternal twins, two eggs (ova) are fertilised by two sperm and produce two genetically unique children.

did anyone see that woman from america on gmtv the other day? she had 3 sets all under the age of about 10 youngest were about 9 months. well at least she wouldnt of had to buy any gear theres lots of twins in my family through the generations on both sides we'll see what happens come january


chip do some research before spouting crap like that if you dont know anything about it

funny that chipfirefighter,,, your lass has a beard ... only kidding.... she has two

Taxi for Reid

I've got twin daughters aged 4, they are non-identical and totally inseperable, when they aren't together they are totally lost without each other.

There were 2 sets in year above me at Brierton - Watkins lasses, and Bratt lads. In my year there were the Ford brothers (identical) and the Hamiltons (lad and lass).

My grandad is a twin and my sister has twins. I've got several mates who are twins too, one of whom is identical and is married to an identical twin, which a lot of people think is weird, but makes perfect sense to me.

Bratt lads?

Michael and Paul?

Aye, that's them.

They used to live in my street, they were the year below me at Kingsley. Sound lads like although not seen either of them for years and years.

When we were kids there was them two and another pair of twins round the corner in Westbrooke but not sure what their names were now, it was a lad and a lass and they were a year older than me, I think she had a funny name like Zelda or Velda or summat?

Forgot the Addison twins in my year as well (non-identical lads).

They are a bit of a medical rarity in that Alan was concieved two months later than Bob as their mam continued ovulating. Don't know what the chances of are of this but pretty remote I reckon.

Bob weighed something like 7 pounds at birth, Alan was about 4 pounds. Yet Alan grew up to be over 6 foot and Bob is about 5 foot 8.

My missus is expecting twins the end of August. No IVF. I can't believe I am going to have two lots of shitty nappies to look forward to. lol

My sister has identical twin girls. They're two and a half and I still cant tell them apart. One's head is a tiny little bit "squashed" supposedly.
Very hard work to begin with but beautiful and fascinating little girls and they can be separated or be doing different things. Only just started referring to themselves in the singular instead of the plural.

nice one Wx, we had a type of treatment last time (theres nothing wrong with either of us before you start taking the piss) and it didnt work out, in fact we did it twice. Lo and behold weve conceived naturally and im not bothered if theres 1,2,3 or 4 as long as they all healthy . its the best feeling in the world, bloody expensive though for a few seconds of pleasure

Congrats to you both then.
Tiring and busy but so worth it and so much fun as well - kids that is

Try thinking about the 1-0 home defeat by Yeovil when Boydy got crocked.

Works every time for me.........