Twins Wed Twins: Mystifying Marital Math
My wife called my attention to the wedding photos page in yesterday's Lifestyle section, where the pictures of two lovely – and apparently identical – young women posed in (non-identical) wedding gowns. The twin sisters had gotten married on Saturday, one at 5:00 p.m. and the other at 5:30 (wonder how they decided the times?), in the same church.
As if this wasn't unusual enough, further reading of the accounts of the weddings revealed that the girls' new husbands are also twins. And that raises all sorts of interesting questions.
According to this article, there are only about 250 documented instances where identical twins married identical twins (for the record, we don't know if the people described above are identical twins; the girls certainly look that way, but we weren't given photos of the guys). I'm sure this combination has practitioners of various disciplines – including psychologists, geneticists, and, um, crime lab scientists – salivating at the prospect of doing research.
The primary question that came to mind was whether any of the children born to these couples would be identical (and would they be cousins...or siblings?). There seems to be a difference of opinion regarding this issue (just google "twins marrying twins" and start reading; I can't do all of your research for you!), but the most compelling scientific arguments give the answer of "highly unlikely."
But, still, as I dimly recall some of the basics from my college genetics course, there is at least a statistical possibility that the offspring of these couples could be genetically identical. In any event, I'm sure these folks will be a hoot at family reunions. I hope name tags are provided.
Sorry to disagree, but statistically speaking, it is possible. The odds are horrendously stacked against it, but that doesn't mean it can't happen.
Posted by: Eric at June 25, 2007 03:54 PMQuestions like this are high on the ick factor. Like when I tell Tim that technically he could have married either one of his sisters if he'd wanted to. (They're both adopted.) Techincally true, but really high on the squick factor.
Posted by: beth at June 25, 2007 04:43 PM"since the parents are interchangeable" (quoted from the link you provided) is what I find so funny...spoken like a true scientist. ;-)
And what I find curious is that while cloned animals may have all of the same alleles and all, they may not appear identical. What is up with that?!?
Posted by: gwynne at June 25, 2007 06:16 PMBeth, there are a couple of instances on my wife's side of the family where brothers married sisters (not their own, silly). I always found that kind of odd.
Gwynne, only thing I can think of is the impact of the environment, or personal grooming habits. ;-)
Posted by: Eric at June 25, 2007 06:23 PMI actually know a pair of identical twins that married brothers (the brothers are not twins, but do look very much like each other). They go to my church.
Unfortunately, these twins have wound up being easily distinguishable because of differing lifestyle choices they've made, so there is no weekly confusion at church and other functions.
Posted by: Jim at June 25, 2007 06:24 PMI had fraternity brothers who looked very much alike [tho not twins] who married sisters who looked very much alike. Each couple had two daughters who all looked almost exactly alike.
Both adult couples got divorced later in life....the girls still looked alike.
Posted by: Wallace at June 26, 2007 12:03 AMThe brides are identical. So are the grooms (they're red-heads). (The girls are naturally blonde....don't know why they came up with those Loretta Lynn hair-do's...they're much prettier with their natural hair color). Uh,they did take separate honeymoons - according to the MRT.
Posted by: julie at June 26, 2007 08:50 AMJulie, my wife and I did comment on the fact that they honeymooned in separate locales. Otherwise, it would have upped the "ick" factor considerably. ;-)
Posted by: Eric at June 26, 2007 09:25 AMAbout the publisher
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The children wouldn't be any more identical than siblings are to non-twin parents. Fertilization is a genetic blender.
Posted by: Phelps at June 25, 2007 03:19 PM