Fascination with identical twins is not a new trend. Since the beginning of recorded history, they have held a certain intrigue for people. Ancient mythology, religion and art, even Shakespeare dipped his quill into the twin arena, writing two plays featuring twin characters.
“Through mythology our fascination with twinship is projected on to figures of the past. Twin relationships are portrayed as positive and friendly or negative and hostile. A present-day Nigerian tribe has customs in which twins, identical and fraternal, are honoured and glorified reflecting the ongoing and ubiquitous fascination with twins,” says Pauline O’Connell psychotherapist with Auburn Counselling & Psychotherapy, who has a special interest in the area of identical twins.
Researchers in a paper published in the scientific journal Human Reproduction said there are now more than 1.6 million twins being born every year. Up until very recently, Jedward were perhaps the most well-known Irish twins.
This year, however, the Olympics have given us swimmer Daniel Wiffen and his identical twin, Nathan, a competitive swimmer in his own right. Since winning an Olympic gold medal at the Paris Olympics, rarely has a day passed that Daniel hasn’t made the news. There is no mistaking his swimming prowess but what has captured the heart of the nation are reports about how close he is to his brother.
Indeed, recent accounts say Nathan, the younger twin by three minutes, has given up correcting those who conf.