Double Take: 5 Articles About Twins

Identical, fraternal, lifelong companions who share their own language, raised apart and reunited—stories about twins fascinate many of us. Scientists and laypeople alike wonder what makes twins different from singletons, and what makes them similar to (or different from) each other. Let's take a look with five articles about twins.

You can read these articles using CPL's Online Resources, but I've also noted if an article is available freely on the web.

"Double Lives" by Susan Dominus
New York Times Magazine, July 12, 2015 (also available on the New York Times website)
Twenty-six years ago, two sets of identical twins were split in a hospital mix-up in Colombia, resulting in two pairs of fraternal twins. One set grew up in the country, the other in Bogotá. This article shares how the men found each other and explores how their story relates to twins research.

"Wed Once, but Seeing Triple" by Alyson Krueger
New York Times, March 1, 2015 (also available on the New York Times website)
How does being a twin (or triplet or quadruplet) affect a marriage? Alyson Krueger, a multiple herself, talks to multiples, spouses and experts about how these relationships intersect.

"Mission Twinpossible" by Jeffrey Kluger
Time, December 29, 2014 (also available on the Time website)
Astronaut Scott Kelly left this past March to spend a year on the International Space Station, where he'll set a record for the longest single mission by a U.S. astronaut. His identical twin, astronaut Mark Kelly, is here on Earth, giving NASA a control subject to study the effects of such a long stay in space.

"Mirror Image Twins" by Antonia Hoyle
Daily Mail, February 18, 2015 (also available on the Daily Mail website)
Mirror image is a phenomenon where identical twins act or appear in ways that are asymmetrical, like one is right-handed and the other is left-handed, or their hair parts on opposite sides. Hear from three sets of female mirror-image twins of different ages.

"The Secret Power of Twins: Amnesia" by Tom Perrotta
Wall Street Journal, May 27, 2015 (also available on the Wall Street Journal website)
Doubles tennis pros Bob and Mike Bryan say their success has more to do with their ability to be out-and-out nasty to each other and then get over it than with a special ability to understand each other as identical twins.