Hey, Smarty Pants, trusty narrator here.
I'm still feeling those great birthday vibes from Who Smarted turning five years old.
So many Smarty Pants have reached out to wish us a happy birthday.
I cannot thank you enough.
Even more so.
I am so thrilled that hundreds of Smarty families have taken advantage of our 50 off happy birthday subscription sale and have signed up for an entire year of Who Smarted Plus for just 1998.
That's just 166 a month to get all of the smarting, including a bonus episode every single week, plus smart EQs and trusty trivia all completely ad-free.
Not to mention you'll be supporting the show in the best way possible, so we can keep smarting with you.
However, this sale can't last forever.
So be sure to sign up on or before November 15th to lock in a year of Who Smarted Plus at just 1998.
That's just a week more.
So do it now.
Subscribe by going to our website, whosmarted.com and click birthday subscribe.
Again, you can only take advantage of our 50 off sale by going to whosmartedcom and clicking birthday subscribe on or before November 15th.
Thanks again and keep on smarting.
And now it's time for Who Smarted?
Psst, hey, smarty pants.
See if you can guess what state I'm in.
Haha, very funny.
I heard some of you say solid.
Yes, I am a solid, not a liquid or gas.
But I meant which state in the United States.
Here's your hint.
The name of the state could be used to describe a tiny carbonated beverage.
Hahaha, not so quick to joke now.
What about you smarty adults listening?
Do you know which of the 50 states could be a tiny carbonated beverage?
Here's the answer.
A tiny carbonated beverage could be a mini soda.
Mini soda.
Minnesota.
What?
That was fun.
For me.
Anyway, I'm in Minnesota visiting two special cities.
Minneapolis and St.
Paul.
Smarty Pants, what do they call these cities?
Is it A, the sibling cities?
B, the besties cities?
Or C...
Twin Cities.
If you said C, the Twin Cities, nice job.
These cities are called the Twin Cities because they share a border and much of the same history.
It's also why Minnesota's baseball team is called the Twins.
But now that I think about it, I'm kind of curious about people who are twins.
We can help you with that.
I'm Ella.
And I'm Emma.
We're twins.
Whoa.
Do you believe that, Smarty Pants?
I happen to mention twins, and two twins suddenly appear.
Or maybe these are my cousins who live in Minnesota and all this was just a setup to talk about twins.
Oh, trusty.
Mom said you're always five moves ahead.
Yep.
But hey, that's all part of the fun.
For me.
The fun for you, the smarty pants, is learning about things like twins.
For example, how rare are twins...
Are there different types of twins?
And can twins really read each other's minds?
Maybe.
I knew you were going to say that.
Oh, boy.
Find out the answers to these questions, and more, as we take another whiff of science and history on Who Smarted.
Who Smarted?
Who's smart?
Is it you?
Is it me?
Is it science?
Or history?
Listen up!
Everyone, we make smarting lots of fun on Who Smarted?
Smarty Pants, I bet some of you out there are a twin.
Or maybe you know some twins.
Either way, I'm fascinated by the science behind twins.
But let's start at the beginning.
How are twins different from other siblings?
Twins are siblings that are born a short time apart and usually share the same birthday.
Usually?
I thought twins always shared a birthday.
What do you think, Smarty Pants?
Can you think of a way that twins might not share a birthday?
Well, what if one twin is born at 1159 pm and the next twin is born 20 minutes later, at 1219 am or the following day?
Oh, you got me, Smarty Twins.
But let's just say that's a rare instance, and most times twins are born on the same day.
And speaking of rare, just how rare are twins?
How much of the world's population do you think twins make up?
Is it 1%, 2%, or 3%?
If you said 2%, you got it.
That means two out of every hundred people are twins, which is kind of rare.
Yet at the same time, there's a good chance.
You know somebody who is a twin, and that could include yourself.
I mean, I got my cousins.
Okay, here's another question for you.
Are there different types of twins?
What do you think, smarty pants?
I'm hearing different answers.
Let's find out.
There are definitely different types of twins.
For example, Emma and I are identical twins.
That means we look almost exactly the same and are genetically the same.
That's pretty special, because everyone in the world is genetically unique, except for identical twin siblings.
Whoa.
Identical twins are almost always born the same gender.
And they're probably what most people think of when they think of twins.
Yeah, I guess that's true.
When I think of twins, I usually picture two people who look pretty much exactly the same.
Or, at the very least, are hard to tell apart.
What about you, Smarty Pants?
Is that what you think of when you think of twins?
The other type of twin is called fraternal twins.
Smarty Pants, what do you think the word fraternal means?
One definition means of or like brothers.
But in this case it refers to twins who developed from separate ova or eggs inside their mother and have distinct genetics.
In other words, fraternal twins are more like regular siblings than identical twins.
Exactly.
If you know any twins that do not look the same or are different genders, they're probably fraternal twins.
Fraternal twins usually have to tell people that they are twins because, while they might look similar or related, they don't look the same.
Like us.
Yep, like us.
But they do share the same birthday, usually.
So that's still pretty special.
Speaking of birthdays, true or false, smarty pants?
Whether twins are going to be identical or fraternal is determined before they are born.
The answer is true.
Identical twins come from the same ova or egg in their mother, while fraternal twins come from different ova or eggs.
So a doctor can tell whether twins are going to be identical or fraternal before they're born.
Aww.
Either way, having a twin feels like having a best friend from even before you were born.
You got that right.
Emma and I are super close.
The closest.
But besides that, twins can also help science.
Really?
How?
Scientists collect information about the similarities and differences between twins to try and figure out which traits are influenced more strongly by environmental or genetic factors.
Smartypants.
So you know, environmental factors are the things outside of you, like where you live or what you eat, while genetic factors refer to things inside of you, like your jeans.
No, not like your pants jeans.
Those are outside of you.
These G-E-N-E-S genes are like directions that tell your body how it should grow, and they're passed down from your parents before you're born.
As people's understanding of genetics has improved, the scientific study of twins has changed.
Over the years, twin studies have shown that in most cases, a person's genes and their environment both have a lot to do with the person they become.
So now the main goal of modern research of twins is to prevent and treat complex diseases.
That sounds good, but how does it work with identical twins?
I thought identical twins were exactly the same.
While that may seem true, identical twins can have small differences in the way that they look.
If you look closely, I have a few more freckles than Emma, and I'm just a hair taller.
Oh yeah, I see that.
But wait, don't you have the exact same genetic material?
Yes, but differences can still be caused by environmental factors and small changes in our DNA.
I see.
Smarty Pants, which type of twin is more common?
Identical twins or fraternal twins?
If you said fraternal twins, you're winning.
And twinning.
But just how much more common are fraternal twins than identical twins?
The answer is... Two out of every three pairs of twins are fraternal twins.
Or 66 out of 100.
But it's not just any kind of fraternal twins that are most common.
Fraternal twins where one twin is a boy and the other twin is a girl are the most common.
Interesting.
I didn't know that.
Smartypants, did you?
Aside from an obvious difference like that, how can twins know for sure if they're fraternal or identical?
Well, if you're born the same gender and look the same like Ella and me, that might mean you're identical.
But the best way to know for sure is to have genetic testing done.
When would you do that?
It can be done either before the babies are born or any time after.
Does it hurt?
Nope.
The test that's done... you're born is just a quick swab inside your cheek.
And whether the twins are identical or fraternal, they're usually very close with one another and share a special bond.
Who else would I want to share my birthday cake with?
Right.
Hopefully, you both like the same kind of cake.
Who wants meat cake?
Meat cake?
What's meat cake?
I'm pretty sure meat cake is something unique to my family.
Speaking of things that are unique, Smarty Pants, you might remember our episode on fingerprints.
True or false?
Identical twins have the same fingerprints.
The answer is coming up right after this quick break and a word from our sponsors.
Who Smarted is brought to you by Squarespace.
Now, you know I'm good about creating new adventures and episodes of Who Smarted, but you don't know that I procrastinate on other stuff, like a website for one of our new projects.
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Now back to who smarted.
Okay, Smarty Pants.
We all know that every person has their own unique fingerprints, but what about identical twins?
Is it true or false that identical twins have identical fingerprints?
The answer is false.
While identical twins are the same in lots of ways, they still have different fingerprints.
Footprints, too.
That's one way to tell us apart, but it's easier for everyone if we just dress differently.
Here's another question for you.
Besides identical...
And fraternal, are there any other types of twins?
What do you think, Smarty Pants?
Let's find out.
The answer is yes.
There's a type of identical twin called mirror twins.
Mirror twins?
Are you sure it's not just someone's reflection in a mirror?
Nope.
Mirror twins are definitely real.
They are identical twins, but they have some things on the opposite sides of their bodies.
For example...
They might have a birthmark on the opposite side of their faces.
Where one twin is right-handed, the other twin is left-handed.
Kind of like how it is when you look in a mirror.
Mirror twins look like a mirror reflection, only they're two separate people.
That is super cool.
Although, I don't know if I could handle a mirror trusty hanging around.
Hey, Pantsmartie!
Oh, trusty, being a twin is awesome.
Exactly.
It's almost spooky how close we are.
Ah, that reminds me.
Here's something I'm sure the Smarty Pants want to know.
Can twins read each other's minds?
I've always heard they can.
But is it true?
What do you think, Smarty Pants?
Call it out.
Hmm, pretty split.
So, can twins read each other's minds?
The answer is, not exactly.
While twins may seem to know what each other are thinking, we're not really reading each other's mind with any special power.
It's just that twins usually share a really special and super close relationship.
After all, we've been together since before we were born.
Makes sense.
Does that mean that you always need to be together?
No.
Which isn't to say some twins don't have separation anxiety.
Some twins become very upset if they're not with their twin.
That's why twins are usually in the same class for preschool and kindergarten.
Well, that and it's easier to go to the same school.
But by first grade or around six or seven years old, most twins can be in different classes in school and can be away from each other.
They may be developing their own interests and making new friends at this point.
But they'll probably always have a special relationship.
Aww.
Smarty Pants, true or false?
Families can predict if they will have identical twins.
If you said false, nice job.
While having fraternal twins can run in families, the chance of having identical twins is random and can't be predicted.
I see.
And what would make someone more likely to have twins?
Mothers in their 30s or 40s have a higher chance of having twins.
And some medical treatments before the babies are born may make it more likely to have fraternal twins.
We've talked about human twins, but can animals be twins?
Smarty Pants, what do you think?
Shout out yes or no.
I'm hearing both answers.
The answer is yes.
Many animals can have twins, including birds, cattle, and dogs.
While dogs usually have more than two puppies at a time, sometimes there will be a litter of only two puppies called twins.
Goats often have twin babies.
And there can also be twin sheep.
And twin horses.
Are animal twins usually identical or fraternal?
What do you think, Smarties?
For most animals, the twins are fraternal, since identical twin animals are very rare.
It's hard to tell though, since baby animals from the same litter tend to look similar, So DNA testing has to be done to know if the babies are identical or fraternal twins.
I wonder if my cat has a twin.
It would be great for him to have someone to meow with.
I didn't know you speak cat.
Did you know some human twins make up their own language?
Really?
Oh, yeah.
Ella and I had our own language when we were younger.
We used it every day.
But now we only use it on December 18th.
Is that your birthday?
No, it's National Twins Day.
Gotcha.
Oh, and speaking of gotcha, let's see if the Smarty Pants can figure out one more twin-related riddle.
Are you ready?
What can cause two twins to not only be born on different days, but also different years?
Take a few seconds to figure it out.
Did you get it?
If you said that one was born on New Year's Eve and the other was born on New Year's Day...
You got it.
And now I'm going to enjoy the Twin Cities with my twin cousins.
You ladies want to get some ice cream?
Nope.
Twin Pops.
But of course.
A big shout out to my hometown homegirl, Hannah, in New York.
We're so glad to hear that Who Smarted is not only your favorite podcast, but the best pod ever.
We're also happy to hear that Who Smarted helps you have fun and learn new things online, even when you're bored.
Well, here's to you learning new things and having fun, Hannah.
Thanks!
This episode, Twins, was written by Sarah Swietik and voiced by Molly Smith and Jerry Kolber.
Technical direction and sound design by Josh Hahn.
Our associate producer is Max Kamaski.
The theme song is by Brian Suarez, with lyrics written and performed by Adam Tex-Davis.
Who Smarted was created and produced by Adam Tex-Davis and Jerry Kolber.
This has been an Atomic Entertainment production.
