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No. 14: Winter 1981 Supplement

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The Most Identical Of Identical Twins

In SF#11, under the title "United by an Invisible Cord," some very remarkable similarities between identical twins reared apart were recounted. A truly fantastic case has now come to light where identical twins (reared together in this case) behave synchronously. "They do every-thing together, scream or sulk if parted and, most uncannily, talk in unison when under stress, speaking the same words in identical voice patterns that create a weird echo effect." Doctors say that Greta and Freda Chaplin are so close that they seem linked by telepathy. Talking or working, they function in unison. Otherwise, they are of normal intelligence and suffer no mental illness.

(Anonymous; "British Twins Too Close for Trucker's Comfort," Baltimore Sun, December 8, 1980. p. A3. AP dispatch)

Comment. Animals often move in remarkable synchrony; e.g., flocks of wheeling birds, schooling fish, tropical fireflies, etc. What invisible cord links them?

From Science Frontiers #14, Winter 1981. © 1981-2000 William R. Corliss

Science Frontiers Sourcebook Project Reviewed in:

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  • "Before opening the book, I set certain standards that a volume which treads into dangerous grounds grounds like this must meet. The author scrupulously met, or even exceeded those standards. Each phenomenon is exhaustively documented, with references to scientific journals [..] and extensive quotations" -- "Book Review: The moon and planets: a catalog of astronomical anomalies", The Sourcebook Project, 1985., Corliss, W. R., Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada>, Vol. 81, no. 1 (1987), p. 24., 02/1987