Needham, Massachusetts

An unusual event occurred on June 12 (Wednesday) at Pollard Middle School in Needham, Massachusetts. Twenty-three sets of twins graduated from the school accounting for about 10 per cent of the entire eighth grade. 

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“We typically have anywhere from five to 10 sets at most. Given our numbers, we have approximately 450 to 500 children in each grade so this was extraordinarily high.” Tamatha Bibbo, principal of the Pollard Middle School told The Washington Post. 

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According to statistics, twins account for three per cent of the total live births in the US. Thus, 23 pairs of fraternal and identical twins graduating from the same school in one batch is certainly a rare occurrence. 

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The Needham Exchange Club grants five community service awards annually, and all graduates of the school are required to have done a minimum of 10 hours of social service. Lukas and Sameer Patel, a pair of twins, received a gift for their charity and an award this year for the first time.

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Difference between fraternal and identical twins 

There are majorly two kinds of twins; identical and fraternal.

Fraternal twins are non-identical. This occurs when the ovaries release two eggs and a different sperm fertilises each egg. This results in two babies who share the same percentage of chromosomes, much like siblings do. Since fraternal twins are non-identical they may be assigned a different sex at birth. 

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Identical twins are conceived from the same fertilised egg. This egg develops into two embryos after division resulting in two babies of the same sex. Since both the kids are born from the same egg, they have identical chromosomes which leads to identical features as well. It is said that slight differences may be present between them due to the space each of them had in the uterus. 

(With inputs from agencies)