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Trying to guess which twin smokes is the perfect way to help you quit

Nobody would call smoking “glamorous” after seeing these comparisons.

Image via Wolters Kluwer Health.

Which twin smoked?

It's not revolutionary news that smoking wreaks havoc on your body in different ways. More often than not, however, the focus of anti-smoking campaigns is on your internal health, citing emphysema, heart disease, and lung cancer, to name just a few consequences.

While the superficial effects may not be as lethal, appealing to people's sense of vanity can have a powerful effect as this clever gallery below shows. Twins, only one of whom smokes, sit side by side, showing the profound damage smoking can cause to your face, hair, and teeth.

The twins' circumstances vary in each set of pictures, but the differences and effects are undeniable. In some instances, one of the twins never smoked. In others, the "smoking" twin had smoked for at least five years longer than the other "non-smoking" twin.

Though they're not common knowledge, the effects of smoking on your appearance are predictable and consistent. You can identify a smoker with ease if you know what you're looking for. Harmful smoke, dehydration, and even the heat from a burning cigarette can damage your complexion, hair, and eyes. The photos below helpfully point out the symptoms and effects on the smoking twin.

The photos here were taken from those of 79 pairs of identical twins at the Twins Days Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio. Though they weren't taken with this use in mind, that allows them to serve as an even more powerful testament to the effects as perceived by casual observers.

1. The eyes are a strong "tell" if someone's a smoker or not. In this photo, the smoker is the man on the right. He has smaller, more sunken eyes and carries more wrinkles throughout his face than his twin on the left. You'll also notice his hairline has receded further than his brother's. That's a little-known though hardly surprising effect of smoking habitually.

health, danger of smoking, studies on smoking, mental health

Can you tell the smoker?

Image via Wolters Kluwer Health.

2. Here, the difference is profound. Though they're the same age, they look almost like they represent different generations. The smoking twin on the right has done so for 16 years, and it's manifested in a number of ways. Most noticeable is the pervasive discoloration of her skin compared to her twin on the left. Less noticeable, but still apparent, is the damage done to her lips, eyes, and even her hair. It's difficult to believe they're even related, let alone twins.

aging, health benefits, clean living, cancer

Did I get this one wrong?

Image via Wolters Kluwer Health.

3. This comparison is less glaring but still apparent. The twin on the left is the smoker. You can see many more pronounced wrinkles on her forehead, under her eyes, and around her nose. There are also pronounced bags under her eyes.

skin aging, medicine, medical insurance, damaged hair

Some differences are more subtle than others.

Image via Wolters Kluwer Health.

4. In this comparison, the smoking twin only smokes about two cigarettes per day, so the difference will be less profound. The twin on the right is the smoker. The differences are on the subtle side, mostly the more damaged hair and the squintier eyes.

twins, research, studies

Smoking can cause a receding hair line.

Image via Wolters Kluwer Health.


5. Based on what you've read in the earlier side by side pics, you might be able to ID the right twin as the smoker due to the discolored and receding hair as well as the aged skin.

wrinkles, aging, smoking

Smoking appears to cause more gray.

Image via Wolters Kluwer Health.

6. These two twins are both elderly, so the differences are slightly less pronounced. Though the left twin has more graying hair, it's the right twin that's the smoker. She's got a droopier face, especially on the outside of the eyes. The wrinkles are also more pronounced in the brow and upper lip.

wrinkles, skin, health

The hallmarks of smoking apparent on the skin.

Image via Wolters Kluwer Health.

7. Though the two sisters here are also older, it's easier to distinguish the smoker. The left sister bears the hallmarks all over her skin. Her cheek, outer eye, and neck all look weathered from her habit. Not only is she more wrinkled, but the skin has begun to discolor from the fair tone her sister has.

discoloration of skin, dermatology, identifying factors

Wrinkles around the lips distinguish the smoker.

Image via Wolters Kluwer Health.

8. Here it's pretty difficult to tell. The woman on the left is the smoker. She sports slightly discolored lips that are upon inspection, more wrinkled than her sister's. Since the lips are the most proximate to the smoke, they are a pretty telling feature when it comes to identifying smokers.

The pics above show a lot of singular traits that can call out a smoker, but it can be a lot more simple than that. Speaking to the NY Daily News, dermatologist Elizabeth Tanzi from George Washington Medical Center dispenses with the jargon, stating, "Smoking makes you look old. That's all there is to it."


This article originally appeared on 11.01.16

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Pop Culture

Couple expecting twins asks folks to come up with the funniest fake names imaginable

These did not disappoint.

Photo credit: Canva

Hey, Mary-Kate and Ashley already worked for one set of twins, didn't it?

Naming a baby isn’t the easiest thing that new parents will experience, and subjecting themselves to the well intentioned, but not so helpful input of others is one of the many aspects that makes the whole process really stressful.

That of course goes double for naming twins.

Everyone has an opinion on how matching, catchy or avant garde twin names should be, but outside opinions are rarely what parents need—especially when they didn’t ask for it. Imagine finally coming up with not one, but two perfect monikers meant to represent the two humans you’re bringing into the word ostensibly for their entire life, and someone completely raining on that parade. Doesn’t sound like new parent bliss.

And that’s why one couple decided to come up with a list of fake twin names to give to any inquiring minds.

Over in the r/namenerds subreddit, the couple shared that Tom and Jerry, Ben and Holly, Charlie and Lola and Ant and Dec had already been jotted down, and asked folks to share their own ideas.

The answers did not disappoint.


Funny twin names
byu/LoadingTrolly innamenerds


Of the celebrity name variety, Mary-Kate and Ashley was the top suggested, followed by Taylor and Travis, Lucy and Desi, Cheech and Chong, Penn and Teller.

Then there were music-inspired choices, like Tu and Pac, Wayne and Garth, Sonny and Cher, Ike and Tina and Pink and Floyd.

Plus a few names based on historical figures, like Antony and Cleopatra and Bonnie and Clyde.

Of the twin names inspired by children’s shows, we had Snoopy and Woodstock, Zack and Cody Phineas and Ferb, Anna and Elsa, He-man and She-Ra Bluey and Bingo Fred & Barney Burt & Ernie, Even a few video game references with Mario & Luigi and Link and Zelda. And of course, Ken and Barbie.

There were quite a few names based on literary icons. Be it authors, like Nora and Robert, Lewis and Carol, Agatha and Christie, Stephen and Kingsley, Jane and Austen, James & Joyce and William and Blake. Or characters like Hansel and Gretel, Jack and Jill, Cinderella and Prince (Charming) ,Thor and Loki, Nancy & Drew, and Romeo and Juliet . For the last one, it was suggested to “feign total ignorance that they’re not related” for added comedic effect.

Next category: Movies/TV shows inspired names, which included Wednesday and Pugsley, Ross and Monica, Bart and Lisa, Cersei and Jaime (yikes!) and Luke and Leia.

“I honestly don’t think anyone would be shocked if I suggested Luke and Leia 🤣 That’s definitely going at the top of the list,” the OP commented.

And from there, things descended into absurdity with suggestions like Easy-Peasy and Lemon-Squeezy, Copy and Paste, Dayquil and Nyquil, Gin & Tonic, Merlot & Chardonnay, Beavis and Butthead (especially if for twin girls).

One last honorable mention goes to the person who shared, “My partner and I always joke that we’d tell everyone they were Yanni & Laurel after that internet ‘they sound the same’ thing that went around in 2020.”

Ultimately, naming twins needs the same kind of considerations that all baby names do, which is to think about the real world implication their name might have beyond childhood. There’s just the added challenge of choosing between complete individuality or by acknowledging the unique sibling bond. No choice is necessarily better or worse than the other.

Regardless, this couple has plenty of hilarious fake names to add to their decoy list. Mission accomplished.

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Family

Baby meets his dad's twin brother in an adorable viral video

Parenting is hard. Adult twins interacting with a baby? Hilarious.


Adult twins interacting with babies is pretty hilarious.

I know firsthand because I am a dad and a twin.

On my list of regrets as a dad, I'll place "not rolling video when our babies interacted with me and my identical twin" near the top of the list.

Thankfully, a dad shot some footage of his young son meeting his twin, and our lives are better because of it.

Images from Stephen Ratpojanakul's Facebook page.

Stephen Ratpojanakul (he's in the sweater ... I think) is a dad to a baby boy named Reed. Stephen also has a twin brother named Michael.

When baby Reed got confused figuring out who was who, I almost expected this dude to make a cameo appearance:

First, they both wore glasses.

Stephen Ratpojanakul (he's in the sweater ... I think) is a dad to a baby boy named Reed. Stephen also has a twin brother named Michael.

When baby Reed got confused figuring out who was who, I almost expected this dude to make a cameo appearance:

First, they both wore glasses.

assets.rebelmouse.io

And finally, they both took their glasses off. Baby Reed returned to the previous station.

True story: Parenting will crush you if you don't bring your sense of humor along.

Parents know how mentally and physically exhausting the job can be. It's also a job where many of us spend an inordinate amount of time second-guessing ourselves for the decisions we make.

The immense power of laughter is a great way to relax, boost our immune systems, and relieve stress. Sometimes, we laugh to keep from crying. And other times, we just laugh because our kids are absolutely hilarious.

Judging by the laughter and giggles, it's easy to tell that the twins truly love this little boy — and it's heartwarming to see all three of them enjoying some good times together.

All it takes is a smile for parents to know "you've got this."

The video is going viral — and don't be surprised if this becomes a twin trend.

With almost 34 twins per 1,000 live births in the U.S. today, there are more genetic lookalikes in the U.S. than ever before. Be warned, tiny babies — somewhere there are some adult twins plotting to have some innocent fun at your expense.

Without further ado, here's the video.


This article was written by Doyin Richards and originally appeared on 02.10.16.




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Education

Twins separated shortly after birth were both named Jim and led wildly parallel lives

They both had childhood dogs named Toy. They both married women named Linda, got divorced, then remarried women named Betty. And that's not even where the uncanny similarities end.

HaveSomeFun3344/YouTube

Jim Lewis and Jim Springer had remarkably similar lives, despite not meeting until they were 39.

Sometimes stories comes along that seem too far-fetched or remarkable to be real. The entire Ripley's Believe it or Not? franchise is built on such stories, the ones that defy logic and reason and yet have been proven to be true.

One of those stories has recently resurfaced and it has us all scrunching our brows and questioning how it could possibly be: The tale of two twins named Jim.

According to People, Jim Lewis and Jim Springer were identical twins born in 1940 to a 15-year-old mother, but they were separated and put up for adoption a few weeks later. The fact that their respective adoptive parents named them both James (and called them Jim for short) would be a weird enough coincidence by itself, but that's only the beginning of the uncanny parallels in their lives.

As kids, both Jims were good at math and woodworking, but struggled with spelling. Both initially went into similar careers, one as a security guard and one as a deputy sheriff. Such similarities could be explained by the men sharing the same DNA, but there are far more specific parallels that are simply unexplainable.

They both had a beloved childhood dog named Toy and a brother named Larry. They both married women named Linda, got divorced, then got remarried to women named Betty. It's hard to see how these coincidences even fit into the nature vs. nurture question at all. It's just too strange.

But there's more.

Both men had identical smoking and drinking habits, both were habitual nail biters, and both started getting a distinct kind of tension headache at age 18. They both drove a Chevrolet and vacationed at the same beach in Florida, despite living in Ohio.

They even both named their sons the same name with just one letter difference—James Alan and James Allan.

The Jims first met in 1979 when they were 39 years old, after one of them decided to pursue finding the other through the court system. Their unique story caught the attention of researchers at the University of Minnesota, who were studying genetic influence on humans by analyzing twins who had been reared apart.

One of those researchers, Dr. Thomas Bouchard Jr., found the twins' similarities as jaw-dropping as the rest of us.

“If someone else brought this material to me and said: ‘This is what I've got,’ I'd say I didn't believe it,” he said, according to the New York Times. “The probability of two people independently being given the same name is not that rare. But when you start to compound the coincidences, they become highly unlikely very quickly. In fact, I'm flabbergasted by some of the similarities.”

The Jim twins were even invited to The Johnny Carson Show, which you can see here:

Having identical twins raised separately was an ideal case study, considering the ever popular nature vs. nurture question, but the bizarre similarities between the two Jims even baffled the experts. Personality traits, shared interests and the like can be chalked up to genetics to some degree. But marrying women with the same name, not once, but twice? Where's the genetic explanation for that?

Of course, there were some differences between the two men as well. They styled their hair differently, one was more of a talker while the other was more of a writer, and one of them got married a third time to a woman named Sandy. Still, those differences hardly make up for the similarities. (Seriously, a dog named Toy?)

The Jim twins helped contribute to modern genetic research in a unique way in that they lived during a fairly narrow window of time in which genetics was being studied in earnest and in which adoption agencies would break up sets of identical twins for adoption (which is no longer the case). But they also remind us that there are mysteries in this world that science can't even begin to try to solve.

Hopefully, people will keep trying, though, because we definitely need an explanation for the Linda-then-Betty marriage thing.

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