Black and White Twins
Part 2: Analysis
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Comments: The preceding images, all credited in online news stories to freelance photographer Gary Roberts, are authentic, as are the subjects, twins Kian and Remee Hodgson of Nottingham, England.
According to a February 21, 2006 article in the London Daily Mail, Kian, who is dark-skinned and dark-haired, and Remee, who is light-skinned and fair-haired, were born in April 2005 to Kylie and Remi Hodgson, who themselves were born to mixed-race parents.
While very rare, the phenomenon is not unknown, though it does entail a very particular combination of circumstances at the moment of conception. First, both parents must be of mixed race. Second, the twins must be fraternal (each conceived from a separate egg fertilized by separate sperm) as opposed to identical (both conceived from a single egg and sperm). Third, each sperm and egg must carry the genes for a particular skin color (i.e., black/black or white/white).
The odds against it are indeed a million to one.
Sources and further reading:
Black and White Twins
The Daily Mail, 21 February 2006Meet My Twin Sister
NY Daily News, 22 February 2006
Last updated: 03/02/06
