The Mysterious Village of Twins
Kodinhi is a small, remote village located in the Malappuram district in Kerala, India (Asia). It has the distinction of having the unusually high rate of twin births in the world. In a village of only around 2200 people , there are reportedly over 220 pairs of twins. It was reported that in 2008 alone, 15 pairs of twins were born in the village. This may not seem like a high number when talking about a big city, but it is bizarrely high for such a small, relatively sparsely populated town. To put it into perspective, it is said that the rate of twin births globally is around 6 out of every 1,000 live births, whereas in Kodinhi it is more like 42 out of every 1,000 births, a striking contrast to the norm. In fact, the rate of twins in this sleepy, tropical town is around 6 times the global average.
Local doctor Krishnan Sribiju has spent a great deal of time studying the twins of Kodinhi. He has found that the rate of twin births in the village is increasing every year, and that the number of twins in Kodinhi has doubled in the past decade. Dr. Sribiju is also quick to point out that the phenomenal rate of twin births in the village is particularly impressive considering that sub-continental Asia has a typically lower rate of twin births than most of the world, and India has the lowest twinning rate in Asia.
Local doctor Krishnan Sribiju has spent a great deal of time studying the twins of Kodinhi. He has found that the rate of twin births in the village is increasing every year, and that the number of twins in Kodinhi has doubled in the past decade. Dr. Sribiju is also quick to point out that the phenomenal rate of twin births in the village is particularly impressive considering that sub-continental Asia has a typically lower rate of twin births than most of the world, and India has the lowest twinning rate in Asia.
It is said that the twinning phenomenon in Kodinhi started around 60 to 70 years ago, and the exact cause remains unknown. Doctors have long been baffled as to why this village has so many twins, and no one as of yet has been able to unravel the mystery.
Researchers have delved into genetic, biological, molecular, hereditary and climatic factors and still have not come to a satisfactory conclusion to this enigma. Pollutants or chemical factors have been mostly ruled out since the vast majority of twins born in Kodinhi are perfectly normal and healthy, without birth defects. In addition, artificial insemination or other fertility treatments are not a factor as the villagers are too poor to afford the prohibitively high costs of such procedures. Genetic problems have also mostly been discounted since the effect is localized in this one village.
In order to bring wider attention to the peculiar problems twins face, around 30 pairs of twins in the village started an organization called “The Twins and Kins Association.” It is reportedly the first such association of its kind in India.
Researchers have delved into genetic, biological, molecular, hereditary and climatic factors and still have not come to a satisfactory conclusion to this enigma. Pollutants or chemical factors have been mostly ruled out since the vast majority of twins born in Kodinhi are perfectly normal and healthy, without birth defects. In addition, artificial insemination or other fertility treatments are not a factor as the villagers are too poor to afford the prohibitively high costs of such procedures. Genetic problems have also mostly been discounted since the effect is localized in this one village.
In order to bring wider attention to the peculiar problems twins face, around 30 pairs of twins in the village started an organization called “The Twins and Kins Association.” It is reportedly the first such association of its kind in India.
Sky 'rains tadpoles' over Japan
By Danielle Demetriou in Tokyo
Taken from "The Telgraph News"
Dated 10 Jun 2009
By Danielle Demetriou in Tokyo
Taken from "The Telgraph News"
Dated 10 Jun 2009
Residents, officials and scientists have been baffled by the apparent downpour of tadpoles in central Japan's Ishikawa Prefecture.
Clouds of dead tadpoles appear to have fallen from the sky in a series of episodes in a number of cities in the region since the start of the month.
In one incident, a 55-year-old man who was caught in a tadpole downpour described hearing a strange sound in the parking lot of a civic centre in the city of Nanao.
Upon further exploration, he found more than 100 dead tadpoles covering the windshields of cars in an area measuring 10 square metres.
Dead tadpole downpours were also reported by local officials 48 hours later in the city of Hakusan in the same prefecture.
The raining down of small creatures such as frogs and fish is a rare meteorological phenomenon that is reported from time to time across the world.
Scientists have widely attributed the surreal raining of animals to strong winds, storms and water sprouts sucking up creatures before depositing them further inland.
However, this explanation has not satisfied meteorologists in the Ishikawa region.
Officials at Kanazawa Local Meteorological Observatory told local media that they were unsure how the tadpoles had arrived as there had been no reports of strong winds at the time.
Another scientific explanation for raining animals relates to birds carrying the small creatures before dropping them as they fly overland.
However, dismissing this theory, a researcher at the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology in Abiko told Kyodo news: "Crows eat tadpoles but if these were spat out (by the birds), a wider area should have been covered."
Clouds of dead tadpoles appear to have fallen from the sky in a series of episodes in a number of cities in the region since the start of the month.
In one incident, a 55-year-old man who was caught in a tadpole downpour described hearing a strange sound in the parking lot of a civic centre in the city of Nanao.
Upon further exploration, he found more than 100 dead tadpoles covering the windshields of cars in an area measuring 10 square metres.
Dead tadpole downpours were also reported by local officials 48 hours later in the city of Hakusan in the same prefecture.
The raining down of small creatures such as frogs and fish is a rare meteorological phenomenon that is reported from time to time across the world.
Scientists have widely attributed the surreal raining of animals to strong winds, storms and water sprouts sucking up creatures before depositing them further inland.
However, this explanation has not satisfied meteorologists in the Ishikawa region.
Officials at Kanazawa Local Meteorological Observatory told local media that they were unsure how the tadpoles had arrived as there had been no reports of strong winds at the time.
Another scientific explanation for raining animals relates to birds carrying the small creatures before dropping them as they fly overland.
However, dismissing this theory, a researcher at the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology in Abiko told Kyodo news: "Crows eat tadpoles but if these were spat out (by the birds), a wider area should have been covered."
A Mystery of Eternal Love
One hundred and forty- nine years ago (1867), Caroline Christine Walter a beautiful 16 year old girl was happily living with her sister Selma and her husband in Freiburg, Germany. Tragedy struck the family when Caroline lost her life at 17 due to tuberculosis.
Selma was devastated by her loss. She hired a sculptor to create a life sized sculpture of her sister’s image lying in a bed, fallen asleep with an open book in her hand for her gravestone (at Alter Friedhof cemetery where it remains today).
The inscription at the foot of the “bed” mentions it was given in Caroline’s memory by her loving sister Selma and that their separation must have been ordained by God’s counsel.
Initially someone left flowers every day, but no one could find out who it was. The years progressed, the family passed away, anyone who knew Caroline had passed away, and still every morning a fresh flower blooms on the angel’s grave.
It’s not clear whether there are actual plants growing on the memorial so that something is able to bloom, or if that really means someone is still leaving a flower every day. If there is something there to bloom, how does it manage in the cold and snow?
It’s a mystery!
Selma was devastated by her loss. She hired a sculptor to create a life sized sculpture of her sister’s image lying in a bed, fallen asleep with an open book in her hand for her gravestone (at Alter Friedhof cemetery where it remains today).
The inscription at the foot of the “bed” mentions it was given in Caroline’s memory by her loving sister Selma and that their separation must have been ordained by God’s counsel.
Initially someone left flowers every day, but no one could find out who it was. The years progressed, the family passed away, anyone who knew Caroline had passed away, and still every morning a fresh flower blooms on the angel’s grave.
It’s not clear whether there are actual plants growing on the memorial so that something is able to bloom, or if that really means someone is still leaving a flower every day. If there is something there to bloom, how does it manage in the cold and snow?
It’s a mystery!