Illinois elementary school boasts 24 sets of twins

Posted: Wednesday, June 19, 2013 6:00 pm
By: By the Associated Press

The Messenger 06.19.13

WILMETTE, Ill. (AP) — Like a lot of kids, the two brothers from northern Illinois spent hours marveling at the weird and the wonderful in the Guinness Book of World Records — and wondering what they could do to get in it.
Their friends tried endless pogo stick jumps. One practiced in the shower for an attempt at the loudest burp.
Then, Luke and Ryan Novosel, 11-year-old twins from Wilmette, Ill., began counting up all the other twins in their school directory and came to a startling discovery. Highcrest Middle School, it would seem, has the most sets of twins — two dozen of them — in a single grade.
With some help from their mom and dad, the brothers submitted an application with Guinness earlier this year, and after following up with birth certificates, photos and proof that all are enrolled at the school, they expect official recognition in several weeks.
Most of the twins are fraternal. The breakdown: three sets of boy-boy twins, 11 sets of girl-girl twins and 10 sets of boy-girl twins. The two sets of identical twins are girls.
Another fun fact: In two of the pairings are twins who bridged the midnight hour and were born on different days.
In every other way, the 48 students are typical fifth-graders who are into their sports, their friends, their iPads and fighting with their siblings. But the fact that they all happen to be in the same grade at the same school is unusual.