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A boatload of Swedish identical twins, aged 11 to 80, descended into Felixstowe on 7th October, 1977 - wearing matching outfits - for a shopping trip.\xa0\nThe eye-catching stunt was part of a scientific project led by ship captain Sune Dahlstr\xf6m, a twin himself, in collaboration with the Swedish Twin Register at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and aimed to study the similarities and differences in their behaviours.\nTwin studies have a long history, with dark roots in Victorian eugenics and, infamously, Nazi experiments. However, the Swedish Twin Register became a more positive force for scientific discovery, meticulously based on twin birth records from parishes across Sweden, and today holding data on nearly 100,000 pairs of twins, making it the most comprehensive collection of its kind.\nIn this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly celebrate the accomplishments of the Swedish Twin Register; discover how education impacts longevity; and consider why on Earth Felixstowe, of all places, played host to this unusual event\u2026\nFurther Reading:\n\u2022 \u2018\u201cAs twins we\u2019re useful\u201d\u2019 (Karolinska Institutet, 2017): https://ki.se/en/research/popular-science-and-dialogue/spotlight-on/spotlight-on-participating-in-research/as-twins-were-useful\n\u2022 \u2018Seeing Double: How History Became Obsessed With Twins\u2019 (Google Arts & Culture): https://artsandculture.google.com/story/seeing-double-how-history-became-obsessed-with-twins/XgIiH-H78-86LQ\n\u2022 \u2018What identical twins separated at birth teach us about genetics\u2019 (BBC REEL, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMlJcOSRX-8\n\nLove the show? Support us!\xa0\nJoin\xa0 \U0001f334CLUB RETROSPECTORS\U0001f334to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY\u2026\xa0\n\n\u2026 Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content.\xa0\nJoin now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show \u2764\ufe0f\n\n\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices