Most of the time, though twins usually have the same birthday, it’s always clear which one is older…unless Daylight Saving Time is in the equation.
A funny thing happened as Daylight Saving Time came to an end in the early-morning hours of Sunday, Nov. 6.
I’m sure it wasn’t particularly funny for one woman in particular who happened to be in labor at the time.
I don’t have a sibling, so the notion of sibling rivalry is nearly unknown to me. My best friend and I, however, might as well be brothers; once, we made a grocery run for a cookout at his house and the cashier actually asked if we were brothers. I took it as a compliment.
When it comes to birthdays, I’m six months older than he is. He took great pleasure reminding me of this fact when I turned 40: he called me on that day to wish me a happy birthday and to remind me he was still 39.
(That’s okay: he wound up getting bifocals before I did, so I claim victory there.)
It’s common sense that when it comes to twins, one has to come out first; the one who is delivered first has the time of their arrival documented and, therefore, is clearly the older of the two. That’s just how it works.
Daylight Saving Time threw a wrench in that.
Emily and Seth Peterson gave birth to twin boys around the time the clock “fell back.” Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 a.m. that morning every year, which means that when the clock would normally switch from 1:59 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. the first time of the night, it actually switches back to 1:00 a.m.
Their first son, Samuel, was born at 1:39 a.m. during the first 1 a.m. hour that morning. Samuel’s twin brother, Ronan, was born 31 minutes later. Any other morning, his time of birth would have been listed at 2:10 a.m.
But thanks to the end of Daylight Saving Time, his birth was listed as having happened at 1:10 a.m.
The younger twin was born 29 minutes before the older twin.
I guess that will take any sibling rivalry they’ll have to new heights, as they can legtimatley argue for the rest of their lives about which one was “officially” the oldest.
