I used to think I was pretty unique. But not so much anymore.

I am a twin. My identical brother looks enough like me that we have fooled people on occasion into thinking they were face-to-face with the other.

How can an identical twin feel unique? Well, it so happens that I was born one minute before midnight, my brother following 15 minutes the other side.

We have separate birthdays. A college professor once told me that he estimated that only 1 pair out of 1,500 had separate birthdays, making us rare indeed.

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But now after reading an Associated Press story, I'm feeling rather ordinary.

In a story filed on Jan. 4, AP medical writer Mike Strobbel relayed "In 2009, 1 in every 30 babies born in the U.S. was a twin, an astounding increase over the 1 in 53 rate in 1980, according to a government report."

Hmmm ... so twins are becoming commonplace in the maternity ward.

The article went on to say that, "for some unknown reason, mothers in their 30s are more likely to have twins than younger or older women. As much as a third of the increase can be attributed to that, according to Joyce Martin, an epidemiologist who co-authored the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report."

Researchers attributed the rest of the rise on fertility drugs, which has given us such gifts as Jon and Kate Plus 8, and the Octomom.

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The occurrence of twins is rising in all 50 states, the article went on to say. All part of the plan - yes, we multiples are taking over the world!

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Our capital will be in - you guessed it - the Twin Cities. We'll have two presidents at a time, and they'll probably be dressed alike at all public appearances.

In the new world, only twins can run for office, and their egg-mate must be their running partner. Once elected, their position counts as two votes.

Our first official action will be to eliminate the phrase "twin killing," baseball terminology for a double play. The triple play can stand. Nothing violent about that.

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But back to reality. I remember answering the phone in high school, my brother's girlfriend on the other end, relaying her day's activities and carrying on like she was talking to him. Who was I to correct her? You never know when you're going to hear something juicy.

Usually she'd catch on in a short amount of time, and I never said anything that got my brother in trouble, at least not to my knowledge.

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We went to different colleges, and I always worried that if I was out on a Saturday night in his town, I might come across someone who had a beef with my bro, and subsequently I'd end up with a broken nose before I literally knew what hit me.

Fortunately, that never happened. I came out of it all unscathed.

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Today, my twin lives thousands of miles away, so there's no reason for me to think anyone on the street will do a double take, thinking I'm him.

Because, you know, I'm ordinary now. I guess there's worse things ...

... Like watching the Octomom or Kate Gosselin.

Jerry "Mr. Run of the Mill" Hitchcock is a copy editor for The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2017, or via email at [email protected].