MovieChat Forums > The Patty Duke Show (1963) Discussion > Were Cathy and Patty Double Cousins?

Were Cathy and Patty Double Cousins?

posted 8 years ago by DrakeStraw
9 replies | jump to latest

Fairly frequently identical twins will marry another set of identical twins. Was that the case on this show? Is there a backstory on their mothers?

There are many double cousins in my mother's family and a few sets of twins also, but none that married other twins. Double cousins are as close genetically as siblings even when the parents aren't identical twins. My grandfather's sister married my grandmother's brother and both had large families.

DrakeStraw
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[–] 8 years ago

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[–] wolverineland 8 years ago

They were not double cousins even though that would be a more logical explanation for them being identical. Patty's father Martin and Cathy's father Kenneth were identical twins but the girls mothers were unrelated to one another. It didn't bother me that Patty and Cathy were so identical. What bothered me was I don't think it was ever addressed how much older one was than the other.

[–] pantherfan99 8 years ago

What is your profile pic? The bottom is the Arizona flag, but the top looks like the flag for 'Les Patriotes' French Canadian nationalists in the 19th century https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriote_flag

Boston and Philly love to slander us, but they don t have as many fans as us

[–] DrakeStraw 8 years ago

The top flag is Hungarian, because they have a similar view on immigration as does Arizona.

Hungary's flag is an upside-down Patriote flag.

DrakeStraw
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[–] pantherfan99 8 years ago

So I guess you are familiar with the Patriote flag? I assume you are in Arizona of Hungarian descent?

Boston and Philly love to slander us, but they don t have as many fans as us

[–] DrakeStraw 8 years ago

So I guess you are familiar with the Patriote flag?

No, just followed your link. I have no Hungarian ancestry that I am aware of. I do have some Dutch ancestry and the green will turn blue if they ever get their act together.

DrakeStraw
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[–] pantherfan99 8 years ago

I'm not familiar with Arizona or Hungary's immigration policies but will have to google that

Boston and Philly love to slander us, but they don t have as many fans as us

[–] magolding 8 years ago

It is biologically impossible for cousins to be identical.

Suppose that 2 male identical twins and 2 female identical twins marry. Then each set of parents will have identical genes. And the children of the 2 sets will be as genetically identical as siblings.

But siblings, except for rare cases of identical twins, have different genes from each other. it is impossible for 2 humans to have identical genes, unless one is cloned from the other with future science, or they are identical twins grown from a single fertilized egg which split into two very early in development.

Therefore anyone who cares enough about biological science will have to assume that The Patty Duke Show is fantasy or science fiction in which Patty and Cathy's mothers were both implanted with their identical offspring by magic or super advanced science.

Unless, of course, we assume that Patty and Cathy are not genetically IDENTICAL but are genetically SIMILAR ENOUGH in their genes determining appearance that they look almost identical. Just like Tsar Nicholas II and King/Emperor George V were not genetically identical but looked very similar and were hard to tell apart.

[–] Pmdmnym 7 years ago

Thank you for one of the most intelligent post I have ever read!