Twins

There is a pair of identical twins on Julia's swim team this summer, which has led Julia to think a lot about twins.

JULIA: Mommy?  Are the girls on my team identical twins?
ME: Yes.
JULIA: And...I might be making this word up, so don't laugh at me...but is the kind of twins that are NOT identical called faternal?
ME: Fraternal, yes.
JULIA: Oh.  I thought it was FAternal.
ME: Well, that's really close.  Fraternal twins are when the mommy has two eggs that both develop into babies at the same time.  Identical twins are when there's one egg, and it somehow splits into two babies who have the exact same genes.  That's why identical twins look exactly alike.
JULIA: Well Mommy?  There's these other twins that look exactly alike except their noses are different.  So would they be identical?
ME: Well, identical twins can sometimes have features that aren't a perfect match.  Sometimes it depends on their environment.  One twin can be thinner, or-
JULIA: No, no, no, but Mommy, it's not something from their environment.  They're the same size, and they look exactly alike except their NOSES are different.  So would they be identical?
ME: Well, probably.  Even identical twins can have a slight difference in their facial features.
JULIA: Yeah, and maybe, like, one of them had her NOSE smashed up against their mommy's tummy when they were growing inside.
ME: Who are these twins?
JULIA: Their names are Madeleine and Carolina.
ME: And what do you know them from?
JULIA: They're friends with the Mintz.

Oh.   They're imaginary, just like the Mintz.  Well, in that case, Jules, they can even look COMPLETELY different and still be identical twins, because YOU MADE THEM UP and your imagination can do ANYTHING IT WANTS.  You don't need to fact-check with me about the details of your made-up inner world of non-existent people.

Also: I should have known these twins were Mintz-related.  Obviously, if Julia has made friends with identical twins, then the Mintz must have twin friends as well.  Duh. 

I wonder if Lilly Mintz fills her own mom in about the imaginary family SHE made up and thinks about while she gallops back and forth through the house.