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There's got to be something in the water.
A Chicago-area middle school is claiming they are home to the most sets of twins in one grade of any school in the world.
Among the fifth grade class at Highcrest Middle School in Wilmette, Ill., according to CBS Chicago, are 23 reported sets of twins -- far surpassing the current record.
Two of the twins, Ryan and Luke Novosel, had guessed that their school could break the record when they were reading a copy of the latest Guinness Book of World Records four months ago, Wilmette Life reports.
When Ryan read that the standing record for the most sets of twins in one grade level was a tie between three high schools -- located in Westport, Conn., West Des Moines, Iowa and Park Ridge, Ill. -- with a mere 16, he was not impressed.
CBS reports that Mike Novosel, Ryan and Luke's father, contacted the editors of the Guinness Book of World Records to alert them to their North Shore community's bizarre achievement. The editors have reportedly asked for birth certificates and school registration documentation for all 46 children -- in addition to a photo of the entire group, which was taken Wednesday morning.
According to NBC Chicago, 470 students are at the fifth-grade level at the school -- meaning that roughly an astonishing 10 percent of them are twins. Only one of the 23 sets of twins are reportedly identical.
The Wilmette tween-twins aren't the only ones who appear to be heading for the record book's twin division this year: Last month, a set of twins born 87 days apart in Ireland also appeared to be Guinness-bound.
The number of twins born in the U.S. has soared over the last 30 years, largely due to fertility treatments, in vitro fertilization and more women waiting to have children at an older age.
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