A Strange City Of Twins

The formation of twins is not very common. Only one in 250 births gives birth to twins. One Brazilian municipality, Cândido Godó in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, has the most twins in the world.

When you reach this city, you come across a sign that says, “Cândido Godói, the land of the twins”. This city is known worldwide as the “capital of the twins.” This is because every tenth woman in this city has given birth to twins.

Cândido Godói: a city of twins

This city of twins is located in a remote municipality in southern Brazil with a population of approximately 6,500. This city is located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, next to Argentina.

There are currently 90 twins living in this city. There are 44 twins living in the Linha São Pedro area alone. Between 1959 and 2014, 35% of all births in Cândido Godó were twins. 

In this city, one in ten women give birth to twins. It has the largest number of twins in the world. Another thing that is striking in this Brazilian city is that most of the identical twins in this city are pale and blue-eyed.

Residents of Cândido Godó are well aware of this feature. They hold a twin festival in their city every year, bringing all the twins in the area together.

However, city residents cannot explain what is happening in their city. Some think this is the result of the misuse of nuclear energy. Others believe there is something wrong with the water they drink. Some, on the other hand, believe in the theory that there are some effects from outer space involved. But today, there are two theories that stand out from the crowd, which are also the most sensible. One of the theories involves the experiments of a famous Nazi doctor, and the other is based on a genetic theory known as the founding influence.

Hypothesis no. 1: Nazi doctoral experiments

This hypothesis encompasses the research of Argentine historian and journalist Jorge Camarasa. His work is crystallized in his work Mengele: The Angel of Death in South America. This book describes the experiments carried out by Nazi doctor Josef Mengele in the 1960s. It deals with the experiments he conducted in Brazil, which he conducted after he had fled to Latin America after the end of World War II. 

Josef Mengel was in charge of the Auschwitz concentration camp. There he used the Jews as his guinea pigs in his repulsive experiments. His aim was to prove the superiority of the Aryan race. Because of his cruel deeds, he is remembered as the Angel of Death of Auschwitz.

The twins with identical and different eggs were obsessed with Mengele. He thought it was necessary to find out the secret of many simultaneous births in order to increase the number of the Aryan race.

So he turned this small village into a human laboratory for just that purpose. After he arrived in this village, the number of twins in Cândido Godó increased. Some eyewitnesses remember the time Mengele spent in this village. They assure that Mengele was treating some pregnant women with strange drinks and syringes.

Hypothesis no. 2: founding effect

One in-depth genetic study of the population of Cândido Godói showed that the  experiments performed by Mengele are not the reason why so many twins have been born in this village. Most of the people in this village come from a small group of ancestors. This means that almost all the inhabitants of the village are related to each other, one way or another. Therefore, they share many genetic traits with each other.

Experts call this genetic effect a “founding effect.” It refers to the creation of a new population by a small number of individuals. This is not very common in humans, but there are still some examples in history. In some cases this is voluntary, while in others it is forced.

The gene shared by many Cândido Godó residents is TP53. 43 of the women who have given birth to twins have this gene. Experts associate this gene with fertility and a higher likelihood of having twins. However, this is not the only factor that determines this. This gene predisposes certain women to give birth to more than one child at a time.

In addition to all this, studies have revealed that the abundant birth of twins took place even before Mengele’s arrival. In fact, it is also possible that the specialty of this village was the reason why Mengele decided to settle in Cândido Godó.

The existence of this mysterious village cannot be explained by Mengele’s supposed experiments. Instead, the answer lies in the biological and genetic characteristics of this population.