Brainteaser: Twin Birthdays

(Image credit: Flickr user Angela Vincent)

One day Kerry celebrates her birthday. Two days later, her older twin Terry celebrates his birthday. How could that be, when they were born a half-hour apart?

When you've given up and want to see the answer, continue reading.


Highlight the following for the answer: The twins were born while their mother was on an ocean cruise. The older twin, Terry, was born first -on March 1. The ship, traveling west, then crossed a time zone and Kerry, the younger twin, was born on February 28th. In a leap year, the younger twin celebrates her birthday two days before her older brother.

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I don't believe there is any need for cruise ships or manipulation of timezones in the answer. One twin born at 11:45pm on Feb 28, the other born at 12:15 am on March 1 will do nicely. When it is a leap year, their birthdays will be celebrated two days apart.
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Mike, you missed the kicker -- the OLDER twin celebrates his birthday AFTER the younger twin.

It also works if mom was going east and crossed the International Date Line. Terry was born Mar 1 at say 5 pm. 15 minutes later, the boat crosses the line and it becomes Feb 28, 6:15 pm. Kerry is born 15 minutes after that. Again, it relies on the leap year trick.
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