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Apparently so, according to a new large-scale
study that found older brothers, statistically speaking, actually have
higher IQs than their younger siblings:
The study, detailed in the June 22 issue of the journal Science, analyzed the IQs of nearly 250,000 Norwegian 18- and 19-year-old draftees and found that older siblings had higher scores than younger siblings.
Another study, by the same authors of the new Science study but published recently in the journal Intelligence, looked at more than 100,000 Norwegian brothers and found that first-borns on average had an IQ 2.3 points higher than their younger brothers (the IQs were all taken when the brothers were 18 or 19, so they compare the older brother’s score at that age to the younger brother’s score when he reached that same age).
Earlier this month was National Sisters Day, which got me thinking about famous sibling duos. I thought it would be fun to share a list of the most famous of these sister pairings, but to be fair, there are so many famous pairs of sisters out there that it would be impossible to list them all. That’s why I’ve decided to leave out most of the contemporary examples you’re probably already familiar with, like Paris and Nikki Hilton and Venus and Serena Williams. I’ve also left out all of the popular sister singing groups from the last hundred years because there are so darn many of them between the Pointer Sisters, The Andrews Sisters and the gals from Heart.
That being said, here are some sisters who impacted history.
These not-so-attractive ladies are probably some of the earliest examples of famous sister groups, even if they aren’t exactly real. The Graeae were three ancient goddesses from Greek mythology who shared one eye and one tooth amongst the group. While they were actually archaic goddesses, when they interacted with humans, they usually took the form of old witches.
Perseus stole the eye of the witches when they were passing it amongst themselves and used it to force the Graeae to tell him where the three objects he needed to kill Medusa were hidden. Thus, the Graeae were instrumental in the killing of Medusa, who was one of their sisters. Even if these siblings aren’t real, the story has been so long-lasting that it’s hard to imagine it not having any impact on European history to some extent.
Around the same time that tales of Jesus were starting to be spread through the Middle East, two Vietnamese sisters were kicking butt, leading a revolt against the Chinese oppression of their country.
It all started when Trung Trac fell in love and married a man named Thi Sach. The Chinese rulers of Vietnam were making assimilation into their way of life mandatory and when Thi Sach took a stand against the repression of his culture, he was executed. His death was supposed to be a warning against all those who would consider rebelling, but instead it spurred his wife and sister-in-law, Trung Nhi, to take up his cause and fight against the Chinese.
The two sisters were raised learning martial arts and studying the art of warfare, so when it was time to start a rebellion, they were ready. In 39 AD, the two women repelled a small Chinese unit from their village and started to assemble a large army of rebels –mostly women according to popular legends. Within a few months, they already had taken back over 60 citadels from the Chinese and had liberated the kingdom of Nam Viet. The two were named as queens of their free country and they were able to keep the territory free from the Chinese for over two years.
more …
Growing up singing together has its advantages! This post looks at thirteen different sibling acts that made it big, with videos of each.
Often our brothers and sisters are the first people we sing and play music with, so if it works well, it’s only natural to continue to sing and play with them. The tonal similarity of siblings’ voices allows for the building of beautiful harmonies, which can explain the success of the music made by siblings.
From the Upcoming 
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It must be hard being the lesser-known sibling of one of the world’s greatest painters, or authors, or minds. On a larger scale, I bet it’s like going through high school as the younger sibling of a brother who was the star quarterback. “Van Gogh? Are you related to Vincent? Oh, man, Starry Night was just amazing.” OK, maybe not. But at any rate, there are often supportive siblings behind the successes of great people – here are just a few of them.
Branwell was the only boy out of all of the Bronte siblings, and was by all accounts extremely talented in his own right. But what I think is most interesting is that he may have been the inspiration behind The Graduate. In 1843, he was hired as the tutor for the family of a local reverend, Edmund Robinson. It’s well documented that he fell in love with Lydia Robinson, Edmund’s wife, so it’s no surprised that Branwell was “mysteriously” dismissed from his position in 1845 – It’s thought that Rev. Robinson found out that the two were having an affair. Heartbroken by the loss of Mrs. Robinson, he began drinking a lot and was likely addicted to opium. He ended up dying of tuberculosis, as did his sisters Emily and Anne. Charles Richard Webb, the author of The Graduate, is also rumored to have based the novel on his own affair with an older, rich socialite, but I would say he had at least heard of the Branwell Bronte story just based on the similarity of the names of the main characters.
Like a lot of little sisters, Jane adored her older sibling and emulated everything Cassandra did. Their mother once said, “If Cassandra’s head had been going to be cut off, Jane would have hers cut off too.” Jane wrote numerous letters to her sister, but only about 100 have survived. Cassandra supposedly destroyed most of the letters after Jane died in 1817. Like her famous sister, Cassandra never married.
Erasmus was five years older than his famous brother, Charles. He went to the Shrewsbury Boarding School and developed in interest in chemistry, so he and Charles set up an amateur lab in the garden shed at their house. By 1822, he decided to study medicine, but by 1829, he had given up the career at his father’s advice. Dr. Robert Waring Darwin felt that Erasmus was too frail and delicate of a man to handle such a stressful career and talked him into retirement at the age of 26. He and Charles were very close and visited often, even after Charles got sick and started to become reclusive. Charles’ children loved Erasmus and called him Uncle Ras. He died in September 1881, more than 50 years after his father told him he was too sickly to do much with his life.
As the younger brother of Vincent, Theo was instrumental in Vincent’s success – he provided materials and financial support and introduced him to Gaugain, Cezanne, Toulouse-Lautrec, Rousseau, Pissaro and Seurat (Theo was an art dealer and had excellent connections). Vincent even lived with Theo for a while. When they didn’t live together, they were constantly writing to one another. These letters have been compiled in a book, but you won’t find many of Theo’s letters – Vincent apparently destroyed most of Theo’s correspondence, while Theo avidly saved everything from Vincent. Some of Vincent’s responses, though, indicate that Theo was aware of Vincent’s mental health issues and was concerned about his brother.
Maria Anna (she didn’t go by Marianne until she was an adult) was Wolfgang’s older sister, and his only sibling who didn’t die in infancy. She was part of the Mozart family Grand Tour from 1763-1766, and was even the big draw in the early years – she showed a natural talent for the harpsichord and piano. Eventually, when she got old enough to marry, she was no longer allowed to tour or show off her musical talents. She apparently was a good composer, because letters from Mozart have survived that praise her artistry, but none of her pieces have ever been found. She and Wolfgang were quite close as children but apparently drifted apart as adults – no correspondence between the two exists after 1788.
Bartholomew was just one of Christopher’s brothers – he had two others, Giacomo and Giovanni. Bartholomew was, fittingly, a mapmaker. Apparently world exploration ran in the family. This map is from the workshop of Bartholomew and Christopher; it’s been documented that they worked closely together. In 1494, he helped Christopher in his campaigns to conquer Hispaniola and governed it for a while. He was also a member of Christopher’s last transatlantic expedition.
