Anyone who has spent time with me knows that I am obsessed with identicals—identical twins, triplets, quads, you name it. And while it doesn’t directly relate to fertility, my obsession is serious enough that I’m sure if push came to shove, I could make a pretty compelling case for why every fertility book should have a full chapter devoted to the concept.

At any rate, decades ago, when watching TV was pretty much the only diversion one had (gasp), I watched a talk show featuring nothing but identical quads. But in each case, there was something even more unique about each set than simply that, oh yeah, they were friggin’ identical quads, for God’s sake!

The first set was four 16-year old singing teenage girls. When the host went out into the audience to interview the parents, we learned that not only did they already have two older girls, but the quads were . . . wait for it . . . a mistake! Yup, an ‘Ooops’ in professional lingo. The mother was using a diaphragm when she conceived them.

The second set was four identical younger girls all wearing baseball caps. When the host went down the row asking each of them their names, each removed her cap while saying her name, revealing a beautiful mane of blond locks. But when they got to the last girl, while saying her name, she revealed short-cropped hair, and everyone gasped as they realized that she was a he. He was the only boy of the quads, with three identical sisters!

The third set was four identical male country singers, each wearing the same pair of jeans, shirts, cowboy boots and hats. But the kicker in their case? The set of quads was actually two sets of identical twins, making each man both an identical twin and quad simultaneously!

And the fourth and final set of quads was frankly kind of a yawner by the time the host got to them, because they were just your garden-variety identical 6-year old little boys bouncing off the walls of the stage. Ho hum.