The Science of a Soap Opera Plot Twist

Let's take a closer look at the children of "All My Children." We might even learn something.

Me: Did you watch "One Life to Live" today?
Kristina (my sister): Yeah, can you believe that Nicki claimed that her twins were fathered by two different men?
Me: And I'm supposed to buy the fact that it happened a week apart? Seriously, I'm not dumb!
Both of us: Ha! Ha!
Both of us: (Silence)
Me: Do you think that can really happen?

Well, it turns out it can. It's called heteropaternal superfecundation and it's ridiculously rare, but it's not impossible. So, my defiant attitude toward soap operas tempered, I decided to investigate strange-but-hey-maybe-it-could-happen story lines of the legendary character Erica Kane, a former actress, model, author, and talk-show host played to immense popularity by Susan Lucci. Her life on "All My Children" was full of mysteries: