Post by Ambrienne on Apr 19, 2022 19:54:36 GMT -5
DNA inheritance is a funny thing. I didn't realize how funny it could be until I got my own tested recently. Because, for some strange reason, Ancestry.com was running a really good sale on testing kits this past St. Patty's Day. So, I decided to find out what in the world I'm made of.
...I will pause to allow whatever sarcasm/sardonics/insane cackling you might choose to utter to run its course. Or not. I could use my genetics as an excuse for my behavior, but let's face it; twisted humor knows no genetic boundaries and I'm at the very least a 3rd generation trickster on one side. Said trickster is at war with the part of me that has had enough of people's nonsense before they've ever opened their mouths while another part of me is stoically waiting in the middle with a cup of tea for either side to come to its senses some time this decade.
I'll spare you guys the exact breakdown they gave me the first time as they have just revised their initial estimates using some arcane logic that I am not privy to. They thought at first that I might have Swedish, Finnish, and Danish in me but have since decided that they were wrong. Sure. Okay. I'm not sure why they thought so in the first place, but whatever. Their latest estimate even includes Parent 1 & 2 breakdowns for what you inherited from each parent, so I was able to figure out (at least on my father's side anyway) what I didn't inherit, too.
On my mother's side, my genetic inheritance is very UK oriented. Primarily Scottish with about half as much English and a sprinkling of Irish and Welsh thrown in just for giggles. I honestly had some suspicions based on my mother's maiden name (though I wasn't sure whether it would be majority Scottish or English).
And on my father's side? Given what I know (because that side of the family was pretty good record keepers), there SHOULD be significant portions of Irish and French. ::muffled laughter:: Apparently, God took my inheritance out of the less obvious half of the paint box here. Either that or I have to keep in mind how much French royalty intermarried with other countries so as to, you know, not genetically resemble their subjects as much. Instead, my most major genetic marker on this side is Germanic European, followed by Eastern European (I see you there, Bohemian/Czech ancestors), with sprinklings of Scottish (again!), English/NW Europe, and (because I have to be weird) the Baltics.
Yes, that's right. Despite being descended on my father's side from literal French kings, I did not inherit any French genetics on that side at all. Ha. Tell that to my family name, why don't you. Tell that to the nose on my face; I've seen paintings of my last royal ancestor and it's the same nose. ...Does that mean the nose is actually Germanic, not a French nose? Do I really even care? No, not really, but it is kind of amusing.
So, my takeaway from this? I have inherited my ability to withstand cold temperatures, all kinds of malarkey and other nonsense without any visible outward twitches, a love for Westies and a lack of aversion to bagpipes from my Scottish forbearers. If I drank alcoholic beverages, I'd raise a glass here in tribute. Instead, my English ancestors say to stick with tea... even if you did steal it from the other side of the globe. Meanwhile, my Germanic ancestors are wondering why I'm sticking with reading military classics like the Art of War, Zhuge Liang's own treatise, the Five Rings, and other books of that sort instead of, you know, going out and founding my own country or something. To which my Eastern European ancestors reply, 'Kings and kingdoms suck. All we need is music.'
...I will pause to allow whatever sarcasm/sardonics/insane cackling you might choose to utter to run its course. Or not. I could use my genetics as an excuse for my behavior, but let's face it; twisted humor knows no genetic boundaries and I'm at the very least a 3rd generation trickster on one side. Said trickster is at war with the part of me that has had enough of people's nonsense before they've ever opened their mouths while another part of me is stoically waiting in the middle with a cup of tea for either side to come to its senses some time this decade.
I'll spare you guys the exact breakdown they gave me the first time as they have just revised their initial estimates using some arcane logic that I am not privy to. They thought at first that I might have Swedish, Finnish, and Danish in me but have since decided that they were wrong. Sure. Okay. I'm not sure why they thought so in the first place, but whatever. Their latest estimate even includes Parent 1 & 2 breakdowns for what you inherited from each parent, so I was able to figure out (at least on my father's side anyway) what I didn't inherit, too.
On my mother's side, my genetic inheritance is very UK oriented. Primarily Scottish with about half as much English and a sprinkling of Irish and Welsh thrown in just for giggles. I honestly had some suspicions based on my mother's maiden name (though I wasn't sure whether it would be majority Scottish or English).
And on my father's side? Given what I know (because that side of the family was pretty good record keepers), there SHOULD be significant portions of Irish and French. ::muffled laughter:: Apparently, God took my inheritance out of the less obvious half of the paint box here. Either that or I have to keep in mind how much French royalty intermarried with other countries so as to, you know, not genetically resemble their subjects as much. Instead, my most major genetic marker on this side is Germanic European, followed by Eastern European (I see you there, Bohemian/Czech ancestors), with sprinklings of Scottish (again!), English/NW Europe, and (because I have to be weird) the Baltics.
Yes, that's right. Despite being descended on my father's side from literal French kings, I did not inherit any French genetics on that side at all. Ha. Tell that to my family name, why don't you. Tell that to the nose on my face; I've seen paintings of my last royal ancestor and it's the same nose. ...Does that mean the nose is actually Germanic, not a French nose? Do I really even care? No, not really, but it is kind of amusing.
So, my takeaway from this? I have inherited my ability to withstand cold temperatures, all kinds of malarkey and other nonsense without any visible outward twitches, a love for Westies and a lack of aversion to bagpipes from my Scottish forbearers. If I drank alcoholic beverages, I'd raise a glass here in tribute. Instead, my English ancestors say to stick with tea... even if you did steal it from the other side of the globe. Meanwhile, my Germanic ancestors are wondering why I'm sticking with reading military classics like the Art of War, Zhuge Liang's own treatise, the Five Rings, and other books of that sort instead of, you know, going out and founding my own country or something. To which my Eastern European ancestors reply, 'Kings and kingdoms suck. All we need is music.'