This takes the notion of kissing cousins to a whole new level.
If you are dating someone from the same country and of the same ethnic background, there is a 1 in 5 chance you are related and share a relative in common. At least that is what a new YouTube video from quirky fact guru Michael of V Sauce explains.
Skeeved out yet? I am. But wait, it gets grosser. Geneticists say that we are, at most, the 50th cousin of very single person on the planet. If you follow your family tree back 64 generations, there is no way to escape the cross connections. Basically, the video contends we wouldn't be here without a little incest.
Of course I can see how this happened. There were probably eras in many cultures where cousins knowingly and happily married each other. That's the whole romantic plot of the mega hit Downton Abbey, afterall. I guess it just seems less icky with their fancy British accents?!
It's just hard to accept that the person you are dating in real life likely comes from the same gene pool, no matter how many steps removed. I truly believe factoids like this are the reason the word "Yuck" was created. I say we are better off never knowing certain supposed truths.
Watch the full explanation here:
Do you buy this? Do you think we are all cousins?
Image via ghutchis/Flickr
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Comments 13
of course we are all cousins at some point..we all descend from the same group of humans who spread out across the globe so many thousands of thousands of years ago.
Heh. My parents are waaay in to geneology and they discovered that they were related way back in the 1600's. :)
Has this thought realy never crossed your mind before now? The first time I ever thought about this I was about 9 or 10. It doesnt creep me out at all dating my 50th or so cousin. What does creep me out is when people have sex with their imidiate family members and cousins they can directly connect the lines too.
Intermarriage was very common back in the day, as was marrying your dead wife's sister (which happened more than once in my family). I know people who have done their geneology and found that both sides of the family lived in the same area and had been intermarrying for YEARS!
I agree completely.
My mother was an only child, as was my grandmother. From her side, I have no immediate blood cousins. So if I felt so inclined, I would be perfectly content marrying a 1st cousin, or an uncle. They are all only related to me by marriages, and more distant bloodlines.
As long as there ain't no flippered grandchildren! LoL
I believe I read somewhere that Henry the Eighth only had 6 great-grandparents. Talk about intermarrying!