That leads into all sorts of additional discussion given recent events . . .
Posted on 02/11/2012 9:52:19 PM PST by Slings and Arrows
When your society has inhabited a small, remote island for countless generations and boasts a population of only 300,000, the odds of having sex with a relative are significant. Luckily, Icelanders now have a handy tool to avoid family-sex.
Íslendingabók—meaning "book of Icelanders"—is an online incest avoidance search engine. Plug in your name and that of a potential mate, and the site searches a genealogical database to see how closely you're related. It's likely that you'll have some overlap many generations back—in which case you're probably safe from mutant children. But if you share great-grandparents, you might want to reconsider your Nordic hookup.
But there's a twist! As GlobalPost reports, new research says sexing with a distant cousin is actually beneficial for fertility, as your genes are more comptable than someone from the other side of the planet. So, avoid creepy incest, but seek out good incest. Iceland—constantly at the top of quality of life lists, and an easy place to sleep with an attractive cousin. [GlobalPost via TNW]
That leads into all sorts of additional discussion given recent events . . .
Actually, the patronymic (using an ancestor's first name as part of your name) predates the Soviet era in Russia. Read Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, or even Pasternak's "Doctor Zhivago" - all of the major characters were born and named in the pre-Revolutionary era.
My middle name is the same as my father's first name also. One more thing - it makes documentation easier for genealogists.
On that note, see my previous post.
In almost every Presidential campaign, some genealogist will release a chart showing that the opposing candidates are nth cousins or are both related to George Washington or to Abraham Lincoln.
Bank when I was doing a lot of genealogy, I read that the Irish used to name their children in a certain way with I think the oldest son named after the father’s father, the second son named after the mother’s father etc. My brother is named after my father’s maternal grandfather and I’m named after my father’s maternal grandmother.
The feller with the watch probably is.
He is sure goofy enough lookin'!
Iceland an Cyprus..... Best kept party secrets on earth.
Stationed on both a few times. I am my own grampa now...
Stay safe !
Thanks for the ping...great stuff.
Your guess is creepy scary. Are those Counties known for close family ties? I'm not in those Counties but am close enough to the borders of one that it might have spilled over.
The problem is if you had ancestors in what is now the US in colonial times but they didn't live in the New England colonies, that the records will be too incomplete to trace all the lineages. A lot of Virginia records were destroyed when Richmond burned in 1865.
William and Mary College, the second oldest institution of higher learning in what is now the US, was named for a king and queen who were first cousins. The first Queen Mary also married her first cousin, Philip II.
My ancestors didn’t arrive here until about 100 years ago, however, my wife has ancestors who came over on the Mayflower.
“Your guess is creepy scary. Are those Counties known for close family ties?”
VERY, VERY, VERY CLOSE! I mean like brother/sister, mother/son close. I believe it was Connie Chung that did a documentary on this area 20+ years ago. Mrs. panax saw it and wanted to move immediately.
yikes! It’s worse than I thought.
James Carville is really from Iceland?
I’m going to throw everyone for a loop here...
This STILL doesn’t address us adopted kids (nor sperm donor children). How do they handle those situations, especially in places like Iceland?
They say that we can “recognize” genetic patterns among people in a crowd. Many adoptees have reported meeting family members - unbeknownst to them at the time - that they had felt like they had “known” forever, even though they had never met before. There are still other stories of adopted siblings (male and female) who were unaware of their birth family’s makeup that have met each other and started relationships, or had interactions based upon what they thought was “love at first sight” when they originally met.
It doesn’t happen ALL the time, but many adoptees have stories of going to school with biological half-siblings, or living in the same town or in the same school district, etc.. without any clue that they were related. A large number of adoptees report a high number of coincidences when they are reconnected with their birth families.
That said, the risk of inherited problems from “inbreeding” doesn’t usually present as that great of a problem, however in a population the size of Iceland with a small number of people moving to or from I can see why it could become one that should be addressed.
(Sorry to turn a funny thread serious for a moment! - LR)
The Icelanders say no, the Cajuns say yes.
“If you go to a Family Reunion to Pick up Women.....you might be Icelandic.”
"Hey baby, I see you have a little dog poopie on your shoes!"
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