I thought it was only fitting to wear my cell design Bow Tie o’ the Day in a post about my DNA results which just came in from ancestry.com. I must say that I was disappointed to learn that ancestry.com no longer offers health testing, which can identify things like a person’s genetic tendency to have blood clots or heart problems. That’s the testing I was originally most interested in. I did the “traits” testing instead.
The DNA findings are mostly what I expected. I am definitely related to my family. Duh! I discovered I share more of my DNA with my brother, Ron, than I share with my sister, BT/Mercedes. The test says I have the sprinter gene, which I didn’t even know existed. Interestingly, I learned from the results that bright light is not likely to make me sneeze. My DNA also indicates that I probably notice a distinctive smell when I pee after eating asparagus. In fact, I do. I thought that happened to everyone, but it doesn’t. There—I learned something.
My DNA says I likely have no problem digesting dairy products, and I have a high sensitivity to sugar—both things I can verify by my experience. According to the test results, I likely have “wet” earwax, unattached earlobes, and three types of iris patterns: furrows, crypts, and rings. Yes, I have all those traits. The DNA did not say that I am the whitest white person on the face of the earth, as I was sure it would. There are, however, two traits I have that defy what my genetic code says is likely to be true for me. First, my genes say I likely have wavy hair, but I really have stubbornly straight hair that always came out straighter after I got a permanent. And second, my genetic code says I am likely to not have a unibrow. Oh, but I do. If it weren’t for my dedicated brow landscaping habits, you would see the wonders of my unibrow. And you would be appropriately askeered. Y’all are so lucky that I routinely wield a fancy pair o’ tweezers.