My husband has talked for years all about how he'd like to do one of those “what's your DNA” kits. Like, years… but never did it. So, when 23andMe offered me a free kit, I jumped on the opportunity to shut him up give him a chance to try one out. So, I got online and ordered one. He was super stoked and couldn't wait for the kit to arrive. Like, I heard about it every single day until the thing showed up. Once it got here, he opened the kit and carefully read the directions (I'm not gonna lie, lots of jokes were told [by me] about this being the only time in life that he read ANY INSTRUCTIONS EVER). He was supposed to not eat or drink for a half and hour and then spit into this test tube thingy. Cool. Easy. Done. I shook up the test, as instructed, and sent it off in it's self-addressed, pre-paid package. Then we waited.
Look, I'm not going to pretend here. My husband is… white. Like, it would have been a HUGE surprise to find out that his DNA was from any place outside of Northern Europe. He is THAT white. So it's not we were expecting any kind of discovery there. What my husband was curious about was exactly where his ancestry's DNA hailed from and how much. See, his family hasn't kept great records of who's who and from where so he has mostly depended on stories passed down through the generations to understand who he is. And he was wondering just how accurate those stories were. For example, he had always heard that he was mostly German and a little bit of a mash-up of Irish/Scottish/British. He was curious if that was true.
We got his DNA results back via a link in an email and printed them out. And guess what? My husband is WHITE. Like, W H I T E white. 99.1%, to be exact. Whiiiiite.
Honestly, not a big surprise but it made me laugh. The biggest surprise was that he's 57.5% British and Irish and only 12.2% French and German. A reverse of what he'd been told. He was completely fascinated by the results and spent the evening using the 23andMe site to look into the them more. He loved seeing the definitions of the different ethnicities and regions. He loved that people who receive their genetic results from 23andMe see the percentage breakdown of their ancestry from 31 different populations around the world.
Are you interested in your own 23andMe DNA kit? If you order yours now then you'll be entered to win an amazing adventure in the 23andMe’s Golden23SM Sweepstakes based on your unique DNA! (total value up to $20,000 (taxes and fees included) and includes the winner plus a guest, round trip airfare, hotel accommodations for 5 nights, custom itineraries by Journy to explore the local life, and daily spending money. The sweepstakes rules are here. No purchase necessary. Visit page for Rules. Ends August 3, 2017.
Find out where your DNA comes from around the world – and use it to make your DNA travel itinerary.
23andMe is named after the 23 pairs of chromosomes in your DNA! The service can provide you with over 75 genetic reports about your health (like lactose intolerance and sleep movement), traits (your eye color or hair curl) and ancestry (what percent breakdown your DNA is from all over the world), and you can even participate in a feature called “DNA Relatives” and find people who share similar DNA with you. You may find that you share DNA with a friend you’ve known your entire life… your genetic network can be your new social network.
And – it’s pretty easy to do. You “spit” into the tube provided and mail it back to the lab. Everyone has a DNA story…find out your DNA story.