what do you think of the ice now?

[Helga]

I read an article on a popular online news page the other day and it had links to these sites they were referencing. I am curious what people of the world like you think of this.


http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/offbeat/111011/wanderlust-iceland-where-everyone-related-bjork

http://gizmodo.com/5882644/iceland-is-so-inbred-it-needs-a-website-to-avoid-incest

[OrphanPip]

The Decode project was new when I was an undergrad, and you'd be surprised how internationally geneticist are fascinated by the extensive genealogical records in Iceland. The major problem is that much of the recessive genetic disorders found in Iceland are not common enough outside of the country to be of much interest beyond expanding theoretical knowledge (to international researchers, I imagine they're quite important to Icelandic doctors and scientists).

[BookBeauty]

Wow. I never would have thought it possible, but I suppose Iceland is quite ICE-olated.

[Helga]

The Decode project is a big and important thing here on the ice and they have done a lot of gene thingys I have no idea what is and not that interested in, but apparently are very good :).... but the webpage in question here is real and I have a password though I can't remember it. As a teenager I used it and found out how my first two boyfriends were related to me, both through the 6 or 7 ancestor but that is most people here. It is rare to find someone through the 8 ancestor but my best friend and her boyfriend are related that far back.

It's not as common as the articles say to find out you spent the night with your third cousin! but it is interesting that not many countries are like this, though it is changing with a lot of people moving here(and leaving the ice) and marrying people from the ice so things are changing.

this makes us sound like some hillbillies, oh and yes I guess everybody is related to Björk.

[billl]

I don't know why, but I really like the idea of not having a family name (surname). I mean, I don't feel like I'd want to get rid of mine (there's plenty cool about having a family name), but it just seems pretty novel/unusual to me.

Mongolians have a similar thing. They recently added the idea of a "clan name", which would act as a family name (surname), but there's no real rule about how the first takers of clan names should pick their clan name (in those cases where people decide to do it at all). And it still isn't too important I don't think, and isn't included on passports.

Anyhow, I never think of inbreeding and/or hillbilly stereotypes when I think of Iceland. I think of Bjork, Vikings... and those Elves or whatever in the woods.

[Helga]

a few people here have surnames but that's not the general rule. You just have your dads name and some people use both of their parents first names as last names.

The Elves mentioned, there are many many stories about elves and other beings here but since this island is mainly rocks or lava we believe they live in stones. and if they invite you in you'll never get out. There is actually a woman who takes tourists on walks around my street and neighborhood and tells them about all the different kinds of elves that live there, don't know if I believe it though.

in my íslendingabók I checked once the Icelandic translation for Darth Vader witch is Svarthöfði (that really just means black head) and he was my ancestor.

[Lokasenna]

I love how the second website makes a distinction between good and bad incest...

I suppose it is bound to happen - heck, cases of genetic attraction (where people hook up with someone they don't know is a close relative, such as in the case of adopted siblings) happen with reasonable frequency here.

I don't think that does anything to dampen my love of Iceland - in fact, I think it really adds to experiencing Icelandic culture. I remeber when I was in Iceland for the first time, I got chatting with a café proprieter in the small village of Hvammstangi in the north. I expressed my approval of President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, to which she applied "Yes, he's alright... he's my cousin."

I thought that was brilliant.

[Helga]

I need to find my password so I can see how closely related I am to the president, never did that. I am kinda tired of him now though...