Although some of this I already knew, I thought it interesting...
Queen Elizabeth II's husband actually *gave up* the title of Prince when he married her, rather than taking it. He was born Prince of Greece and Denmark but was required to renounce titles and allegiances to marry the Princess.
Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Phillip, are twice cousins. Elizabeth is Phillip's second cousin, once removed (through Christian IX of Denmark), as well as third cousin (through Queen Victoria).
Until WWI, the British Royal Family actually didn't have a last name. The name House of Windsor was invented during WWI, because the House of Prince Albert, House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, was 'far too Germanic sounding'.
The Queen Mother was not actually Queen, she was Queen consort, which means she was the King's wife. Conversely, the husband of a Queen is a Prince or Prince consort, not a King. On the other hand, a Queen Regnant reigns in her own right on the death of a previous monarch and is much rarer. A Queen dowager is a widow of a king who reigned in his own right and a Queen mother is a queen dowager who is also the mother of a reigning sovereign.
No Queen regnant has ever reigned over France because Salic law excludes females from inheritance of throne or fief. This was at least one motive for the Hundred Years' War and one factor leading to the Battle of Agincourt. A side note - the Meiji Constitution in Japan similarly excludes women from the Chrysanthemum Throne since 1889.
In some countries, the female ruler is still called King.
Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, loathed being called a dowager queen.
Two of Henry VII's wives were also his cousins. Catherine of Aragon, his first wife, was his third cousin once removed and Catherine Parr, his sixth wife, was also a third cousin once removed.
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were first cousins.
Certain Middle Eastern countries have a cousin (1st and 2nd) marriage rate of over 50%... Qatar's is 54%.
It's still legal to marry your first cousin in 14 states. WV is not one of them.
About 55% of Pakistani immigrants to Britain marry a first cousin.
The concept of parallel and cross cousins is bizarre and confusing.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Arrgh!
Slightly late for Talk Like a Pirate Day, but this still amuses me greatly. ;-)
THE PIRATES WHO DON'T DO ANYTHING
we are the pirates we don't do anything
we just stay at home, and lie around
and if you ask us, to do anything
we'll just tell you, we don't do anything
well I've never been to Greenland
and I've never been to Denver
and I've never buried treasure in ST Louie or ST Paul
and I've never been to Moscow
and I've never been to Tampa
and I've never been to Boston in the fall
we are the pirates we don't do anything
we just stay at home, and lie around
and if you ask us, to do anything
we'll just tell you, we don't do anything
and I've never hoist the main sail
and I've never swabbed the poop deck
and I've never veered starboard, cause I've never sailed at all
and I've never walked the gang plank
and I've never owned a parrot.
and I've never been to Boston in the fall
we are the pirates we don't do anything
we just stay at home, and lie around
and if you ask us, to do anything
we'll just tell you, we don't do anything
I've never plucked a rooster
and I am not too good at ping-pong
and I've never thrown my mashed potatoes up against the wall
and I've never kissed a chipmunk,
and I've never gotten head lice
and I have never been to Boston in the fall
(pirate captains log 2002
who be this band relient k
and why they be so full of contradictions)
we don't know what he did
but we're down with captain kidd
we don't wake up before lunch
but we all eat captain crunch
we don't smoke, we don't chew
we watch captain kangaroo
and I've never licked a spark-plug
and I've never sniffed a stink bug
and I've never painted daisies on a big red rubber ball
and I've never bathed in yogurt
and I don't look good in leggings
and I've never been to Boston in the fall
we are the pirates who don't do anything
we just stay at home, and lie around
and if you ask us, to do anything
we'll just tell you, we don't do anything
we are the pirates we don't do anything
we just stay at home, and lie around
and if you ask us, to do anything
we'll just tell you, we don't do anything
THE PIRATES WHO DON'T DO ANYTHING
we are the pirates we don't do anything
we just stay at home, and lie around
and if you ask us, to do anything
we'll just tell you, we don't do anything
well I've never been to Greenland
and I've never been to Denver
and I've never buried treasure in ST Louie or ST Paul
and I've never been to Moscow
and I've never been to Tampa
and I've never been to Boston in the fall
we are the pirates we don't do anything
we just stay at home, and lie around
and if you ask us, to do anything
we'll just tell you, we don't do anything
and I've never hoist the main sail
and I've never swabbed the poop deck
and I've never veered starboard, cause I've never sailed at all
and I've never walked the gang plank
and I've never owned a parrot.
and I've never been to Boston in the fall
we are the pirates we don't do anything
we just stay at home, and lie around
and if you ask us, to do anything
we'll just tell you, we don't do anything
I've never plucked a rooster
and I am not too good at ping-pong
and I've never thrown my mashed potatoes up against the wall
and I've never kissed a chipmunk,
and I've never gotten head lice
and I have never been to Boston in the fall
(pirate captains log 2002
who be this band relient k
and why they be so full of contradictions)
we don't know what he did
but we're down with captain kidd
we don't wake up before lunch
but we all eat captain crunch
we don't smoke, we don't chew
we watch captain kangaroo
and I've never licked a spark-plug
and I've never sniffed a stink bug
and I've never painted daisies on a big red rubber ball
and I've never bathed in yogurt
and I don't look good in leggings
and I've never been to Boston in the fall
we are the pirates who don't do anything
we just stay at home, and lie around
and if you ask us, to do anything
we'll just tell you, we don't do anything
we are the pirates we don't do anything
we just stay at home, and lie around
and if you ask us, to do anything
we'll just tell you, we don't do anything
Blargh.
I don't know why, but vanilla tea is revolting. One would think that vanilla chai would go well together, but no. Vanilla tea in general is revolting. I've tried to like it on multiple occasions, but to no avail.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Here's the keys, Uncle-Daddy....
Consanguinity is confusing..... double cousins and one and a half cousins and and and.... my head hurts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consanguinity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cousin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consanguinity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cousin
Calling Dr. House....
Cataplexy - the sudden loss of muscle tone that is triggered by the experience of an intense emotion. The word cataplexy comes from the Latin word “cataplessa” which means, “to strike down with fear or the like”. A debilitating medical condition in which a person suddenly feels weak and collapses at moments of strong emotion such as laughter, anger, fear or surprise.
The rarest known genetic disease has only one diagnosed patient.
Rare diseases are also referred to as orphan diseases and sometimes, neglected diseases and include everything from leprosy and cholera to roundworm to bubonic plague and Ondine's curse.
There are about 40 rare diseases that are regarded as Finnish heritage diseases and have a markedly increased frequency among those of ethnic Finnish descent. However, other genetic diseases, particularly cystic fibrosis and PKU, are markedly absent. Only about 1 in 80 carry the markers for these, as opposed to an average of 1 in 25 in the rest of the EU.
Founder Effect - the loss of genetic variation that occurs when a new population is established by a very small number of individuals from a larger population. Basically forces inbreeding and reduces biodiversity. Founder effects can also occur when lines naturally die out, such as the Neanderthal Man.
Familial dysautonomia causes insensitivity to pain, inability to produce tears, poor growth, problems with blood pressure, etc. and is found almost exclusively in Ashkenazi Jews.
The only self-reported ancestral group larger than the Irish Americans are the German Americans.
The ships that brought Irish immigrants over during the Potato Famine were commonly known as 'coffin ships'.
People of Irish descent are at higher risk of developing or carrying Tay-Sachs and Celiac Diseases, hematochomatosis, and rosacea.
The rarest known genetic disease has only one diagnosed patient.
Rare diseases are also referred to as orphan diseases and sometimes, neglected diseases and include everything from leprosy and cholera to roundworm to bubonic plague and Ondine's curse.
There are about 40 rare diseases that are regarded as Finnish heritage diseases and have a markedly increased frequency among those of ethnic Finnish descent. However, other genetic diseases, particularly cystic fibrosis and PKU, are markedly absent. Only about 1 in 80 carry the markers for these, as opposed to an average of 1 in 25 in the rest of the EU.
Founder Effect - the loss of genetic variation that occurs when a new population is established by a very small number of individuals from a larger population. Basically forces inbreeding and reduces biodiversity. Founder effects can also occur when lines naturally die out, such as the Neanderthal Man.
Familial dysautonomia causes insensitivity to pain, inability to produce tears, poor growth, problems with blood pressure, etc. and is found almost exclusively in Ashkenazi Jews.
The only self-reported ancestral group larger than the Irish Americans are the German Americans.
The ships that brought Irish immigrants over during the Potato Famine were commonly known as 'coffin ships'.
People of Irish descent are at higher risk of developing or carrying Tay-Sachs and Celiac Diseases, hematochomatosis, and rosacea.
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