Iceland Has An App To Tell If You’re Related To Someone, Does Malta Need One Too?
There is nothing worse than finding the person of your dreams – only to learn after the fact that you are both related.
Incest is definitely taboo and is very dangerous for populations due to how inbreeding affects our genes. Islands can be especially affected if they do not receive any new external additions to the gene pool over generations.
Luckily for Icelanders, this embarrassing situation is not an issue with a special genealogical app that makes sure you’ll never end up sleeping with your cousin.
Yet, given the many similarities between Iceland and Malta, should we look into a similar app?
Obviously, there are clear differences between the two island nations. In particular, there is a significantly smaller influx of people coming into Iceland when compared to Malta. As a result of this, Iceland’s gene pool is in theory far smaller than Malta’s.
For Icelanders, the chances of accidentally sleeping with your relative are surprisingly easier than one may expect – hence the need for the app ÍslendingaApp.
According to Iceland’s national genealogical database, all Icelanders are distantly related to one another and their naming conventions make knowing if you are sleeping with a relative much harder.
Unlike most Western names, Icelandic surnames reflect the first name of your father (or mother in rarer cases). So, if you are the son of Erik, your surname becomes Eriksson.
As such, last names change completely from generation to generation – your cousins, aunts, nephews and so on all have completely different surnames.
Now, Malta is fortunate enough not to have naming conventions and our surnames usually reflect that of the rest of our family.
That said, it is still a bit more complex where surnames are quite similar – since it is harder to tell how closely related to let’s say another Borg. Even if you are not directly related, there may still be shared blood somewhere in the family tree.
There is also another thing to be said about families who have lived and died in the same locality over several generations, rarely even leaving their towns.
Here, intermarrying is definitely a possibility over generations spent in the same area and to identify whether you may end up sleeping with a relative, ÍslendingaApp utilizes the church documents, census data, genealogical weapons and so on going back 1,200 years to create a clear idea of whether you are related.
With a simple bump of your phone, you could learn whether to pursue anything romantic or to just stick to a handshake (or elbow bump) with the person.
It may not seem like the most revolutionary or vital app to have for your life, yet you never know when it may come in handy. After all, there’s nothing worse than falling in love with someone and going deep into a relationship, only to learn that you two are related.
Do you think Malta needs an app like this?
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