A Simple DNA Test Reveals Italian Man Is Not Italian At All

Imagine having your darkest secrets drudged up by a DNA test taken as a joke.

Rachel

• Published in Funny
• March 3, 2019

There has been a lot of buzz lately surrounding those little genetic tests that can tell you about your ethnicity. While the science of it is lost on me, basically you purchase the kit, spit in a tube and send it back to the lab to be tested. Once the analysis is complete, you receive an email with the results.

Such tests are growing in popularity, and the DNA collected is able to shed light on patterns of migration and colonialism. Companies such as 23AndMe and Ancestry.com are able to profit off of people's genetic curiosity; though some families end up with more information than they bargained for.

Often, people may find that a DNA test harbours some unknown information. In some cases it could mean you were adopted, or you have an unknown biological father. Genealogists like Find My History (on Facebook, too!) can help with this sort of thing. That is, if you've come to find that you don't know something about your heritage!

One Italian man shared his story...

He posted on Reddit, with the thread title "Family secrets exposed for just one easy payment of $99!"

"I was raised in a big Italian family - Christmas dinner meant cannolis, pasta, and lots of red wine. There's just one problem, thanks to 23AndMe, I found out today that I'm not Italian."

"The lab results came back unceremoniously today, with an email confirmation "A world of DNA discovery is waiting." Sure, whatever, just serve me my heaping plate of Deoxyribonucleic lasagna and let's get this over with."

"Well, arrivederci family heritage. And buongiorno Ashkenazi Judaism!"

"My grandpa had already taken a genetics test, and boasted to the family that he was 93.7% Italian. Bad news, gramps, we are not biologically related."

"I called my dad and shared the news. He admitted that the rest of the family had teased him and called him a "bastard" growing up because all the other men in the family had straight black hair and he has tight, curly hair. He also told me that he discovered his mom had an affair with a Jewish man while married to my grandpa but he never believed it was really true. He had avoided taking a genetics test all these years because it was easier not to know."

Here's a picture of his Uncle, Grandfather and Father (on the right).

And he was welcomed into his new community!

A warm welcome from the Italian-Jewish community!

Looks (and genetics) can be deceiving.

And this is NOT the only time where a DNA test has exposed family secrets.

Rachel