I finally took 23andMe’s DNA test. I wasn’t really expecting any Earth-shattering revelations, having already tested with Ancestry, FamilyTreeDNA, MyHeritage and BritainsDNA. Not so.

23andMe has an interesting facet to their test results: they report on the amount of Neanderthal DNA you have. I assume they tested a bunch of Neanderthal remains and came up with a way of comparing your DNA to “theirs”. According to 23andMe’s results, I have 71% more Neanderthal DNA than other folks who’ve been tested. No surprise there. I like grilling big chunks of meat over an open flame.

That was, however, was not one of the Neanderthal traits 23andMe identified lurking in my genes. No, instead, I likely have a proclivity to hanging on to unused items, a.k.a. hoarding.

Ouch.

I suppose I should be grateful, looking around my office at stacks and stacks of books on genealogy, that I can now blame it on my genes. On the other hand, I think it’s a perfect trait for a family historian.

I am off to hunt for groceries now.