March 14, 2022
What is the strangest bit of information you’ve run across while doing research for a story? Or maybe the strangest word?
It’s a wild world out there, and every now and again I stumble across something that reminds me of it. Did you know that it’s possible for a mother’s DNA to not match her children’s? And yet the maternal grandmother’s DNA does match?
We’re not talking adoption or switched at birth here. These are scientifically proven cases. One such case is Lydia Fairchild. The discrepancy in her DNA was discovered as part of a custody case. There’s a short but fascinating Wikipedia article about her case here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lydia_Fairchild#:~:text=Lydia%20Fairchild%20(born%201976)%20is,children%2C%20Jamie%20Townsend%2C%20separated.
It turns out she has two different sets of DNA, a condition called chimerism. The DNA from her skin doesn’t match the DNA taken from certain other parts of her body. She’s not the only person known with the condition, but because she had to prove in court that her children were really her children, she is one of the better known examples.
What’s another one? I recently learned the Mormons established a Polynesian colony in Utah. I got this information through trading critiques with a gifted writer, Marcel Stipetic. When Mormon missionaries went to Hawaii in 1850, they were able to convert some natives, but had no structure in place to support their worship. Some moved to Salt Lake City, but didn’t fit in well. The Mormon Church bought a ranch in Skull Valley, Utah, and set up a township for the Hawaiians to move to. When a temple was built in Hawaii in 1915, most of the colonists returned there.
What makes this more interesting is that some people still refer to the settlement, named Iosepa, as a leper colony. Many of us are familiar with the history of the leper colony in Hawaii, with this being the reverse of the situation. The truth is somewhere in between. While a few cases of leprosy occurred among the settlers, official records say the number of victims was only three.
The area is now a ghost town, with the cemetery being on the National Register of Historic Places.
There are many more strange things I have run across while doing research, and I’m sure I’ll find many more. In fact, I’m going to be checking out the other authors on this hop and find out something new! Just follow the links below.
As always, until next time, please stay safe.
March 14, 2022
What is the strangest bit of information you’ve run across while doing research for a story? Or maybe the strangest word?
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