People share the 10 most unexpected and weirdest things they discovered after their DNA tests

Interesting information from DNA tests.

Conducting DNA tests can unveil a treasure trove of fascinating information for most individuals. One can learn about their ancestry and health and get to know about long-lost relatives. With many organizations providing these tests, it has become easier and more accessible to get these tests done. Sometimes, one can even find very weird and unexpected things in such tests. u/OmarBessa asked the community, "Redditors who have gotten genetic tests, what's the weirdest thing you learnt from your DNA?" Here are 10 of the most interesting answers people had to provide. 

1. Came to know about a first cousin 

My ancestry is exactly what I grew up being told, I have several family members who were really into genealogy. But I found out I have a first cousin we didn't know existed. Apparently, my uncle had gotten married and had a son no one knew about when he was 19 and stationed across the country that he bailed on. u/nelsongrencametome. This seems very common. I discovered a cousin of my dad’s nobody knew existed through ancestry too! u/jillyszabo

2. Distant relation to adopted daughter

The daughter I adopted and I are actually distantly related! u/cherrybounce. Wow!! As an adoptee who is considering doing the DNA thing, this intrigues me. What are the chances haha. That’s amazing! My brother (also adopted, not a blood-related sibling to me) did the DNA thing and found his birth family! I got to meet two of his half-siblings. It was fascinating seeing “nature vs nurture” in real-time. There were certain mannerisms, etc. that all three of them did, and then other things my brother did that are definitely from the family we were raised in. Really cool to watch. u/MasterChicken52

3. Grandparent's secret son

My grandparents had a biological son they gave up for adoption before my mother was born and never told any of us about- turns out some of the extended family knew my grandma had been pregnant before my mom but kept it a secret. u/Academic_Smell. As an adult, my father-in-law found out his mother was actually his grandmother and his older sister was actually his mom. Things were different in the late 30's. u/CBus660R

4. Being a carrier for a blood disease 

I’m a carrier of a blood disease called hemochromatosis. u/throw123454321purple. My whole family has it. I'm a carrier and not supposed to be affected, but I am. Turns out there are other gene mutations and epigenetic causes for a carrier to develop symptoms. I would donate blood regularly just to be safe. My sister started breaking bones in her feet when jogging, leading to her diagnosis. My dad developed diabetes, heart, and kidney conditions. We can tell when he needs to let some blood out because he starts organizing things in a useless and weird way. u/SingedSoleFeet

5. Incorrect results

My mom always thought she was French. Like, all 4 grandparents only spoke French, French. She got the test and it came back, like, only 10% French and a bunch of other European and some Middle Eastern. It caused a bit of a family identity crisis. 3 weeks later she got an update that said, “Sorry about that, you’re 99.5% French!” Phew! u/Pinkmongoose. Any model that uses "people living here now have this DNA" to group people struggles with France, which has a bioethics law preventing private DNA testing. (There are options but genealogical testing falls under prohibited uses.) u/bopeepsheep

6. Many third cousins 

8 of my 3rd cousin's matches are from my cousin being a sperm donor. A couple of them reached out to me for information about their ancestors. So, anytime I get a third cousin match I check and see if they are half-brother or half-sister to the ones that I know. He obviously had some good swimmers. u/Witchgiggle. Read Normal Family by Chrysta Bilton. Her bio dad donated so often that she has met 35 half siblings and there are many more out there. It's an amazing memoir. Her mom was also...unique. u/Fredredphooey

7. Unlikeliness to have red hair, despite having red hair

That I’m unlikely to have red hair. I have very red hair, btw. I think the more interesting factor is that my brother and I only have one copy of one mutation for red hair that they tested for and we got it from our non-red-headed parent. The other parent who had ruddy hair as a kid and a flaming red beard (before it went white) doesn’t have any of the mutations associated with red hair that 23andme tests for. So yeah, we got our redhead gene from the non-redhead, and have much redder hair than the redheaded parent. u/Nakedstar

8. The truth about their biological father

When my sister took one of those at-home tests as a gift from her husband, we learned our dad wasn't our biological father. Wish they had told us that before I was 26. Would have saved a lot of fights and reconciliation. Also, I learned I'll never know my biological father because he was murdered when I was in grade school. Wow, sometimes I forget this sounds insane. Without divulging too much there's a reason they went with a donor, and in hindsight, I appreciate that decision because I do not have to worry about the genetic diseases plaguing my family members. I do wish I had been able to meet the donor though, if only to get his medical history. The journey has inspired me to look into donating my gametes as well since I feel lucky to have relatively good health. u/glittercoyote

9. Presence of Neanderthal DNA

I've got more Neanderthal DNA than 80% of users. u/show_pleasure. I got my results before my husband, and was 80%. My husband thought it was so funny and kept bringing it up. His came in and he was 93%. u/cherryberry0611. The modern human with the highest % of Neanderthal DNA (so far) is about 4%. Everyone who isn't sub-Saharan African has a bit. I've got 2.6% and that's higher than 95% of customers who used the same company I did. I don't know a whole lot about genetics, but I guess that means only a tiny percentage of "all of" the Neanderthal genes have survived into the present - I understand they work that out by comparing to genetic samples from known Neanderthal human remains (the Neanderthal genome was fully sequenced sometime in the 2000s I think). u/MinusGravitas

10. Lactose intolerance

Everyone else so far is all about family trees, mine is different. I found out I have the gene that causes lactose intolerance or something like that. Never had a problem with it my entire life. 37 years raised Italian and lived in the Netherlands and Germany, so plenty of cheeses/milk growing up and in adult life with zero issues. No joke, 3 days after getting these results from my 23&Me, I ate a bowl of cereal and 5 minutes later fell over from the horrible cramping and non-stop runs to the bathroom. Diagnosed with full-on lactose intolerance a few days later. Son of a bitch bastard! Ugh, I hate almond milk. The main reason I took the test was I am adopted and found out I have a long-lost biological sister out there somewhere but the biggest match on 23/me and ancestry was 4% match so far 3 years later. u/5011617609122