I was just having a conversation with someone last night who was questioning how one could have so many relationships to Presidents, royalty, etc. I explained as best I could that you first have to wrap your brain around the vastness of exponential numbers (2,4,8,16,...) and quickly realize that there was a lot of dipping in the gene pool when the world's population was much, much smaller. Then take into consideration that only a limited number of people settled the colonies, and they were often affluent enough to pay for their voyage. The center of affluence in England, for example, was near the royal households, and many extended members of the royal families were married into the same colonist families that journeyed to the colonies. You might make the assumption at this point that there were a lot of relationships already brought into the new world. Long, long story short, it makes more sense that we are so closely related, versus not, particularly if you are of British decent living in one of the original colonies.
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