App warns Icelanders if they’re kissing cousins
In country of 320,000, where almost everyone is distantly related, accidental incest is a real problem
REYKJAVIK — You meet someone, there’s chemistry and then come the introductory questions: What’s your name? Come here often? Are you my cousin?
In Iceland, a country with a population of 320,000 where most everyone is distantly related, inadvertently kissing cousins is a real risk.
A new smartphone app is on hand to help Icelanders avoid accidental incest. The app lets users “bump” phones, and emits a warning alarm if they are closely related. “Bump the app before you bump in bed,” says the catchy slogan.
Some are hailing it as a welcome solution to a very Icelandic form of social embarrassment.
“Everyone has heard the story of going to a family event and running into a girl you hooked up with some time ago,” said Einar Magnusson, a graphic designer in Reykjavik.
“It’s not a good feeling when you realize that girl is a second cousin. People may think it’s funny, but (the app) is a necessity.”
The Islendiga-App — “App of Icelanders” — is an idea that may only be possible in Iceland, where most of the population shares descent from a group of ninth-century Viking settlers, and where an online database holds genealogical details of almost the entire population.
The app was created by three University of Iceland software engineering students.
Arnar Freyr Adalsteinsson, one of the trio, said it allows any two Icelanders to see how closely related they are, simply by touching phones.
“A small but much talked about feature is the loosely translated ‘Incest Prevention Alarm’ … which notifies the user if the person he’s bumping with is too closely related,” Adalsteinsson said.
Currently available for Android phones, the app has been downloaded almost 4,000 times since it was launched this month.