A new series of genetic tests has revealed that poor young King Tut suffered from a raft of genetic disorders, including a cleft palate, club foot, and Kohler’s disease, which was slowly destroying the bones of his left foot. He probably had to walk with canes. He was the poster-boy for why your ambitions shouldn’t include becoming the ultimate product of multiple generations of brother-sister incest.
All these disorders aside, what did him in was a combination of a broken leg combined with a bad case of malaria.
The study was co-authored by Zahi Hawass, the archaeologist who is in all the TV documentaries, wearing his Indiana Jones hat, and who is the most modest Egyptian since, maybe, Rameses II. Zahi Hawass, Zahi Hawass, Zahi Hawass! (I’m sure he keeps track of the number of times he’s mentioned online— I just made his day!)
Anyway, in memory of the poor luckless Tut, here’s Michael Smith and “Dead Egyptian Blues.”
Reminds me of a line from the episode of 30 Rock when they attend the birthday party of Gerhardt Hapsburg, last descendant of the Hapsburg line: "Most people in his situation would be angry with their family for centuries of inbreeding, but not Gerhardt, he's too busy staving off infection."
Nice! Thanks for making me smile with my lunch.
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