I read something recently (and forgot where) about the prospect of ever being able to get DNA samples from stamps that needed licking. (Rowland Hill, credited with the invention of the stamp, called it a glutinous wash.)
I don't know if Victorian DNA would effectively die off, or whether the technology will ever be that sophisticated, but it does create a wonderful image, helping us find out who in each household actually licked the stamps. I was sealing Christmas card envelopes last week using a small paintbrush and a ramekin (we are posh...) of water. I was thinking that I was probably preventing future generations analysing my spit.
Anyone interested in their family history probably has a bundle of family documents held in original envelopes and I wonder what secrets they could reveal. And as for envelopes containing the love letters...
On this subject, as DNA tests become more prevalent and popular, I laugh when I read about people saying they wouldn't want "the government" as they put it, to have their DNA, without thinking that they leave enough on every coffee cup and beer mug from which they drink.
I know it is illegal to have somebody's DNA tested without their permission, but I wonder how many fathers actually do it.
That actually makes me wonder whether family historians have a more liberal attitude to personal data being shared. I do wonder how hard it will be in 100 years for our descendants to find out about our current lives.
Martin
