We live in a world that seems to be constantly shrinking. It isn’t just the fact that we are connected in ways that never seemed possible before, it’s also the fact that we know more about the world around us.
Sometimes, we may also discover things about our roots that we never thought could have been possible. This is true because of DNA tests, as well as the ease with which we can now look up information about our ancestry.
Somebody who found out about this in the strangest way was Kevin Bacon. He was with his wife, Keira Sedgwick, appearing on a show in 2013 called Finding Your Roots. When they were on that PBS show, they were told something unusual, the fact that they were related.
A photo was given to Sedgwick by Henry Louis Gates Jr, and he said it was one of her cousins. The problem was, it was actually her husband, Kevin Bacon.
At first glance, this may seem like something alarming but in reality, it probably isn’t all that unusual. Bacon is her ninth cousin once removed, so nobody can really blame them for not knowing about the relationship.
When she found out, she said: “See. I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it. As long as we’re not first cousins, it’s fine.”
Bacon was also given more information that he found alarming. For example, he is 13th cousins twice removed with Brad Pitt and he shares a common ancestor with President Obama. They are 12 cousins once removed!
Bacon took it in stride, saying that he knew he wasn’t getting enough respect.
