News
x
Greg Evans
1516965300
In news that you definitely didn't expect to read this week, a mummified corpse found in Switzerland which died of syphilis is a distant relative of Boris Johnson.
The female mummy, which was discovered underneath the Barfusser Church in Basel in 1975, is believed to be the great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother of the Foreign Secretary.
The BBCreport that she is believed to have died at some point in the 16 century from the STD, which was treated with mercury at the time - this often did more damage than good, because... mercury.
After extensive research into the history of the corpse, it is believed she was part of the Bischoff family, one of the most established families in Basel during that period.
The corpse is said to belong to Anna Catharina Bischoff and generations later one of her future relatives Yvonne would give birth to Stanley Johnson, who is the father of Boris.
The Conservative MP was delighted to hear this news and championed his relatives history as a sexual health pioneer.
Very excited to hear about my late great grand 'mummy' - a pioneer in sexual health care. Very proud https://t.co/9EKLPlzfk8— Boris Johnson (@Boris Johnson) 1516898150
People couldn't wait to make jokes on Twitter.
She says she feels great shame, and “the hair is certainly not from my side of the family.” https://t.co/keJMIIR4iv?amp=1— Keith Olbermann (@Keith Olbermann) 1516888184
His dad was on I'm a Celebrity, sister in Big Brother seems only natural a Mummy would get in on the act #BorisJohnson— Omid Djalili (@Omid Djalili) 1516882635
While it is fun to make jokes, very smart individuals like Stephen Fry and Adam Bienkov were quick to point out that Johnson will be one of just thousands of relatives of the corpse - so be mindful of who you are mocking.
Great grandmother x6 means there could be as many as 10,000 other people who could also be named. https://t.co/AlONW8lzDm— Adam Bienkov (@Adam Bienkov) 1516871924
HT IFL Science
Keep reading...Show less
Top 100
The Conversation (0)