Christmas DNA test.

So, my mom wanted everyone in family to do a "find your ancestry" DNA test for her for Christmas, so she got some kit for sale and had the do-it-at-home DNA test shipped to all of us.

I got it in early Dec. at a crazy time of year when I was working ten days in a row, and I finally pulled it out do when I was meeting my one neighbor from New Orleans at the laundromat to help her with Obamacare sign-up, so I could figure out how it worked and mail it out on the way home, in between helping her when she was free, while she was putting stuff in the washer or drier or whatnot.

It took a bit, but I finally drooled enough into this plastic tube, though there was some confusion with the instructions because it was mostly bubbles and I couldn't see any just liquid saliva, and the instructions said to fill the tube up to the line "but not counting bubbles" or something like that.

Finally, though, I noticed that the saliva was settling down, and that it was mostly liquid and just a bit of bubbles on top, so I waited and kept topping it off with more of my spit, till I finally hit the line.

Anyhow, I did that, and I helped my neighbor, and then on the way home I dropped off the tube into the mailbox on the corner near my old apartment, though I wondered a bit if I should, since the temperature was dropping and it was going to be like twenty degrees.  I could just imagine the saliva freezing, and the tube exploding inside the package and getting it all wet from the inside out, and causing a problem with the post office, as well as making me have to do another DNA test again.

But, I figured it was better to just get one more thing crossed off my list, so I threw it in there.

Later, though, I was googling what temperature saliva freezes at, and if freezing a DNA sample would affect the ability to test it.

(The answer? It might have frozen, and the DNA could have been affected, though that happens through multiple freeze-and-thaw cycles, mostly.)