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Gift shopping during the winter holidays can be arduous. Some recipients are easy; others seem impossible. This year, for better or for worse, the genetic sequence or the reproductive capacity of that challenge on your shopping list can solve your problem. Two examples offer a contrast in both seriousness and implication.
Thanks to a slew (1, 2, etc.) of articles about a perfume derived from the late Michael Jackon's hair, our attention was drawn to My DNA Fragrance. The company offers "cologne designed by his [or her] DNA genetic code." Most importantly, according to the manufacturer's website,
Every person in the world's DNA blueprint is different. Therefore, because your DNA blueprint is uniquely different, your fragrance will be different. No two fragrances will smell the same.
Such a gift assumes that one can readily obtain a DNA sample from that special someone who seems to already have everything, much in the vein of last year's DNA Mini-portraits from DNA 11.
Or as an alternative, thanks to My DNA Fragrance's partnership with the owner of "the largest authenticated hair collection of famous people in the world," you can select from the company's line of perfumes derived from the genetic sequence of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley.
Of course, in the case of genetically programmed fragrances, any verification of its relationship to your DNA--much less that of a celebrity--is essentially impossible.
In an initially similar vein, this appeal opened a recent press release:
Not sure what to buy for Christmas? A Cambridge-based company promises to get customers pregnant by Christmas 2010, or your money back.
The company in question is Duofertility, which offers a monitor of a woman's basal body temperature, changes in which are related to her monthly fertility cycle. And the company is confident enough in its product to offer a money-back guarantee on its £495 ($820) price.
Despite the tackiness of the offer, and its price, there are actually positive aspects. Increasing the chance of conception by monitoring basal temperature is far from perfect, but the method is based on evidence, non-intrusive, and can prevent unnecessarily resorting to assisted reproduction. Furthermore, Duofertility is putting its money where its mouth is.
Happy holidays!
