TIL: You Might Be Related to Genghis Khan | Today I Learned

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So you probably heard of the name Genghis Khan or Jengus Khan, but you might not realize that something like one in 200 men in the world were genetically related to Genghis Khan. So he was obviously very, um, prolific. Yeah, but it makes sense because it's not just him, but it's also his sons and all of his grandsons. They would wipe out enemies that weren't in their [Music] lineage.

There's more to this story than you thought. Genghis Khan was first motivated by a girl. According to the Secret History of the Mongol, this legend says he was betrothed to a young girl. They didn't talk to each other, but he went through this horrible period where his father had been killed, his horses had been stolen from him and his family, and then he was enslaved.

Through all this time, you know, over the years, she waited for him. One day, he escaped from all of this, and he went out and he found her. As he was riding along, these enemies showed up. She turns to him and she says, "You have to go! You have to run!" He rides off towards this mountain, and he's heartbroken. He prayed to Tangri, "What should I do? What should I do?"

The moment that he decided he was going to fight back, global history changed, for that was the very first fight that he ever had. He got her back, and within a single lifetime, he created the largest contiguous empire in human history from nothing, and it was all a love [Music] story.

I would say that he was, uh, very charismatic. Scientists thought that chameleons change color by changing the pigment in their skin. Not true! How they actually change color is far more complex.