# Can you tell them apart?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-them-apart/504208>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [July 25, 2009, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-them-apart/504208 "2009-07-25T07:05:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\
**Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-them-apart/504208/41 "2009-07-28T02:10:00Z")

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I got it right, based on the eyes. The guy on the right _looks_ English!

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**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\
**Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-them-apart/504208/42 "2009-07-28T02:39:49Z")

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> [@Olentzero](#):
>
> A pedigree collapse rivalled only by the _Hindenburg_ disaster.

They’ve got nothing on the Habsburgs. Nobody was as inbred as the Habsburgs. Not to dishonor their legacy or anything; it was a tremendously influential dynasty, but it’s a simple fact that they had many first-cousin marriages and they passed down many hereditary defects, most notably a severe underbite, enlarged lower lip, huge nose, and in some cases, mental problems. And - never forget - any portrait will always idealize the subject, so if some of them, like [Carlos II](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Juan_de_Miranda_Carreno_002.jpg) of Spain, look deformed in their portraits, they probably looked much worse in reality.

I still occasionally encounter people with these kind of features (though nowhere near as extreme) - they are probably distant descendants of Habsburgs.

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**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\
**Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-tell-them-apart/504208/43 "2009-07-28T08:29:07Z")

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> [@Argent\_Towers](#):
>
> They’ve got nothing on the Habsburgs. Nobody was as inbred as the Habsburgs.

Nah, I know that; there was the guy (probably a Hab) who had only eleven great-great-grandparents. I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a smart-ass remark.

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