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Get out the Screwpull! I've found another reason that red wine is good for you. A few months back, I was having drinks with a friend from Google at the Four Seasons Silicon Valley. It turned out that both of us were planning an IVF cycle. Both of us were going to use sperm donors, and our donors happened to come from the same cryobank.

I sipped Syrah, pulled out my Android and held up a downloaded photo of my donor. My friend nearly slid off her chair. The fella I'd chosen had been her runner-up. And her first choice was, actually, my second. If either of us had changed our mind, we might have had children who were half-brothers or -sisters. They'd definitely have crossed paths, possibly become friends, and then who knows.

Had we not met for drinks and been up-front about what we were up to, we could have walked, womb-first, into a twisted little plot. So red wine isn't just an antioxidant: It may help to prevent "unknowing consanguinity," or accidental incest.

The children of sperm...