My name is Charley and I think I’m a clone. I think I had a mum but no dad. Impossible, right? I mean, a woman can’t have a baby without a man’s help. All babies have to have a genetic mum and a genetic dad. Yes? Well, if having a baby without a man is impossible, why is there a word for it? Parthenogenesis. I know. Me neither, until just now. Parth-en-o-gen-e-sis. Like the Parthenon in Greece, which is a tem-ple to a goddess, and Genesis, like in the bible, meaning birth. So it means a woman having a baby without a man being involved. Okay, you say, but that’s just a word. Just because there’s a word for something doesn’t mean it exists – unicorns don’t exist. Or mermaids.
Are you sure?
