Dentist Who Bought John Lennon’s Molar at Auction Wants to Use the Tooth to Clone the Late Singer
BY NICK PETRILLO
It looks like the plot has thickened in the never-ending tale of John Lennon’s decayed tooth. In an interview with The Sun, Canadian dentist Michael Zuk announced his intentions to extract and sequence the late Beatle’s DNA from his molar, a tooth that has become the most, erm, sought-after dental relic in rock music.
You may recall a peculiar enough story from a couple years ago, in which the dentist and avid tooth collector paid over $30,000 at auction for Lennon’s molar. The fabled tooth had been passed along for decades prior to Mr. Zuk’s purchase, first as a memento in the hands of Lennon’s housekeeper and later as an artifact resigned to the dreary existence of making publicity appearances at charity events. The tooth is currently in the possession of Kirsten Zuk, the dentist’s wife, who displays it alongside her art projects to raise awareness for cleft-palate surgery.
Dr. Zuk has even gone so far as to issue a press release on the matter, in which he declares that his ambitious dream might just be one of the “best decisions of his life.” More information on Dr. Zuk’s noble pursuit can be found on his new website, the eloquently titled and SEO-friendly johnlennontooth.com.