Oldest Person in the World dies

[xsedrinam]

... I'm glad for her and her 40 grandchildren, 75 great-grandchildren, 150 great-great-grandchildren, 220 great-great-great grandchildren and 75 great-great-great-great grandchildren! That's more birthdays than even a database could keep track of!

The number of grandchildren is staggering. Since my wife is from Memphis were were talking about her back in August when the lady from Ecuador passed away and Elizabeth took the mantle. We wondered if the Memphis water helped any. Memphis has great water. Of course the other lady was from Guayaquil, Ecuador which doesn't have such great water afaik. I've only been to Puero Rico twice, but can't wouldn't think its water is all that good, either.

 

[WildCowboy]

The number of grandchildren is staggering. Since my wife is from Memphis were were talking about her back in August when the lady from Ecuador passed away and Elizabeth took the mantle. We wondered if the Memphis water helped any. Memphis has great water. Of course the other lady was from Guayaquil, Ecuador which doesn't have such great water afaik.

She and her husband had seven children, so each of them averaged almost six children apiece.

 

[cardiac dave]

when I saw the title "Oldest Person in the World dies"

was I the only person to think - Long Live the Oldest Person in the World!??

 

[Doctor Q]

when I saw the title "Oldest Person in the World dies"

was I the only person to think - Long Live the Oldest Person in the World!??

Nope. I made that very comment just yesterday while talking with a coworker about the news about Ms. Bolden.

 

[Evangelion]

I read an article in Discover Magazine about the aging process. We are gaining about two years per decade to life expectancy. Scientists debate whether we will be able to sustain it (most of the gain is from treating early age disease and later heart failure) or if geriatric care is leveling off. Some say children born today may live to 150 and beyond.

Very interesting article. It's the cover story of the current issue, if anyone is interested.

Dan

The average life-span is going up, but the maximum age has not been going up. More and more people are living longer, but 120 years seems to be the limit. In the future we might have more people living 120 years, but we will not be having 150 year old people.

 

[MrSmith]

While we celebrate such impressive longevity it's sad to think there will soon be no-one living who was born in the 19th century. Meeting someone who was born in 18xx would now be very impressive - especially if they could remember it!

 

[TequilaBoobs]

The average life-span is going up, but the maximum age has not been going up. More and more people are living longer, but 120 years seems to be the limit. In the future we might have more people living 120 years, but we will not be having 150 year old people.

aging is a degenerative disease, and one day science will find a cure for it.

 

[xsedrinam]

aging is a degenerative disease, and one day science will find a cure for it.

What? And steal the thunder from Willard Scott and Smuckers?! Willard still has 28 years to go before he can show his 100th birthday picture.

 

[clayj]

aging is a degenerative disease, and one day science will find a cure for it.

You can't stop entropy... not completely, anyway. Even if you found a way to stop the aging process, there are parts of the human body which will be worn away through use... teeth, for example. And the brain doesn't have unlimited storage capacity.

 

[mac-er]

Well, she's the youngest corpse around.

 

[MacBoobsPro]

She had a good two innings!

 

[TequilaBoobs]

You can't stop entropy... not completely, anyway. Even if you found a way to stop the aging process, there are parts of the human body which will be worn away through use... teeth, for example. And the brain doesn't have unlimited storage capacity.

if they found a way to stop aging, dont you think by then technology could reproduce teeth, discs, brains, etc... through stem cell research?
and humans use a fraction of their brain - imagine if we could live longer to tap into all areas of our brain - we would either destroy the universe or at the very least our galaxy - but that is neither here nor there.

 

[skunk]

You can't stop entropy... not completely, anyway. Even if you found a way to stop the aging process, there are parts of the human body which will be worn away through use... teeth, for example. And the brain doesn't have unlimited storage capacity.

False teeth are easy enough, and I'm sure the brain has a lot of unused capacity. After that there's always an external array of FW800 drives to handle the overspill.

 

[SkyBell]

I thought Jeanne Calmentt was the oldest person ever.

What surprises me, was she was a smoker!

 

[WildCowboy]

I thought Jeanne Calmentt was the oldest person ever.

She was. This thread is continually being updated with the oldest living people, and thus notes when one of them dies and a new one inherits the crown. (Not that there's an actual crown I'm aware of, but that would be cool.)

 

[emw]

we will not be having 150 year old people.

I dunno, it wasn't that long ago that 60 was considered ancient.

aging is a degenerative disease, and one day science will find a cure for it.

Well, it will at least postpone it longer.

(Not that there's an actual crown I'm aware of, but that would be cool.)

Assuming clayj is correct, I'd bet many of them had crowns...

there are parts of the human body which will be worn away through use... teeth, for example.

 

[killr_b]

Hmmm, I always see things like this.
I think that once you're over one hundred you are "the oldest living…"

Check this out

132 seems a bit longer than 116 to me.

Wow, I had never heard of Jeanne Calmentt, but she's still dead now!

 

[WildCowboy]

Check this out

132 seems a bit longer than 116 to me.

Very few people take her claim seriously...there is essentially no evidence of her birthdate, and the daughter she currently lives with is 54 years younger than she is. Not too many women were having children at the age of 54 back in the late 1920s.

 

[Doctor Q]

The world's oldest woman, Canadian Julie Winnefred Bertrand, died Thursday at age 115. See News link.

A niece, Elaine Sauciere, said that her aunt had the opportunity to marry but rejected it. One of her possible beaus was Louis St. Laurent, the brother of a friend who went on to become prime minister of Canada.

Miss Bertrand held the record of world's oldest woman for about a month.

The oldest woman is now an American (in Hartford, CT), Emma Tillman, a relatively young 113. See photo of Emma.

The oldest person is still a man, which is rather surprising. He's 115 and his name is Emiliano Mercado del Toro, which is an anagram of "I dream I'm one real old coot!"

 

[WildCowboy]

After holding the crown for only about six weeks, Emiliano Mercado del Toro has passed away.

The title of world's oldest person now appears to fall to 114-year old Emma Tillman, currently living in East Hartford, Connecticut. Interestingly, four of her 22 (yes, 22) siblings also lived past the age of 100.

 

[Doctor Q]

It's what the super-seniors say in interviews (while they are living) and news articles (afterwards) that I find most interesting.

Quote:

Mercado Del Toro, who was born in Puerto Rico when it was still a Spanish colony, was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1918 but did not serve in combat because World War I ended while he was still in training. Later, he worked in the island's sugar cane fields.

He was married three times but never had children.​

I haven't seen his recommendations for how to live a long life. Having the right genes makes a big difference, along with the good fortune not to be hit by a meteor crossing the street, but the oldest people often claim that some of their person habits are part of the secret, drinking a glass of wine every day, for example.

 

[emw]

After holding the crown for only about six weeks, Emiliano Mercado del Toro has passed away.

The title of world's oldest person now appears to fall to 114-year old Emma Tillman, currently living in East Hartford, Connecticut. Interestingly, four of her 22 (yes, 22) siblings also lived past the age of 100.

Hmm. The past three (Elizabeth, Emiliano, Emma) oldest persons have all had names that begin with "E". Perhaps I'd better start saving more money for post-retirement plans.

 

[WildCowboy]

Hmm. The past three (Elizabeth, Emiliano, Emma) oldest persons have all had names that begin with "E". Perhaps I'd better start saving more money for post-retirement plans.

Double hmmm....good plan. Would you save a little extra for me too?

 

[emw]

Would save a little extra for me too?

Sure, but only if you marry me.

 

[WildCowboy]

Sure, but only if you marry me.

I would, but that would mean I'd have to put up with jsw at family functions, right?

No thanks.