A life that touched three centuries
April 15, 2017 6:50 PM Subscribe
Emma Morano, the world's oldest person, and the last person who was born in the 1800s, has died at age 117. She had attributed her longevity to her genetics (having multiple relatives who lived beyond 100 years), a diet of three eggs a day (two of them raw), and her decision to kick out her abusive husband in 1938.
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posted by XMLicious at 7:11 PM on April 15, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by XMLicious at 7:11 PM on April 15, 2017 [6 favorites]
and her decision to kick out her abusive husband in 1938
I'd rank that one ahead of the eggs, to be honest.
posted by mhoye at 7:16 PM on April 15, 2017 [51 favorites]
I'd rank that one ahead of the eggs, to be honest.
posted by mhoye at 7:16 PM on April 15, 2017 [51 favorites]
It's astonishing to think of all the change she lived through.
posted by smoke at 7:26 PM on April 15, 2017
posted by smoke at 7:26 PM on April 15, 2017
Wow, she was born the same year as my paternal grandfather who passed away sixty years ago. That's a hell of a life.
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posted by octothorpe at 7:30 PM on April 15, 2017 [7 favorites]
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posted by octothorpe at 7:30 PM on April 15, 2017 [7 favorites]
It's astonishing to think of all the change she lived through.
Indeed. Why, she could remember when Myspace was the hot new social medium, or when Oasis were still together.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:33 PM on April 15, 2017 [30 favorites]
See also: 24 Sure Signs You’re an 1890s Kid
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:35 PM on April 15, 2017 [22 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:35 PM on April 15, 2017 [22 favorites]
As regards the eggs, this is a favorite of mine:
Normal Plasma Cholesterol in an 88-Year-Old Man Who Eats 25 Eggs a Day
posted by TedW at 7:37 PM on April 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
Normal Plasma Cholesterol in an 88-Year-Old Man Who Eats 25 Eggs a Day
posted by TedW at 7:37 PM on April 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
Ok, so I fell down a rabbit hole of the Wikipedia entry on the longest-lived people in the world, and now I'm completely fascinated by where they're from. Fully 50% of the top 20 are from the US, which makes sense: the US was relatively untouched by the cataclysms that struck other parts of the world in the 20th century, plus it has relatively good records, which are necessary to prove how old people are, and has had a relatively high standard of living. But six of the ten Americans on the list were black, which is surprising. Plus five of the top 20 are from Japan, which was very much not untouched by the cataclysms of the 20th century. Otherwise, one each from France, Italy, Canada, Jamaica and Ecuador. But really, Japanese people and African-Americans are massively overrepresented, and I have no idea why.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:38 PM on April 15, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:38 PM on April 15, 2017 [6 favorites]
The new oldest person in the world, Violet Brown of Jamaica, is the last living former subject of Queen Victoria; and her first child, still living at 97, is believed to be the oldest person in the world with a living parent.
posted by Etrigan at 7:56 PM on April 15, 2017 [62 favorites]
posted by Etrigan at 7:56 PM on April 15, 2017 [62 favorites]
Plus five of the top 20 are from Japan, which was very much not untouched by the cataclysms of the 20th century.
Yeah, but at least some of them are probably dead.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:19 PM on April 15, 2017 [8 favorites]
Yeah, but at least some of them are probably dead.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:19 PM on April 15, 2017 [8 favorites]
“She’s aware of the privilege of living,” said Dr. Bava, who said Ms. Morano had always graciously accepted the aging process and the aches and pains that come with it.
I hope to age so gracefully.
posted by LoveHam at 9:26 PM on April 15, 2017 [3 favorites]
I hope to age so gracefully.
posted by LoveHam at 9:26 PM on April 15, 2017 [3 favorites]
Violet Brown also apparently lives in the same house she was born in, 117 years ago. That's kind of cool.
posted by tavella at 9:30 PM on April 15, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by tavella at 9:30 PM on April 15, 2017 [8 favorites]
My favorite 'oldest person' story is that of Jeanne Calment in France.
They had a way of doing a sort-of reverse mortgage where someone would pay a person so much per year and then get their house/apartment when they died.
47 year old André-François Raffray thought he had a good deal when he did this for 90 year old Ms Calment. Wait a few years, then you get her apartment.
She lived for 32 more years, until she was 122. Mr Raffray died three years earlier and was never able to cash in after paying out the equivalent of $184,000 for the low-cost apartment.
She ate a lot of chocolate and drank a lot of wine.
posted by eye of newt at 10:37 PM on April 15, 2017 [26 favorites]
They had a way of doing a sort-of reverse mortgage where someone would pay a person so much per year and then get their house/apartment when they died.
47 year old André-François Raffray thought he had a good deal when he did this for 90 year old Ms Calment. Wait a few years, then you get her apartment.
She lived for 32 more years, until she was 122. Mr Raffray died three years earlier and was never able to cash in after paying out the equivalent of $184,000 for the low-cost apartment.
She ate a lot of chocolate and drank a lot of wine.
posted by eye of newt at 10:37 PM on April 15, 2017 [26 favorites]
If there is an afterlife, it has taken a century for Emma to be reunited with her great love who died in WWI. But what is a century to the soul?
posted by Scram at 11:25 PM on April 15, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by Scram at 11:25 PM on April 15, 2017 [7 favorites]
She had cut down to just two eggs a day, and a few biscuits recently.
Ah - the slippery slop that involves a move to biscuits!
My favorite 'oldest person' story is that of Jeanne Calment in France.
They had a way of doing a sort-of reverse mortgage where someone would pay a person so much per year and then get their house/apartment when they died.
They still do - it is called buying "en viager". If the buyer is lucky then he will secure the old person's property at a discount of about 30%....within a reasonable time frame. But, as you can imagine, there are quite a few stories which involve things turning out unexpectedly.
posted by rongorongo at 11:30 PM on April 15, 2017 [3 favorites]
Ah - the slippery slop that involves a move to biscuits!
My favorite 'oldest person' story is that of Jeanne Calment in France.
They had a way of doing a sort-of reverse mortgage where someone would pay a person so much per year and then get their house/apartment when they died.
They still do - it is called buying "en viager". If the buyer is lucky then he will secure the old person's property at a discount of about 30%....within a reasonable time frame. But, as you can imagine, there are quite a few stories which involve things turning out unexpectedly.
posted by rongorongo at 11:30 PM on April 15, 2017 [3 favorites]
My Grandmother is 100. Brain is fine, body is not, and that's a sad combination. It's funny, because most who meet her are quite surprised to find her completely lucid, a tiny issue with short term memory, but considering her age, amazing. What gets her down is losing most of her eyesight, no more mysteries (even YA too small to read), no more jigsaw puzzles, but she still has television, and she does love her streaming video.
posted by Beholder at 12:08 AM on April 16, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by Beholder at 12:08 AM on April 16, 2017 [6 favorites]
Indeed. Why, she could remember when Myspace was the hot new social medium, or when Oasis were still together.
Geez, she 70+ when the Beatles broke up, which about broke my teenage heart. Ordinarily, that memory would make me feel old. Today, not so much.
Thanks for the perspective.
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posted by she's not there at 12:26 AM on April 16, 2017 [2 favorites]
Geez, she 70+ when the Beatles broke up, which about broke my teenage heart. Ordinarily, that memory would make me feel old. Today, not so much.
Thanks for the perspective.
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posted by she's not there at 12:26 AM on April 16, 2017 [2 favorites]
Another headline I read stated she was the last person alive who was born in the 1800s.
Wow.
posted by zardoz at 2:09 AM on April 16, 2017
Wow.
posted by zardoz at 2:09 AM on April 16, 2017
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posted by limeonaire at 3:14 AM on April 16, 2017
posted by limeonaire at 3:14 AM on April 16, 2017
If there is an afterlife, it has taken a century for Emma to be reunited with her great love who died in WWI. But what is a century to the soul?
There is an excellent Japanese film which touches on that idea.
posted by acb at 4:29 AM on April 16, 2017 [2 favorites]
There is an excellent Japanese film which touches on that idea.
posted by acb at 4:29 AM on April 16, 2017 [2 favorites]
But six of the ten Americans on the list were black, which is surprising.
FWIW, Black women outlive white men.
posted by IndigoJones at 4:57 AM on April 16, 2017
FWIW, Black women outlive white men.
posted by IndigoJones at 4:57 AM on April 16, 2017
survived ... more than 90 Italian governments.
Italy has had quite the century+...
posted by puffyn at 5:39 AM on April 16, 2017
Italy has had quite the century+...
posted by puffyn at 5:39 AM on April 16, 2017
survived ... more than 90 Italian governments.
Italy has had quite the century+...
That was just last month...
posted by jonmc at 7:58 AM on April 16, 2017 [7 favorites]
Italy has had quite the century+...
That was just last month...
posted by jonmc at 7:58 AM on April 16, 2017 [7 favorites]
Gerontologists agree that there is no one key to longevity. “You talk to 100 centenarians, you get 100 different stories,” said Valter D. Longo, the director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California, whose studies suggest that diet is an important factor in living longer.
Epony-heh.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:32 AM on April 16, 2017 [3 favorites]
Epony-heh.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:32 AM on April 16, 2017 [3 favorites]
My Grandmother is 100.
Beholder, my felicitations to your grandmother.
Brain is fine, body is not...
That is sad, in that there are many things I imagine she'd like to do, however she can still enjoy and interact with the the world in so many ways.
I would take all of the aches and pains and inconveniences that go along with being 100 (unless I'm incontinent or the world itself goes to shit.) What I wouldn't want is to live six weeks past my mind not being right, whether it be major stroke, dementia, Alzheimer's, whatever.
posted by BlueHorse at 12:46 PM on April 16, 2017 [3 favorites]
Beholder, my felicitations to your grandmother.
Brain is fine, body is not...
That is sad, in that there are many things I imagine she'd like to do, however she can still enjoy and interact with the the world in so many ways.
I would take all of the aches and pains and inconveniences that go along with being 100 (unless I'm incontinent or the world itself goes to shit.) What I wouldn't want is to live six weeks past my mind not being right, whether it be major stroke, dementia, Alzheimer's, whatever.
posted by BlueHorse at 12:46 PM on April 16, 2017 [3 favorites]
The expression on her face in the picture I saw was like, "yep, still here."
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posted by rhizome at 1:58 PM on April 16, 2017
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posted by rhizome at 1:58 PM on April 16, 2017
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posted by fzx101 at 6:58 PM on April 16, 2017
posted by fzx101 at 6:58 PM on April 16, 2017
One would imagine that living to such an advanced age could be a bit lonely. Whenever I read about supercentenarians though, that never seems to be the case. Not sure what that tells us, but it strikes me as interesting.
posted by HiddenInput at 8:35 PM on April 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by HiddenInput at 8:35 PM on April 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
As regards the eggs, this is a favorite of mine:
Normal Plasma Cholesterol in an 88-Year-Old Man Who Eats 25 Eggs a Day
Nobody ages like Gaston!
posted by Going To Maine at 8:38 PM on April 16, 2017 [5 favorites]
Normal Plasma Cholesterol in an 88-Year-Old Man Who Eats 25 Eggs a Day
Nobody ages like Gaston!
posted by Going To Maine at 8:38 PM on April 16, 2017 [5 favorites]
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