Category Archives: Worlds Oldest People

The Passing Age of Centenarians 4/2/13

by funklord

America lost its oldest living person in Elise Thompson.  She was born April 5th, 1899.  She was one of 14 people still alive on the planet who were born in the 19th century.

Here is what is weird:  When I was in school, my psychology teacher talked about death, and that for some reason, men die right after major milestones, while women die right before.  I think there were theories, but no definitive answer.  Elise died on March 21st, 15 days before her 114th birthday.

With her passing, she gives the mantle of Oldest American to Jeralean Talley, who doubles as the oldest black person on the planet as well.  She is still behind Japan’s Jiroemon Kimura at 115 years of age.

STD (Seniors Transmiting Disease) Update

by funklord

What did I tell you!  Seniors are catching STD’s at a rapid rate, and here are the numbers.  I am only posting this because I just mentioned this phenomenon like a week ago.  I do not have an unhealthy fascination with the sexual practices and disease spreading of the elderly.  I do hope to catch that mental disorder, when I am in my 60’s though.

What I think is amazing,  is that in our youth obsessed culture, you can have a happy love life at the end of your life.  Thanks to technological advancements the retirement home is like college, now complete with all the risks of promiscuity.  This is a tale of hope!  Sex can continue long after God designed us to stop trying.

One For The Ages

by funklord

So it looks like I’m slipping.  This is one of my favorite subjects to follow, I have been following for years, and I totally blew it.  Dina Manfredini, the worlds oldest person, died in her sleep on December 17th, at the ripe old age of 115.  She held the title for 13 days, having been declared the world’s oldest person by Guinness on December 4th with the passing of Besse Cooper.  Dina’s passing not only hands the mantel over to a non-US citizen for the first time in years, but has ignited a firestorm of cinematic proportions.

China Vs. Japan.  The conflicts these two countries have produced are legendary, but it can be argued that none is older than this one. Japan’s Jiroemon Kimura is officially the world’s oldest person (and man) according to Guinness, BUT Chinese agencies are reporting (and we all know how reliable those are) that Luo Meizhen is the champion with a birth date in 1885, making her 127 years old.  If this is true, she would be the oldest person to EVER have lived (since records of this sort have been kept) besting a french woman at 122 years of age.

What i think is funny is that over the past few years the title has changed very often, given the fragile state of people in this advanced stage of life, and China has said NOTHING.  The last time was a mere 13 days ago!  But when a Japanese person claims the championship, then China suddenly speaks up.  Seems suspiciously timed.

One of the articles I read said that they don’t know how aggressively China is going to fight this, but that Japan should be careful.  I would like to second that, given the dire situation of the Fukishima plant, and the massive empty cities China has at the ready.

Age ain’t nuthin’ but a number (In this case, it’s 116).

by funklord

Way before the Funk Freedom Press was founded, the ole Funklord had an obsession with the world’s oldest people.  I fine it absolutely fascinating that in the past few years, there has been so much movement and change in the “World’s Oldest Person” category.

Currently topping the ranks is adorable Besse Cooper, born in 1896 in Tennessee, just some 50 years after the Civil War.  She was 50 years removed from Lincoln, 33 when the Stock Market crashed, and was 64 when Kennedy was elected.  Telegraph/Telegram/Telephone/Smartphone.  I wish I could get an hour with her.  One hour to ask her to briefly gloss over her 116 years of life.   In this youth obsessed society we forget how important our senior generations are.  They have lived through it all, they have seen it all.  They are living history.  How have her feelings changed?  How have her values changed?

I could go on and on.  Read the article.  It has some interesting stuff on World records as well.