EMMA MORANO’S AMAZING RUN …
The oldest living human being passed away this week in the Piedmont region of Italy. She was … get this … 117 years old.
Emma Morano was born on November 29, 1899 – and at the time of her death was the last living person born in the nineteenth century. For those of you keeping score at home, that’s nine years before the first Ford Model T was built. Thirteen years before the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic. Fifteen years before the beginning of World War I. Eighteen years before the fall of the Russian Empire (and the splitting of the atom). Twenty-one years before the first radio news broadcast. Forty years before the beginning of World War II. Fifty-four years before the world’s first mass-produced computer. Seventy years before man walked on the moon. Ninety years before the fall of communism. One hundred and two years before 9/11.
Home girl saw a lot, in other words … including more than ninety different Italian governments (and 21 different United States presidents).
When Morano was born there were approximately 1.6 billion people on planet earth. Today there are an estimated 7.5 billion.
Incredible, huh?
Morano’s doctor credited her longevity to her diet of three eggs a day (including two raw eggs for breakfast). She ate chicken for dinner.
Apparently Morano adopted her egg-based diet after being diagnosed with anemia back in 1919 … which we’re guessing is probably a record for somebody sticking with their diet.
The oldest person ever? Jeanne Calment of France, who lived to be 122 years and 164 days. Next in line to contend for that mark is 117-year-old Violet Brown of Jamaica, who was born on March 10, 1900.
Banner via @BBC