Talk about leading a full life… Edna Parker (pictured right), the world’s oldest person, has died at age 115. Reading about Ms. Parker, I learned a new term – supercentenarian. It’s defined as anyone who reaches the amazingly small club of 110-year-olds.
The ever pervasive question is, of course, what was her secret to longevity? She apparently didn’t offer much in the way of advice. However, she claimed to not have ever drank alcohol or smoked.
“She kept active,” said her grandson Don Parker, 60. Describing his trips to her nursing home he said: “We used to go up there, and she would be pushing other patients in their wheelchairs.”
Her only actual advice to those who gathered to celebrate when she became the oldest person was “more education.” With that oblique bit of guidance, I began to wonder what other supercentenarians had attributed their longevity to. So, I did a bit of research, and this is what I came up with from the two oldest known people in history: (more…)
