She Defines Human Lifespan

Posted October 2, 2007, 4:33 pm in Aging by Growing Bolder


Lifespan is defined as the age of the oldest living individual of a species. For humans, it's now 122 years and 164 days. That's how old Madame Jeanne Calment was when she died in France in August 1997 (February 21, 1875 - August 4, 1997). Her lifespan has been thoroughly documented by scientific study; more records have been produced to verify her age than for any other case. Madame Calment once said: "I have an enormous will to live and a good appetite, especially for sweets."

She married in 1896, but her husband passed away in 1940. When Madame Calment was 90 a lawyer entered into an annuity contract with her (annual money in return for her apartment when she died), which cost him a small fortune due to her longevity. A great quote from Madame Calment is that she "is interested in everything, but not really passionate about anything."

Although blind, almost deaf and confined to a wheelchair, Calment remained spirited and mentally sharp until the end. At age 121, she released her two CDs, one in French and another in English titled, Maitresse du Temps (Time's Mistress), which featured Calment's reminiscing to a score of rap and other tunes.

Calment's father lived to the age of 94 and her mother to the age of 86. The longevity gene was apparent in her maternal family but she left no heir with her longevity gene. She was a widow for more than half a century. A dessert of spoiled preserved cherries killed her husband in 1942 at the age of 46, but Calment survived. Her only daughter died in 1934 at the age of 36 of pneumonia. After the death of her daughter Calment raised her grandson, who became a medical doctor and died in 1963 during a car accident.
Calment's Secret of Longevity
Jean Calment came from a bourgeois family and never had to work. Her husband, a cousin, was a prosperous storeowner who offered her a life of ease revolving around tennis, bicycling, swimming, roller skating, piano and opera.

Internationally, researchers are fascinated with Calment for both her longevity and her vitality. "She never did anything special to stay in good health," said French researcher Jean-Marie Robine. They attribute her longevity to her immunity to stress. She once said, "If you cant do anything about it, don't worry about it."
Calment herself credited an occasional glass of Port vine and a diet rich in olive oil for her longevity. She also recommended laughter as a recipe for longevity and jokes that "God must have forgotten me."

She took up fencing lessons at 85 and rode bicycle until 100. She ate two lbs. of chocolate per week until her doctor persuaded her to give up sweets at the age of 119. She officially gave up smoking at 117, but resumed having the occasional puff after her 118th birthday.
Well into her hundreds she drank a glass of port before lunch and another before dinner.

Quotations

Calment never showed any signs of senile dementia and was well known for her sharp wit. Some of her famous quotations include:

* "I've waited 110 years to be famous, I count on taking advantage of it," she quipped at her 120th birthday party.
* Also on her 120th birthday, when asked what kind of future did she expect, she replied, "A very short one."
* Getting used to growing media attention with every year that passed, she once quipped, "I'm waiting for death- and more journalists."
* "When you're 117, you see if you remember everything!" she rebuked an interviewer once.
* Her birthdays were a sort of family holiday in Arles. After one party, somebody took leave by telling her, "Until next year, perhaps." She retorted: "I don't see why not! You don't look so bad to me."

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