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Question of the Day
Question:
“Dr. Hal, how old was the oldest person who ever lived?”Answer:
Despite repeated ejaculations of, "Bullshit!" from Chicken, in 2001 I related how until modern times, and discounting the long-livers in the Bible, since otherwise nobody could beat Adam, Methuselah and that crowd, the oldest man known was Thomas Parr, also known just as "Old Parr." An English servant born in 1483, Parr lived a record 152 years. He waited to marry until he was eighty years old, and his first wife lived thirty-two years after the couple was wed. Eight years later, he married again. At 130 he was still working on his master's farm, pounding the grain and plowing the fields. At 150 his supernormal age and intelligence intrigued King Charles I, who sent for him. The stress of the journey to London, where he was mobbed by admirers, proved too much for the old boy, and he took sick and drew his last breath at the age of 152 Years and 9 months, having lived under 9 kings of England, who I listed at the show as part of my answer, but won't here. The noted physician William Harvey, credited with the discovery of the circulation of human blood, and with being an ancestor of Burning Man honcho Larry Harvey, examined Parr's body and found "...ye Constitution & Condition of said Parr's Innards & all internall Organs approach'd a State of Perfection." A monument to him (Parr) was erected at Westminster Abbey. This all-time record, however, was surmounted in modern times by Javier Pereira, a Zenu Indian from Colombia. Pereira died in 1955 in his hometown of Monteria at the advanced age of 166. Oh, his age was attested by friends, municipal records, and Pereira himself, who could remember with great clarity the Battle of Cartagena, fought in 1815, numerous Indian massacres (or, as we say today, Native American Direct Actions) and a famous famine.
Toward the end of his life, Pereira was brought to New York to be examined by a coterie of medical experts. Their conclusion: though they found him "remarkably well-preserved," with "the blood pressure of a young man," arteries intact, a good heart and a clear mind, they conceded that he was indeed a very, very old man, "...more than 150 years old." When asked his secret for longevity, Pereira reportedly advised, "Don't worry-- just chew coca, drink lots of coffee and smoke a big cigar whenever you feel like it."
Askdrhal.com by
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