Raw eggs and the single life
November 29, 2016 5:35 PM Subscribe
Emma Morano celebrated her 117th birthday today. She was born in the 1800's and credits her longevity to a diet of raw eggs and being single.
Crone Island Queen 4 Eva
posted by Grandysaur at 5:51 PM on November 29, 2016 [34 favorites]
posted by Grandysaur at 5:51 PM on November 29, 2016 [34 favorites]
Right? I want to write her a letter.
I also suddenly realize that the oldest woman in my family, who lived to 107, also was widowed for the last fifty or so years of it. There may be a theme here.
posted by corb at 5:57 PM on November 29, 2016 [10 favorites]
I also suddenly realize that the oldest woman in my family, who lived to 107, also was widowed for the last fifty or so years of it. There may be a theme here.
posted by corb at 5:57 PM on November 29, 2016 [10 favorites]
Men drain the life out of you and leave you a shell of your former self.
posted by greenhornet at 6:00 PM on November 29, 2016 [18 favorites]
posted by greenhornet at 6:00 PM on November 29, 2016 [18 favorites]
This woman is very close in age to my Grandfather Swan. He was born in March 1899 and would be 117 if he were still alive. He died in 1985 at the age of 86. But then... he wasn't single, and he probably ate a fair share of my Grandmother Swan's potato donuts in lieu of raw eggs.
posted by orange swan at 6:03 PM on November 29, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by orange swan at 6:03 PM on November 29, 2016 [3 favorites]
At this moment, my 101 year-old grandmother is road-tripping across the US with my uncle and my mom. Should be somewhere in Kansas right now. She married late and she's been widowed now for nearly 50 years, and she lives alone in her own home and does her own cooking and housework. Walks better than I do. Seriously, she's a demon with the vacuum and she hangs her clothes outside on the line because she refuses to raise her electric bill for the luxury of using the dryer. She's sharp as a proverbial tack and forgets nothing, and the only medication she takes is half a baby aspirin every day. She's pretty amazing.
Her diet is pretty simple -- lots of roast chicken and vegetables. She credits her longevity to a whole pot of coffee every morning. And crossword puzzles.
I love her to bits, of course, but I have never met anyone as stubborn as this woman, and I think that's the true key to her longevity.
posted by mochapickle at 6:07 PM on November 29, 2016 [51 favorites]
Her diet is pretty simple -- lots of roast chicken and vegetables. She credits her longevity to a whole pot of coffee every morning. And crossword puzzles.
I love her to bits, of course, but I have never met anyone as stubborn as this woman, and I think that's the true key to her longevity.
posted by mochapickle at 6:07 PM on November 29, 2016 [51 favorites]
The marriage had never been healthy, according to Ms Morano. She had been in love with a boy killed during World War One and had no interest in marrying someone else.Crone Island, party of one, and make Ms. Morano's first class.
But, she told La Stampa newspaper in an interview when she was a spritely 112, she was left with little choice.
"He told me: 'If you're lucky you marry me, or I'll kill you'. I was 26 years old. I got married. "
posted by Flannery Culp at 6:08 PM on November 29, 2016 [8 favorites]
Our last living connection to three centuries ago- it's weird looking at historical dates that begin with 18-- and think that this woman shared a century with them.
She also looks like a total butt-kicker, I'm sure that helps. :)
posted by freethefeet at 6:15 PM on November 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
She also looks like a total butt-kicker, I'm sure that helps. :)
posted by freethefeet at 6:15 PM on November 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
He told me: 'If you're lucky you marry me, or I'll kill you'.
this story would be a lot more heartwarming if she'd killed him with a hammer
posted by poffin boffin at 6:46 PM on November 29, 2016 [53 favorites]
this story would be a lot more heartwarming if she'd killed him with a hammer
posted by poffin boffin at 6:46 PM on November 29, 2016 [53 favorites]
Killed him, and was only admitting it now. "What're you gonna do, you incompetent flatfoots? I'm 117," she cackles, and ollies out of the room.
posted by furtive_jackanapes at 6:50 PM on November 29, 2016 [33 favorites]
posted by furtive_jackanapes at 6:50 PM on November 29, 2016 [33 favorites]
he wasn't single, and he probably ate a fair share of my Grandmother Swan's potato donuts in lieu of raw eggs.
My Italian immigrant grandmother used to make us a snack of mixed white sugar and raw egg yolk. She called it 'egg frosting.' We loved it. (She's still hanging on at 97 *knocks wood* some maybe there's something to this raw egg idea)
posted by jonmc at 7:02 PM on November 29, 2016
My Italian immigrant grandmother used to make us a snack of mixed white sugar and raw egg yolk. She called it 'egg frosting.' We loved it. (She's still hanging on at 97 *knocks wood* some maybe there's something to this raw egg idea)
posted by jonmc at 7:02 PM on November 29, 2016
I eat cookie dough that has raw eggs in it...that counts, right???
posted by littlesq at 7:12 PM on November 29, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by littlesq at 7:12 PM on November 29, 2016 [4 favorites]
One of the things my friend Dr. Albert Hofmann told me about his diet was that he always included two raw eggs in his muesli for breakfast. He said eggs contained most of the essential elements a human needs. Hofmann lived to 102.
posted by rmmcclay at 7:17 PM on November 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by rmmcclay at 7:17 PM on November 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
I was thinking just this week about how quickly time passes. To think that babies born today will live to see the year 2100. It's almost more than I can get my mind around.
I think about this sort of thing a lot. I was born two-thirds of the way through the twentieth century and have seen about a sixth of the twenty-first so far. As a child, I knew three of my great-grandparents, all of whom born in the nineteenth century. I have a passel of nieces, nephews, and first cousins once removed who run the gamut from toddlers to primary-schoolers; statistically (assuming no ELE) some of them will be around to see the twenty-second century dawn. (Unless I outlive Miss Emma by a couple of decades, I myself will not.)
I have direct personal connection with -- probably -- four different centuries. Cool.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:22 PM on November 29, 2016 [4 favorites]
I think about this sort of thing a lot. I was born two-thirds of the way through the twentieth century and have seen about a sixth of the twenty-first so far. As a child, I knew three of my great-grandparents, all of whom born in the nineteenth century. I have a passel of nieces, nephews, and first cousins once removed who run the gamut from toddlers to primary-schoolers; statistically (assuming no ELE) some of them will be around to see the twenty-second century dawn. (Unless I outlive Miss Emma by a couple of decades, I myself will not.)
I have direct personal connection with -- probably -- four different centuries. Cool.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:22 PM on November 29, 2016 [4 favorites]
I like to think about all the things I will probably get to see if I'm lucky. For example, 100 years of the Beatles: a History Channel Retrospective.
posted by blnkfrnk at 7:29 PM on November 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by blnkfrnk at 7:29 PM on November 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
I also suddenly realize that the oldest woman in my family, who lived to 107, also was widowed for the last fifty or so years of it. There may be a theme here.
Yeah, the longest lived members of my family (women, into their 90s) were widowed shortly after the kids reached adulthood. They remained fairly socially active and independent.
posted by ghost phoneme at 8:28 PM on November 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
Yeah, the longest lived members of my family (women, into their 90s) were widowed shortly after the kids reached adulthood. They remained fairly socially active and independent.
posted by ghost phoneme at 8:28 PM on November 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
Today is both mine and my 91 year old grandmother's birthday. I'm 32 and already feel tired. She's 91 and running circles around some of the people in their 60s at her senior community. Dashing back and forth on the tennis court. Walking a few miles each day. She's been texting me pictures of her Wii bowling scores when she wins. I can only hope I'm in that good of shape at her age (God willing).
My other grandmother turns 90 in a couple months and she needs her cane to go anywhere (and really should be using her walker because she's fallen several times). She's still going strong. No major health problems. But not nearly as mobile.
If I can end up somewhere between the two I'll be doing good.
posted by downtohisturtles at 9:14 PM on November 29, 2016 [4 favorites]
My other grandmother turns 90 in a couple months and she needs her cane to go anywhere (and really should be using her walker because she's fallen several times). She's still going strong. No major health problems. But not nearly as mobile.
If I can end up somewhere between the two I'll be doing good.
posted by downtohisturtles at 9:14 PM on November 29, 2016 [4 favorites]
I'm totally shocked she is getting enough biotin on that diet but maybe her body is synthesizing her own out of sheer determination.
posted by en forme de poire at 10:39 PM on November 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by en forme de poire at 10:39 PM on November 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
I love her to bits, of course, but I have never met anyone as stubborn as this woman, and I think that's the true key to her longevity.
My grandmother turns 104 this month and she has always been extremely stubborn. She has always had strong opinions on everything and has not been afraid to express them. She has also been a widow for about 40 years now.
She has always eaten lightly, rarely eats meat, preferring to munch on fruits and vegetables all day.
posted by vacapinta at 1:30 AM on November 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
My grandmother turns 104 this month and she has always been extremely stubborn. She has always had strong opinions on everything and has not been afraid to express them. She has also been a widow for about 40 years now.
She has always eaten lightly, rarely eats meat, preferring to munch on fruits and vegetables all day.
posted by vacapinta at 1:30 AM on November 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
I also suddenly realize that the oldest woman in my family, who lived to 107, also was widowed for the last fifty or so years of it. There may be a theme here.
More supporting anecdotal evidence from me: my Norwegian great-grandmother lived to see me born and reach age two, in her late 90s. She'd been widowed for thirty years by then. She was awesome. We still have clothes made from fabric she wove (that includes spinning thread from the sheep on her farm and dyeing it), sweaters and mittens she knit (ditto, she spun the wool yarn) and embroideries she made, bordered with handmade lace. She'd been married to an abusive guy who tried to force her and their kids into incestuous apocalyptic sect nonsense. My grandfather's (her son's) most emotional praise of her was regarding that: "goddamned asshole father did everything he could to break us but dammit, our mother protected all of us, even other kids." You have to imagine my grandfather shouting this, because he started going deaf as the result of having his ears boxed growing up, by said asshole great-grandfather. My grandfather got my father to name me after her. My great-grandmother's character was re-confirmed when one of the "other kids" got in touch with me and said that, yes, everyone in the sect knew my great-grandmother as the woman who saved a bunch of kids and protected her older sister.
My Dutch great-grandmother was the widower of a physically abusive drunk and lived 25 years after his death, nearly reaching 100. She was still crocheting toys, knitting hats and gloves, and regaling us with stories of being smarter than us young whipper-snappers. She had been the only girl in her high school allowed to study calculus, and once I started doing the same, she insisted we discuss the newest approaches. Note that she was in her early 90s by that time. She too spun her own threads and yarns.
My great-grandmas have been a huge source of optimism about my own life as a single woman. Ain't no one can tell me I'm too smart for my own good, in my soul I've got two badass great-grammas (and also a badass paternal grandmother who was utterly beloved by her husband, my kickass grandfather, the son of that first great-grandmother) sitting in their recliners, drafting wool in front of their spinning wheels, chuckling knowingly about all that. And I have the same name as one of them in spite of three generations of marriage, so ha ha patriarchy, we have your number.
posted by fraula at 1:44 AM on November 30, 2016 [12 favorites]
More supporting anecdotal evidence from me: my Norwegian great-grandmother lived to see me born and reach age two, in her late 90s. She'd been widowed for thirty years by then. She was awesome. We still have clothes made from fabric she wove (that includes spinning thread from the sheep on her farm and dyeing it), sweaters and mittens she knit (ditto, she spun the wool yarn) and embroideries she made, bordered with handmade lace. She'd been married to an abusive guy who tried to force her and their kids into incestuous apocalyptic sect nonsense. My grandfather's (her son's) most emotional praise of her was regarding that: "goddamned asshole father did everything he could to break us but dammit, our mother protected all of us, even other kids." You have to imagine my grandfather shouting this, because he started going deaf as the result of having his ears boxed growing up, by said asshole great-grandfather. My grandfather got my father to name me after her. My great-grandmother's character was re-confirmed when one of the "other kids" got in touch with me and said that, yes, everyone in the sect knew my great-grandmother as the woman who saved a bunch of kids and protected her older sister.
My Dutch great-grandmother was the widower of a physically abusive drunk and lived 25 years after his death, nearly reaching 100. She was still crocheting toys, knitting hats and gloves, and regaling us with stories of being smarter than us young whipper-snappers. She had been the only girl in her high school allowed to study calculus, and once I started doing the same, she insisted we discuss the newest approaches. Note that she was in her early 90s by that time. She too spun her own threads and yarns.
My great-grandmas have been a huge source of optimism about my own life as a single woman. Ain't no one can tell me I'm too smart for my own good, in my soul I've got two badass great-grammas (and also a badass paternal grandmother who was utterly beloved by her husband, my kickass grandfather, the son of that first great-grandmother) sitting in their recliners, drafting wool in front of their spinning wheels, chuckling knowingly about all that. And I have the same name as one of them in spite of three generations of marriage, so ha ha patriarchy, we have your number.
posted by fraula at 1:44 AM on November 30, 2016 [12 favorites]
I also suddenly realize that the oldest woman in my family, who lived to 107, also was widowed for the last fifty or so years of it. There may be a theme here
The oldest person I've known was 104. Widowed for a good while but also married late, because she'd been a nun when she was younger. Also no children, because her husband was kicked in the groin by a horse once, something she loved to tell people about in gruesome detail.
She was the oldest resident in the nursing home where I worked. She was kind, but utterly no-nonsense. If she got really annoyed with you she'd hiss "I'll call up the Devil and he'll bite your arse!"
posted by Catseye at 4:13 AM on November 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
The oldest person I've known was 104. Widowed for a good while but also married late, because she'd been a nun when she was younger. Also no children, because her husband was kicked in the groin by a horse once, something she loved to tell people about in gruesome detail.
She was the oldest resident in the nursing home where I worked. She was kind, but utterly no-nonsense. If she got really annoyed with you she'd hiss "I'll call up the Devil and he'll bite your arse!"
posted by Catseye at 4:13 AM on November 30, 2016 [3 favorites]
It seems a certain amount of, well, let's call it stubbornness is a theme among both centenarians and super-centenarians (the 110-plus folks), and Ms. Morano is a prime example. I look forward to celebrating her 118th birthday!
Another one is the current oldest living man: Israel Kristal is an Auchswitz survivor who was born in Poland in September 1903, he lost his first wife and their kids during WWII, and now lives in Israel surrounded by the descendants of his second marriage.
posted by easily confused at 4:56 AM on November 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
Another one is the current oldest living man: Israel Kristal is an Auchswitz survivor who was born in Poland in September 1903, he lost his first wife and their kids during WWII, and now lives in Israel surrounded by the descendants of his second marriage.
posted by easily confused at 4:56 AM on November 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
I used to visit an old Yiddish writer in Iasi, Romania who was born in 1906 and lived until 2001. His wife was a few years younger than he, and they basically lived on buttered bread, cookies and tea, with a boiled kosher chicken in soup on weekends. As he got older I would buy them groceries - especially fresh fruit - which they had not eaten in years. They would look at this bag of fruit and exclaim "How are we ever going to finish this?"
posted by zaelic at 5:32 AM on November 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by zaelic at 5:32 AM on November 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
My Grandpa is turning 100 this month. He was married for 70 years until Grandma died earlier this month. He lives out in western Minnesota, near Fargo, and never got a snowblower. He was still shoveling his sidewalk and big driveway two winters ago. Every other family on the block had a snowblower, he was the only one still shoveling. He is now starting to slow down, but used to take a walk every day. He just never stopped being physically active.
At one point, his hobby was reading old issues of the town newspaper to learn scandalous stories about people's families. He recounted with pride telling Lefty Johnson that Lefty's grandfather had shot a man on Main Street decades ago.
posted by Alluring Mouthbreather at 5:40 AM on November 30, 2016 [4 favorites]
At one point, his hobby was reading old issues of the town newspaper to learn scandalous stories about people's families. He recounted with pride telling Lefty Johnson that Lefty's grandfather had shot a man on Main Street decades ago.
posted by Alluring Mouthbreather at 5:40 AM on November 30, 2016 [4 favorites]
I like to think about all the things I will probably get to see if I'm lucky. For example, 100 years of the Beatles: a History Channel Retrospective.
2064 will also be Shakespeare'a 500th. I'll be 88. Assuming that the world has not gone up in flames and I have not died, I'm planning to see some plays.
posted by thivaia at 5:58 AM on November 30, 2016 [4 favorites]
2064 will also be Shakespeare'a 500th. I'll be 88. Assuming that the world has not gone up in flames and I have not died, I'm planning to see some plays.
posted by thivaia at 5:58 AM on November 30, 2016 [4 favorites]
(Although in fairness, the history channel Beatles thing would probably air in 2062)
posted by thivaia at 6:00 AM on November 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by thivaia at 6:00 AM on November 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
1) In my wife's Italian home town, it is the custom to feed a newlywed groom raw eggs after the couple returns back from the honeymoon because he will need energy (from what type of activity, I will never know)
2) Also I read somewhere some time ago that a married man lives longer than a single man; but a single woman will live longer than a married one. take what you wish from that!
posted by bitteroldman at 7:42 AM on November 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
Saw this story on the local news yesterday.
In their 90's seven ladies from Maine continue to bowl.
Pretty sure they are all single or widowed. One lady remarked that if she ever ends up using a cane, she'll still go bowling.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 7:47 AM on November 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
In their 90's seven ladies from Maine continue to bowl.
Pretty sure they are all single or widowed. One lady remarked that if she ever ends up using a cane, she'll still go bowling.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 7:47 AM on November 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
Buon Compleanno, Emma! I have been to her hometown on Lago Maggiore. It's lovely. I would eat raw eggs everyday for a chance to live there.
posted by pjsky at 8:49 AM on November 30, 2016
posted by pjsky at 8:49 AM on November 30, 2016
Single women do live longer, empirically. Not so sure about the raw eggs.
posted by splitpeasoup at 10:21 AM on November 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by splitpeasoup at 10:21 AM on November 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
Single women do live longer, empirically.
I poked around a bit but haven't been able to find any studies that say that. I found some that said married women live longer, and others (usually the ones that seem to have more sophisticated approaches) that say there's no significant effect either way. I did come across one study that found self-reported health to be higher among divorced, widowed, and never-married elderly women than among their married counterparts.
posted by Gerald Bostock at 1:32 PM on November 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
I poked around a bit but haven't been able to find any studies that say that. I found some that said married women live longer, and others (usually the ones that seem to have more sophisticated approaches) that say there's no significant effect either way. I did come across one study that found self-reported health to be higher among divorced, widowed, and never-married elderly women than among their married counterparts.
posted by Gerald Bostock at 1:32 PM on November 30, 2016 [2 favorites]
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I was thinking just this week about how quickly time passes. To think that babies born today will live to see the year 2100. It's almost more than I can get my mind around.
posted by 4ster at 5:50 PM on November 29, 2016 [3 favorites]