Francisca Susano was the last woman alive to be born in the 1800s — which seems like its worlds away for most people.
Sadly, Susano just passed away on Monday at the age of 124. She was thought to be the oldest person in the world prior to her very recent passing. Her cause of death is currently unknown, however, she will be tested for COVID-19 soon as well. She passed away in her home province in Kabankalan, Negros Occidental in the Philipines.
Oldest Woman Alive in the World Dies
“It is with sadness in our heart when we received the news that our beloved Lola Francisca Susano passed away early this Monday evening. Her official declaration as the oldest person in the world at 124 years old is currently validated by the Guinness World Records,” the local government officially posted on Facebook regarding her death.
Susano was born back in 1897. At the time, the Philippines was controlled by Spain and wouldn’t be given over to the U.S. until the next year. A lot happened that year in world history as well. William McKinley was inaugurated as the 25th president of the U.S. The popular book “Dracula” by Bram Stoker was published. It also happens to be the same year in which Amelia Earhart was born as well.
According to the New York Post, Guinness World Records was in the process of looking over and confirming her documents in order to officially recognize her as the world’s oldest person in September. She is close in age to Jeanne Calment who passed away at the age of 122 in 1997. Calment is currently listed as the “Oldest person ever” on the Guinness site.
Other Extremely Long Lives
As for the oldest man to ever live, that title goes to Jiroemon Kimura. He was from Japan and lived from 1897 to 2013 and died at the age of 116 years old.
So what exactly is the secret to such a long life?
Francisca Susano said that she primarily ate a veggie-based diet. She also spent her life abstaining from alcohol of any kind, according to the Metro. She kept her lungs as active as possible by playing her harmonica every day.
If we’re talking about Betty White, however, her secret to a long life revolves around hot dogs and vodka.
As of now, Kane Tanaka is the oldest woman alive. She was born in 1903 and is currently 118 years old. “Kane likes to keep her mind active, and on a normal day at the nursing home, she wakes up at 6 a.m. and in the afternoon often studies subjects such as maths. One of Kane’s favourite pastimes is a game of Othello and she’s become an expert at the classic board game, often beating the staff,” Guinness World Records wrote about the woman.
