At 116, Emma Morano is the oldest person in the world

At 116 years of age, she has made it to the Guinness World Records as the oldest living person. Emma Morano from Verbania in Italy has achieved this distinction after New Yorker Susannah Mushatt Jones, who was several months older than Morano passed away last week. “My word, I’m as old as the hills”, was her response to her caregiver Rosi Santoni on hearing this piece of news, as reported by The Telegraph. At 116 plus 169 days, Morano is now believed to be the last surviving person in the world from the 19th century, who has no doubt witnessed a lot, including two world wars. So in case you are curious about her life, here are a few things we dug up:

• Emma Morano was born on November 29, 1899. The Italian lady explains that her long life mantra is her daily raw-egg-eating, brandy-drinking diet, her early bedtime routine and not to forget, her single status.
• Morano lives in Verbania, a northern Italian mountain town overlooking Lake Major, where she has a neat one-room nest, which she has not plans of leaving anytime soon. She has two elderly nieces for company, and lives surrounded by relatives and friends.
• Her voice may be got weaker now but not her mind. “I am doing fine —116!” she told well-wishers from her bed, as Deccan Chronicle reported.
• Her life wasn’t an unexceptional one. Like everyone else Morano finished her schooling and then went to work. However, the she did have a talent for singing.

Emma Morano: 116 plus and not ready to hang up her boots yet( Picture Credit: ign.com)

• Morano’s husband used to beat her and eventually she lost an infant son to crib death at 6 months. Thereafter, breaking away from tradition, she joined work at a  factory making jute bags, then worked as a cook in a hotel, and didn't retire until past retirement age. She ended her unhappy marriage in 1938, and never remarried again.
• She is now under care of her physician of 23 years, Dr Carlo Bava, who personally delivered the news of her status as the oldest person in the world. Hearing the news, Morano cheered out loud.
• The doctor also confirmed that Morano has never been on a balanced diet. She relies on animal protein, the occasional banana, and grapes in season. Now her diet includes two raw eggs and 100 grams of raw steak a day, which Bava prescribed after she had a bout of anemia some years back. Her nieces make her apple sauce also. She also eats minced meat and pasta daily.
• It is rumoured that gerontologists at the University of Milan are studying Morano, along with a handful of Italians over 105, to know the scientific reason of their life spans.
• Bava, who visits her every Friday, also affirmed that apart from the positive energy she possesses, there’s a genetic component to Morano’s longevity as one of her sisters lived to be over 100 and another to nearly 100 as well.

Feature Image Credit: Deccanchronicle.com