Emma Morano, below, who at the time of writing is now officially the world’s oldest woman at 116, has quite literally seen it all.
Asked recently for her secrets to longevity and the Italian, the last documented person alive born in the 1800s, says that’s easy – staying single and eating two raw eggs a day.
She’s been on the egg diet for decades after a doctor suggested it when she was a young woman, to help counter anemia.
Emma showed the men the door after ending a bad marriage at 38 – and she’s never been happier.
“I didn’t want to be dominated by anyone,” she explained.
The former titleholder of the world’s oldest woman, 116-year-old Susannah Muschatt Jones, died on May 12.
When Emma was told she was the new record holder, her caregivers said she was “pleased” with the honour.
“She was told this morning and she said ‘My word, I’m as old as the hills’,” Rosi Santoni, a 72-year-old relative said.
For Emma, it was business as usual, despite the big news. The supercentenarian had her usual breakfast of milk with biscuits and had a lunch of semolina with boiled eggs.
If that seems like unlikely longevity advice, other centenarians also have cited some surprising habits.
Susannah Mushatt-Jones was said to still eat fried bacon every single day. And a California man has said he’s lived to 100 thanks to his donut-a-day habit for the last 30 years.