• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Apparently, the world's oldest human was discovered in Indonesia at the "age of 145."

Status
Not open for further replies.
Have no idea if this was posted yet.

So, it is possible that the world's oldest living man was found in Indonesia with verifiable documentation of his birth in December 1870. However, they still need to be independently verified before it can be completely confirmed.

This means that there is a possibility that thia could be in error, as it hinges on the Indonesian birth record system, which if this is indeed from 1870, has the potential to be incorrect.

It is completely possible this may be another family member's birth certificate, such as his father or grandfather. However, since there is no way to deconfirm it yet, we do not know for sure.

You can read the article here (which contains a video of the man in question): http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...h-gotho-indonesia-145-years-old-a7213191.html

Here's the article in quoted form, as well:

The world’s oldest man has been named as Indonesian Mbah Gotho, who is 145 years old, with documentation that says he was born in 1870.

Mr Gotho said he began preparing for his death in 1992, even having a gravestone made, but 24 years later he is still alive.

He has now outlived all 10 of his siblings, his four wives and his children.

Though his age is impressive, Mr Gotho told a regional news network: “What I want is to die.”

For the past three months he has needed to bathed and spoon-fed, and is becoming increasingly frail.

Mr Gotho has official documentation which shows his age, and the Indonesian records office says it has confirmed his birth date as December 31 1870.

If this is correct, this would earn him the title of the oldest person ever, a title currently held by French centenarian Jeanne Calment, who was 122 when she died – 23 years younger than Mr Gotho.

If the documents cannot be independently verified, however, Mr Gotho will not go down in the record books.

There are a number of people who claim to have broken Jeanne Calment’s record, such as Nigerian James Olofintuyi, who claims to be 171, and Dhaqabo Ebba from Ethiopia, who claims to be 163, but without verifiable documents they cannot be given her title.

The centenarian, from Central Java, says he spends his time listening to the radio, as his eyesight is no longer good enough to watch television.

When asked the secret to a long life, he said: “The recipe is just patience”.

While the records are still being verified, it seems much more likely that this will end up to be true due to the official documentation.

To put this all in perspective: He's only five years younger than when the American Civil War came to a close in May 1865, if this is indeed true.

EDIT: Wanted to adjust the post to fit more with this being a possibility until it is formally verified as indeed true and not an error.

EDIT 2: This is said to be his "ID card" and is featured in other news articles. other than The Independent's article. Please note that this is not new to today and was posted in the initial article on all other news sites yesterday. I am just adding this for information purposes.

106830529_Pic_shows_The_old_man_-_Mbah_Gotho_145__An_Indonesian_man_who_has_emerged_from_obscurity_t-large_trans++H71L7x90HwQPM1sD1QdSakv4adYu1PKtUsAoSrOux6Q.jpg
 

Grizzlyjin

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
I'm extremely skeptical. Sad story all the same. By 140 you could outlive your kids and even your grandkids.
 

darthbob

Member
Isn't it usually women who live longer anyhow? Wonder what makes this guy such an outlier, or perhaps it's just bad record-keeping. ;)
 

KingBroly

Banned
I'm also going to call BS on this. I feel like we would've heard about this guy A LONG time ago if it was legitimate. I'm not doubting he's really old, but 145? Come on.
 
I could believe maybe 130 but there's just no way.

If you can find records of his children though that would at least give you a ballpark of how old he is.
 

Arkeband

Banned
Pretty much impossible based on what we know about the physiology of aging. And these claims usually come from developing countries with very few ways to verify authenticity.
 
He has now outlived all 10 of his siblings, his four wives and his children

The massive downside if we manage to extend the lives of human beings. Not everyone might be able to able afford or want to live longer, thus eventually leaving you alone.
 

Betty

Banned
If he has official records, why is this news coming out right now? He should've been known about decades ago.

Apparently they weren't able to confirm it until just now, though his birth card said 1870 or something they only just managed to validate it somehow.

Insane if true.
 

Oxn

Member
Looks good for 145

and i can totally believe it. Im sure there are plenty like him in 3rd world countries that no one even attempt to look for.
 

Grizzlyjin

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
Isn't it usually women who live longer anyhow? Wonder what makes this guy such an outlier, or perhaps it's just bad record-keeping. ;)

Yeah, bad record keeping seems like a way more plausible explanation than him crushing the previous record by like two decades.

I think women just tend to live longer in general. They always seem to have + a couple of years on males in those avg life span by country breakdowns.
 

Fou-Lu

Member
The massive downside if we manage to extend the lives of human beings. Not everyone might be able to able afford or want to live longer, thus eventually leaving you alone.

*shrug* At least you'll be able to meet people that have lived as long as you, or be able to keep up with younger people.
 

darthbob

Member
Yeah, bad record keeping seems like a way more plausible explanation than him crushing the previous record by like two decades.

I think women just tend to live longer in general. They always seem to have + a couple of years on males in those avg life span by country breakdowns.

Wouldn't be surprised if his birth certificate was actually his father's tbh.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom