‘World’s Oldest Man,’ 145, Wants To Die
A new contender for the title of world’s oldest man/person ever says that he is ready to die because he perhaps has nothing left to live for.
He even apparently has been ready to check out for more than 20 years.
Mbah Gotho of Indonesia reportedly was born on New Year’s Eve in 1870, making him 145 years old.
“If confirmed, Gotho was 30 when Queen Victoria died; 45 when the Battle of the Somme took place; 74 at the end of World War II; and celebrated his 100th birthday on the same day Paul McCartney filed a lawsuit to dissolve The Beatles,” the International Business Times recalled.
Gotho has outlived his 10 siblings, and multiple wives and children, and has several generations of grandchildren.
Local officials have confirmed his birth date on his government-issued Indonesia identity card and “[i]f independently confirmed, the findings would make Mr. Gotho a staggering 145 years old – and the longest lived human in recorded history,” the London Telegraph explained about the resident of Sragen in central Java. “While record office staff say they have confirmed the birth date on his identity card, he will not make it into the record books until the findings are independently verified.”
#Indonesian #MbahGotho who claims he is the world's oldest at age 145 says he is ready to die but death doesnt come. pic.twitter.com/vqmINjuZKX
— Noorani Tejani (@NooraniTejani) August 27, 2016
The centenarian told an Indonesian news network, however, that he wants to die given that all his grandchildren are independent.
“One of Mr Gotho’s grandsons said his grandfather has been preparing for his death ever since he was 122. He has even bought a burial site close to the graves of his children,” the Telegraph added.
“Going through a quarter-life crisis (midlife crisis for some of our readers)? We can guarantee that it pales in comparison with whatever 145-year-old Mbah Gotho is going through,” Coconuts Jakarta claimed.
Quality of life is apparently an issue, unfortunately. Gotho reportedly is in declining health, unable to care for himself, and spends a lot of time listening to the radio because of difficulty with his eyesight.
145-year-old Mbah Gotho from Indonesia says he can't wait to die https://t.co/Ex3S1lM6j0
— IBTimes UK (@IBTimesUK) August 27, 2016
As far as any longevity recommendations are concerned,”When asked the secret to a long life, [Mbah Gotho] said, ‘The recipe is just patience,'” the Independent of London detailed.
Absent appropriate documentation, Mr. Gotho will join “others without verifiable records who are purportedly older than Mbah Gotho — 171-year-old James Olofintuyi from Nigeria and 163-year-old Dhaqabo Ebba from Ethiopia,” the Daily Mail noted about the Indonesian super senior citizen.
For what it’s worth, and if accurate, the YouTube video below seems to depict the purported world’s oldest man smoking a cigarette.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHJW0pUcEC0
Last week, the Inquisitr reported on a spry Hindu monk in India who might be the world’s oldest man. Although not a publicity seeker by any means, Swami Sivananda, 120, has applied to the Guinness Book of World Records to verify his status as the oldest man who has ever lived with the encouragement of his disciples. Sivananda’s passport indicates that he was born on August 8, 1896.
What are Swami Sivananda’s secrets for life extension? AFP explains that it comes down to “no sex or spices, and daily yoga.” He reportedly practices yoga up to two hours every day. Orphaned at age four and growing up in poverty, the celibate and physically fit monk consumes a simple diet and lives very modestly, which includes sleeping on a mat on the floor.
As with the Indonesian centenarian, pinpointing Sivananda’s actual age may be a challenge, AFP added, however. “India’s passport authorities confirmed Sivananda’s age from a temple register, the only record many Indians even decades younger have of their date of birth. However it would be extremely difficult to independently verify his age.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bAvv7rG1mA
According to various news outlets, the oldest verified person on record who ever lived on this planet was Jeanne Calment, a French woman who passed away at age 122 in the year 1997.
Do you think that Mbah Gotho of Indonesia, age 145, will be officially declared the world’s oldest man/person?
[Image via Shutterstock]
