Word: oldest
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...woman certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest living human allowed that she was "very moved" by the celebration. How does she feel? Like half the people over 85, she no longer hears very well. A broken hip five years ago left her unable to walk, and cataracts have robbed her of vision. (She has refused surgery, says her physician, Victor Lebre, because "she thinks it's normal at 120 not to see.") But there is no question that her wit is intact. Asked what kind of future she expects, Calment didn't miss a beat...
Whereas few of us can expect to be longevity superstars, demographic trends show that more and more of us will at least make it into the big league. The "oldest old"-those 85 and older-make up the fastest-growing segment of the population in the U.S. and other prosperous nations. Between 1960 and 1990, while the overall U.S. population grew 39%, the ranks of those 85 and older jumped 232%. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that by the year 2040, there will be 1.3 million Americans 100 years or older; some demographers put the figure at 4 million...
...oldest old are healthier than the merely old in several respects. Heart disease and stroke, for instance, have their greatest im-pact in the 50s through 80s for men and about 10 years later for women. Those who make it past the danger zones are less apt to be stricken at all. Similarly, Alzheimer's disease usually picks off its victims by the mid-80s. Perls found that men in their 90s outperformed octogenarians in tests of mental function...
...Grim Reaper himself may slow his pace for the oldest old. While the chance of dying increases exponentially with each year from 50 to 90, the odds rise less steeply after...
...Monk, Sonny Rollins, Mort Sahl and Peter, Paul and Mary and countless other legendary jazz and folk musicians, poets and entertainers all have one thing in common. They made their name at a basement dive in New York City called the Village Vanguard. Last week what may be the oldest nightclub in America threw itself a 60th birthday party, and the joint was more jumping than ever...