Living Supercentenarians or People born in the 19th Century

I always wondered how many people are alive today who were born in the 19th century. People who could say I've seen in two turns of the century, being alive in the 18, 19 and 20 hundreds, I find it truly amazing that some people have lives so long. They're called Supercentenarians and I decided to look in to some of their histories.

Kama Chinen

The world's oldest living woman born on the10th May 1895. That's 114 years old, that is amazing. There is not much information on this lady from Japan other than she is in a wheelchair but enjoys going outside with a nurse.

Walter Breuning

The world's oldest living man born on 21st September 1896. Walter was born in Minnesota and spent 50 years working on the railroads. He appears to be very active for his years and attributes his longevity to keeping active, both physically and mentally though he does take on baby aspirin a day.

Florrie Baldwin

The United Kingdom's oldest living woman born 31st March 1896. Florrie was born in Leeds where she worked as a clerk for 50 years having to twice daily walk up and down a steep hill which Doctors say helped her in her longevity though she reckons it's because she ate a fried egg sarnie everyday. I know which reason I prefer.

Mary Josephine Ray

The oldest living person in the United States born 17th May 1895. Mary is a Red Sox fan and even buys the merchandise. She has two sons both in their eighties. According to myfoxboston.com "She loves to arm wrestle, talk about the Sox and eat her favorite candy, Hershey Kisses."

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These are just some of the 79 validated Living Supercentenarians, many of whom seemed to lead full active lives. I always thought men lived longer, they just seemed older than the women I knew growing up. I was entirely wrong seeing as there are only 2 men on this amazing, inspiring an for me at least a hugely fascinating list.

I decided to ask a number of people whether or not they would like to live to 110 years old and the vast majority gave a flat "No". Only one or two people entertained the idea and even then had conditions, for example "As long as I have full control of my faculties and for my friends and family to be around". I did expect some people to say a straight yes when asked but alas I was mistaken again.

It appears to me that the fascination for living extremely long is dwindling in today's society with the children blissfully unaware and the older generation more accepting of the inevitability of death. I see this as a positive (enjoying the life you have) rather than a negative (being resigned to the fact that you are going to die).

I wonder if living this long is a good idea. If you have all your faculties and need minimal help getting around I guess it's OK. I also imagine how much of a life this long is filled with doing something over wasting it. Personally I would rather have a short and full life rather than a long and empty one.

Is living to such an age an achievement? I think so, bearing in mind the few there are in the world. Even with all the medical advances we have available to us now it stands as a testament to what we as humans are capable of.

-Blue