Indonesian census discovers 157-year-old woman

[goodsamaritan]

June 7, 2010

ESTIMATES of the size and composition of Indonesia's booming population may remain just that despite an ongoing census, if the "discovery" of a 157-year-old woman is anything to go by.

Census officials have said they believe the woman's claims to have been born in 1853, when Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata debuted in Venice, the Crimean War erupted and San Francisco got its first street signs at intersections.

"There's no authentic data to prove her age but judging from her statements and the age of her adopted daughter, who's now 108 years old, it's difficult to doubt it," statistics bureau official Jhonny Sardjono said.

The only person verified to have lived past 120 years of age was Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 at the age of 122.

South Sumatran villager Turinah would be fully 25 years older than Calment when she died, according to officials.

Even more incredible, she still works around the house and has smoked clove cigarettes all her life, Mr Sardjono said.

"Despite her age she still has an incredible memory, clear sight and has no hearing problems. She speaks Dutch quite fluently," he added. Indonesia was a Dutch colony for hundreds of years until 1945.

He said Turinah burnt all her identification documents to avoid being linked to an alleged communist coup in 1965.

Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous country with a population of about 240 million people.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said the census results will be important for future governance.

from http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_536755.html
and http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/indonesian-census-discovers-157-year-old-woman/story-e6frfku0-1225876664378

[TylerDurden]

I can't believe you'd post such  claims!  There've been similiar ridiculous longevity-based claims throughout history ranging from 180-year-olds in the Caucasus region to Methuselah(999 years?) and so on. They're all a load of old rubbish as not one of them can truthfully claim any real solid evidence re documents. Plus, in many regions, sons take on their father's name etc. so can pretend to have the same birth-date as their own father and so on.

Claims of 125 years might well be possible, if only a small percentage thereof, but claims of anything above 130 are sure to be bogus, as otherwise we would have had more solid evidence for such.

[goodsamaritan]

It's not my claim, it's an Indonesian claim.
Claims of people living up to 150 are not necessarily bogus.
We are a bunch of people who eat raw meat all the time... people find us unbelievable.

"There's no authentic data to prove her age but judging from her statements and the age of her adopted daughter, who's now 108 years old, it's difficult to doubt it," statistics bureau official Jhonny Sardjono said.

[TylerDurden]

It's very easy to doubt it.  The daughter is likely to be only 78 with dodgy documentation re birth-dates etc., with her mother being perhaps 25 years older. I'm sure the mother learnt Dutch etc. but even at the age of 103, she would still have been born well into the time of the Dutch colonies in Indonesia.

[raw]

there are many very old people who are still living and working. my own grandmas (two of them), probably passed 110 yrs where their children died already. grandmas are still active without the raw paleo diet. they eat very small food though.

[RawZi]

What makes it hard for me to believe is this:

Even more incredible, she still works around the house and has smoked clove cigarettes all her life, Mr Sardjono said.

    Where I lived umpteen years ago, all the college age kids were smoking clove cigarettes, until it turned out to be a killer.

    I found this at On Pump! F.G.Schechter MD~Specialty Page

Schechter, Frederick G., M.D.: "Illnesses Possibly Associated with Smoking Clove Cigarettes," Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (M.M.W.R.)34(21):297-299 (with Editorial Comment and bibliography), May 31, 1985. Dr. Schechter had by this time collected some 13-15 cases of teen-agers who had pulmonary symptoms and signs of a severity requiring hospitalization, surgery, and, in 2 cases, which resulted in death. James W. Stratton, M.D. (then Medical Epidemiologist, Community Toxics Unit, Hazard Evaluation, California Department of Health Services ,Berkeley, CA, and previously at the CDC) visited with Dr. Schechter for two days and reviewed all charts, reports, and notes; 12 cases were considered part of the M.M.W.R. report and 2 cases were outlined. The predominant symptoms given in the report were pulmonary edema, bronchospasm, and hemoptysis. The Orange County branch of the American Lung Association (OCLA) had received many reports of problems associated with smoking the clove cigarettes-largely shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing, and exacerbation of asthma. Of concern was the report of hemoptysis (coughing up blood-streaked sputum, phlegm) by about 25% of the callers. This is an almost unheard of symptom in healthy teens in the modern age. This WAS a common symptom when there was wide-spread TB or uncorrected mitral valve disease in the pre-cardiac surgical era--but not now!!

    How can someone live that long while poisoning herself?

[Josh]

You can survive all kinds of things if you have the genes. However 157 is unbelievable...it's way outside the range of lifespans that have been recorded.