Michael Slavin
Is there anyone among us who doesn’t want the secret to a long life?
Personally, I always love looking into these niche answers given by the oldest people in the world who have somehow managed to make it 100+.
Forget ‘eating right and drinking less’, if a 100-year-old tells me that eating a raw onion and having a tot of whiskey is actually the secret to old age, that’s what I’m going to be doing instead.
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Unfortunately, on this occasion that isn’t what the world’s oldest man credits with his long life, and it’s a bit more metaphorical than that.
John Tinniswood, from Liverpool, turned 112 just today (26 August), meaning he was born in 1912.
The 112-year-old became the oldest man in the world in April, when the previous incumbent passed away.
John is a life-long Liverpool FC fan, meaning he not only has been watching them for longer than anyone else – but has been alive for 17 out of their 19 title wins, and all eight of their F.A. Cups.
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He was born when the club was just two decades old.
In an interview with Guinness World Records, John said: “In all honesty, no different. I don't feel that age, I don't get excited over it. That's probably why I've reached it.
“I just take it in my stride like anything else, why I've lived that long I have no idea at all.”
When asked whether there was a secret to his old age, John went on to give a short theory – before an absolutely incredible answer.
He first said: "I can't think of any special secrets I have. I was quite active as a youngster, I did a lot of walking. Whether that had something to do with it, I don't know.
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"But to me, I'm no different [to anyone]. No different at all.”
After this, he went on to brilliantly reiterate that he thinks it’s a matter of chance not any specific lifestyle choice, saying it was ‘just luck’.
He’s a better man than me, if I live till 112 I will be far more obnoxious than his brilliantly humble answer.
He went on to bashfully say: “You either live long or you live short, and you can't do much about it.”
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When asked about his diet he said: “I eat what they give me and so does everybody else. I don't have a special diet.”
Long and short, the world’s oldest man has given us all permission to live however we want, and maybe, just maybe, we might be lucky enough to reach his age.