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Oldest
Woman-world record set by Maria Olivia da Silva
Oldest person-world record set by
Gertrude Baines
LOS ANGELES, CA, USA -- Gertrude Baines,
a 114-year-old California resident who resides in a Los Angeles
nursing home sets the world record for the Oldest
person. 
Photo: Gertrude Baines-
born to former slaves in a small town south of Atlanta, Georgia
in 1894 -- now lives in a Los Angeles nursing home.
(enlarge
photo)
The previous oldest woman was Maria
de Jesus, who died this week in Portugal at age 115.
Gertrude
Baines told the Times she spends most of her time
"doing nothing but eating and sleeping." When CNN interviewed
Baines two years ago, she was asked to explain why she thought
she has lived so long. "God. Ask him. I took good care of
myself, the way he wanted me to," Baines said.
Much of her long life was lived in Ohio where
she worked as a "house mom" at a state university. She eventually
divorced and traveled to Los Angeles, where she retired.
Born
in Shellman, Georgia, she recalls that her first memory was
that of being in a car ride to Canada. She later married Sam
Conly at a "very young age" and had a daughter, Annabelle,
who died of typhoid fever at age 18.
Baines currently lives at the Western Convalescent
Home in Jefferson Park, Los Angeles. She lived on her own
until she was 105.
Dr. Stephen Coles of the University of California,
Los Angeles, Gerontology Research Group said: "She's very
healthy. Her only complaint, as far as I can tell, is arthritis
in her left knee," he said. She uses a wheelchair. He described
her as mentally sharp. "She doesn't forget anything," he said.
There are now only 82 women and nine men verified
through birth certificates or other records as being 110 or
older, said Coles of the UCLA volunteer research group that
tracks supercentenarians.
However, there could be hundreds more -
undocumented - in China, India, Africa and elsewhere, he said.
Coles said the supercentenarians appear
to share one trait that might account for their longevity:
They come from families whose members are long-lived.
"Whether they drink alcohol or not, it
doesn't matter. Whether they smoke cigarettes or not doesn't
seem to matter," he said. "The thing that does seem to matter
is that they `chose' their parents wisely. It's in the genes.
It's in the DNA."
Related world records:
Oldest
living man with Down syndrome-world record set by Bert Holbrook
.
Longest
dreadlocks-world record set by Asha Mandela
Most
Fingers and Toes-world record set by Haramb Ashok Kumthekar
Oldest
Mother-world record set by Omkari Panwar
Most
weight lost-world record set by Manuel Uribe
Oldest
person-world record set by Edna Parker
Longest
ice immersion -world record set by Wim Hof
Fastest
Human Calculator-world record set by Alexis Lemaire
Strongest
Ear-world record set by Lasha Pataraia
Most
powerful Human Magnet-world record set by Aurel Raileanu
Smallest
waist-world record set by Cathie Jung
Tallest
person in the world is Ukrainian Leonid Stadnik
Saturday, January 3, 2009
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