Jezebel: Elderly

Old People Are Getting Totally Wasted

Cassie Murdoch — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:55:00 EST

We tend to think that most old people sit around quietly at home, sipping tea and watching the news, but it turns out they're up to something a little more rowdy: getting hammered! A new report on binge drinking from the CDC found that the 65+ age group binge drank most often. Grandma, you sneaky little tippler! More »

After 77 Years Of Wedded Bliss, 99-Year-Old Husband Files For Divorce

Cassie Murdoch — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:45:00 EST

You might think that once you've passed your 75th wedding anniversary, it'd be smooth sailing through the golden years of your marriage and then into the great beyond. But unfortunately that's not the case for one Italian couple who are getting divorced at the ripe old ages of 99 and 96, after an impressive 77 years of marriage. More »

Old People Go Looking For Love At Shanghai's IKEA

Cassie Murdoch — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 15:50:00 EST

If you think of IKEA only as a place to get lost and then end up spending way more money than you meant to, you should start thinking outside of the flat-pack cardboard box. That's what senior citizens in Shanghai are doing, and, according to the Wall Street Journal, they've managed to turn their local IKEA into a hot spot for meeting potential love interests. More »

Awesome Woman Turns 106 Thanks To Poor Diet & Enjoying 'Good Times'

Margaret Hartmann — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 13:00:00 EST

Well isn't this refreshing? Rather than lecturing us on the benefits of eating vegetables and doing vigorous workouts, Margaret Ellen Moores of Newfoundland says she's reached the age of 106 thanks to eating junk food and enjoying herself. Her daughter said at her birthday party this weekend, "She loves her sweets. She never drank water in her life ... [She loves] her salt beef, the same old-time meals as ever she had … She loves her pizza and French fries now. So it's not her diet is it?" When asked about the secret to her longevity, Moores said, "Good times I guess, when I got old. I didn't have them when I was young ... [I] got so fond of them, I couldn't let them go." More »

After 60, Your Sex Life Can Still Be Awesome

Margaret Hartmann — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 17:10:00 EDT

Despite numerous reports that the elderly are constantly getting it on, many people still think that once they hit old age their sex lives will be far less enjoyable. However, scientists have now confirmed what you should have picked up from watching The Golden Girls: Many women still have a very satisfying sex life well past age 60. More »

See Decades Of Little Old Ladies From 130 Years Of Old Maid

Tracie Egan Morrissey — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 17:40:00 EDT

The origins of the card game Old Maid trace back to the 17th century, with players trying to form pairs out of all of their cards until someone—the loser—is left with the lonely, unmatched, single old maid. In the past 130 years, retail card decks have been produced specifically for Old Maid, always featuring illustrations of the dreaded losing card. In reviewing these decks that span three centuries, it's interesting to see how the Old Maid has evolved over the years and how the more things change, the more they stay the same. More »

Twin Sisters Celebrate 100th Birthday

Margaret Hartmann — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 11:45:00 EST

On Sunday, California identical twins Inez Harries and Venice Shaw will celebrate their 100th birthday. They've always enjoyed confusing people, and say when their mother used hair ribbons to tell them apart, "We'd switch them on the way to school." More »

Everyone Wants To Be The Oldest Facebook Users' Friend

Margaret Hartmann — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 12:39:00 EST

Since it was reported that 103-year old Lillian Lowe of England is the oldest person on Facebook, Lowe has received 999 friend requests. She says, "They have been very kind and uplifting messages," but, "I can't reply to them all." More »

World's Oldest Twins Say Liquor Is The Key To Longevity

Margaret Hartmann — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 13:00:00 EDT

Raymonde and Lucienne Wattelade, French sisters who turn 98 today, have been recognized by Guinness as the world's oldest twins. They live together by the sea and stay active, but say their secret is drinking pastis and whiskey. More »

Video: High School Sweethearts Reunite After 62 Years

Margaret Hartmann — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 09:42:00 EDT

This story about 81-year-old Jack flying to meet his former love Betty, also 81, is heartwarming. Well, maybe not the part where Betty says, "I sent him a picture and he said, 'You don't age very well.'" Click to watch. More »

Great-Grandma Bites Muggers

Margaret Hartmann — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:07:00 EDT

After a couple snatched her purse at a Florida gas station, 73-year-old Patricia Robertson bit the man, then clung to their getaway car, getting dragged several feet. They were arrested after a bystander saw the commotion and called 911. More »

100-Year-Old Gynecologist Still Practicing

Margaret Hartmann — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:44:00 EDT

At 100, Dr. Walter Watson is the oldest practicing physician in the country. He's stopped doing obstetrics, but estimates he delivered between 15,000 and 18,000 babies, or nearly 10% of the Augusta, Georgia population. Click to watch. More »

Video: Mary Anthony Is Still Dancing At 93

Margaret Hartmann — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 10:20:00 EDT

Dance legend Mary Anthony is still teaching in her New York studio at 93. Her secret: "Dancing itself. I don't dance even as I did 5 or 10 years ago, but I still dance." Click to watch. [CBS News] More »

Elderly Japanese Women Form Cheerleading Squad

Margaret Hartmann — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 10:20:00 EDT

At 78, Fumie Takino is the oldest member of "Japan Pom Pom," the senior cheerleading squad she founded. Some women were initially nervous about performing in skimpy outfits, but Takino says, "Everyone gets old, so why not just have fun?" [Reuters] More »

Ian McKellen Speaks For Old Ladies... Literally

Margaret Hartmann — Thu, 06 May 2010 12:30:00 EDT

Ian McKellen has dressed as a woman to steal a kiss from Jimmy Fallon, and now in this PSA he lip syncs to a woman's voice to promote Age UK, a charity that helps lonely and impoverished elderly people. [AdWeek] More »

100-Year-Old Woman Composes Limerick On iPad

Margaret Hartmann — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 09:40:00 EDT

Apple's marketers have suggested that the iPad is great for the elderly (in addition to anyone fascinated by "magical" devices). Now here's the evidence: Video of 100-year-old Virginia Campbell learning to use the iPad, her first computer. [Buzzfeed] More »

Rad "Max"

Anna Holmes — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 11:10:00 EDT

[Hanover, Germany; March 23. Image via Getty]

Woman Still Working At 100

Margaret Hartmann — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:20:00 EDT

Yesterday, Astrid Thoenig celebrated her 100th birthday... at work. For the past 30 years she's been the receptionist at the family-owned Thornton Insurance Co. in New Jersey. "I don't feel old, and I don't think old," she said. [AP] More »

86-Year-Old Beats Burglar, Makes Him Cry

Margaret Hartmann — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:20:00 EDT

When Gwyneth Davies of Wales caught a man breaking into her kitchen on Friday night, she hit him four times with her metal crutch and made him sit on a stool until the police arrived. More »

A 70-year-old Indian woman has reportedly...

Margaret Hartmann — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 11:20:00 EST

A 70-year-old Indian woman has reportedly given birth to her first child, via IVF treatment. "We've been longing for a child since we married many years ago, but it didn't work for us," said Rajo Devi, whose husband is 72. "For decades we've had to put up with gossip because we've remained childless, but those sad days are now over," she said. Devi is the second 70-year-old Indian woman to give birth after IVF treatment this year, but it is unclear whose egg and sperm were used in the treatment. The couple says they are not concerned about coping with a young daughter so late in life. "We have a large family and there will be plenty of helpers," says Devi. [The Daily Mail] More »

The last survivor of the Titanic is selling...

Margaret Hartmann — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 09:40:00 EDT

The last survivor of the Titanic is selling off mementos of the disaster to pay nursing home fees. Millvina Dean, 96, was 2 months old when she arrived in New York with her mother and brother after surviving the sinking of the ship. Dean sold a wicker suitcase full of donated clothes the family was given when they arrived in the city, as well as rare prints of the Titanic and letters from the Titanic Relief Fund, raising $53,906. Dean has lived in a nursing home in Southampton, England since she broke her hip two years ago. She was one of 706 people rescued by the steamship Carpathia on the night of April 14, 1912. Her father was among the 1,500 who died when the Titanic hit an iceberg. [Tucson Citizen] More »

Do You Know How To Talk To Old People?

Dodai Stewart — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:20:00 EDT

The population of this country is growing older, but we don't really know how to treat older people. Researchers from Yale studied the health effects of negative perceptions of aging and found that the way we speak to older people is unbelievably important. According to the New York Times, the scientists found that when nurses used phrases like "good girl" or "how are we feeling?", patients were more aggressive and less cooperative. It turns out that people don't like being treated like infants. Makes sense, right? More »

The Czech Republic may not have Dancing...

Margaret Hartmann — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 18:15:00 EDT

The Czech Republic may not have Dancing With the Stars, but the country has fallen for a group of ten full-figured grandmothers, aged 57 to 72, who make up the "Mazoretky", or Majorettes of Horni Lhota. The amateur dancers perform a flirtatious French can can while dressed in fringe-trimmed bloomers with bills tucked into their black fishnets. The group has struck a chord in the former Eastern bloc state, where standard of living for growing elderly population is declining. The women say their mission is to "laugh and make people laugh" as demonstrated by their habit of wearing adult diapers under their tutus for their rendition of "Swan Lake." "We would be too bored if we only took care of our husbands, our grandchildren and our homes," said 64-year old dancer Jarmila, whose spouse thinks she is "completely crazy, at my age, to dance in public in such outfits." [Breitbart] More »

Awesome Aussie Grandmas Perform Sex Pistols Song

Margaret Hartmann — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:40:00 EDT

In the video above, a group of Australian women over the age of 80 perform the 1977 song "God Save the Queen" by The Sex Pistols, which was originally titled "No Future" and banned by the BBC. It's part of artist Christoph Büchel's exhibit "no future" at the Sydney Biennale 2008. The ladies were given an open gallery space and told to rehearse the song whenever they wanted. Modern art would probably be a lot more exciting if every gallery featured a group of grannies performing punk rock. More »