Misao Okawa, the world’s oldest woman, is cooler than all of us
Happy birthday to the world’s oldest woman! Well, technically it’s March 5th, but Misao Okawa lives over in Japan. Yesterday, there was a televised celebration at her nursing home commemorating her 117th (!!!) birthday, a day early.
Oh, and at this celebration, Okawa also proved herself not only to be the world’s oldest person (a title she’s held since June of 2013), but the world’s coolest, chillest person.
According to the Huffington Post, Okawa, born in 1898, is one of the five documented people in the entire world who was born in the 1800s and still alive today. Think about that: she was born before the invention of the airplane! She has lived through two World Wars! She has seen more than anyone in the world. Pretty amazing, if you ask us.
But when asked about her many years alive, she told the Associated Press that it “seemed rather short.”. You know, no big deal.
Japan has the highest number of centenarians (this means people living over 100, not centaurs) of any country in the world. (Oh hey, and 87 percent of them are women!) Okawa lives in an area where it’s relatively common for people to live long and healthy lives due to healthy diets, exercise, and plenty of sunshine.
Still, when asked about her secret to longevity, Okawa, sporting her lovely pink flowered kimono, had the coolest, wittiest answer ever: “I wonder about that too,” she nonchalantly said. Previously, though, she has explained that her secret is eating sushi and sleeping for at least eight hours a night—in other words, living the best life ever, IMO.
Okawa has been married, but her husband sadly passed away in 1931. However, she does have three children, four grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.
Folks at her nursing home say she’s (understandably) slowed down a bit in the past few months and is getting hard of hearing, but she’s in very good health. She is “very happy” to be 117, according to the AP. And we sure are, too—actually, can we be BFFs with this fabulous lady?
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