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The oldest person alive?

Published Friday, December 03, 2004 by seanlmccarthy | E-mail this post

Why do we only learn about the oldest American when he or she dies? There is a slight mention of the new title-holder. But really, we're so rankings-crazy and ratings-happy, you woulda coulda shoulda thought that by now, we already would have established a Top 25 Oldest People list. Or maybe we have. The media gets these names from the Gerontology Research Group, which lists the top 59 supercentenarians online. So I repeat the question: Why do we only learn about the oldest American when he or she dies?