Brazil: World’s Oldest Person (and other Guinness records)

Guinness World Records, custodian of the longest, shortest, fastest, tallest, and of course the oldest, has now officially declared a Brazilian woman the oldest living human. Maria Gomes Valentin is currently 114 years and 313 days old making her 48 days older than the previous record holder, Besse Cooper from Monroe, Georgia. Guinness verified that Valentin was born on July 9, 1896, in Carangola in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais, where she has always lived.

Guinness World Records editor-in-chief Craig Glenday said in a statement, “To receive a claim from a woman born during the reign of Queen Victoria –- before the Ford Motor Company was formed, or before even George and Ira Gershwin, were born -– is remarkable in itself. But for that woman to be Brazilian makes it extra special. Never has a successful claim for longevity emerged from Brazil…until now.” The supercentenarian and her family used her birth certificate, marriage license and a current photo ID to prove her age to Guinness researchers. Guinness said it has received several claims for potential “super centenarians” — but none before were ratified because of a lack of evidence or documentation.

Carangola, Brazil, a mountain town several hours north of Rio de Janeiro is Valentin’s home town. She and her husband Joao were married in 1913 and had one son. Joao died in 1946. She now has four grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.

CBS News added that Valentin is bound to a wheelchair but mostly in decent health, and relatives hope the attention might help her financial situation. They say the woman gets by on Brazil’s minimum pension — $335 a month — and relies on the public health system, as the humble family can’t afford to pay for private health insurance.

(AOL News, CBS News)

Other Records

Charlie Sheen got the record for the fastest time to reach 1 million followers on Twitter: 25 hours 17 minutes, achieved between 1-2 March 2011. By the way, Charlie also had the record for the highest paid actor per episode by getting $1.25 million for Two and a Half Men. I said “had” as he was fired and now, the show has hired Ashton Kutcher to the tune of a reported $700,000 per episode. Hey, not only did CBS get rid of a crazy man, they are now going to save $550,000 per episode! Good business deal. So long, Charlie.

Lady Gaga has the record for the most followers on Twitter. She apparently crossed the line on August 23, 2010 and as of January 31, 2011 is listed as having 7,842,058. According the latest news reports, she now has more than 10 million Twitter followers and 32 million Facebook friends.

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