When someone finds their way into the annals of the Guinness Book of Records, there tends to be one of three ways they got there.
For some, they happened to pursue their passion to either a staggering degree or in a way that makes them stand out, like 90-year-old Hamako Mori , who was recently recognized as the world’s oldest gaming YouTuber.
Others get in by thinking of something crazy enough that nobody would even think to beat them to their record, like Gordo Gamsby , who chopped 25 apples that he held in his mouth in half with a chainsaw in a minute.
Still others, however, enter the record books simply by chance as they lived their lives in a way that’s extraordinary enough to put them above everyone else. Although explaining how that came to be sounds like trying to explain the meaning of life, the man we’ll be discussing today actually has an answer for us.
Until very recently, the world’s oldest man was 112-year-old Bob Weighton of Alton, England.
However, the BBC reported that he died peacefully in his sleep after a battle with cancer on May 29.
His family described him as a man who, “Viewed everyone as his brother or sister and believed in loving and accepting and caring for one another.”
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As a result, it now seems that the honor of the world’s oldest man belongs to 111-year-old Dumitru Comanescu of Bucharest, Romania.
Although the Guinness World Records committee apparently hasn’t confirmed this yet, news.com.au reported that Bucharest City Hall officially recognized him as their oldest citizen and awarded him the equivalent of $1,168 and an honorary plaque.
Born in the Proviţa de Jos commune on November 8, 1908, Comanescu can certainly say he’s lived through a lot by now.
Not only has he seen the beginning and end of two world wars, but also the Soviet occupation of the nation and the rise and fall of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu.
In between surviving periods of major upheaval, Comanescu graduated from university in 1933 and worked as an agricultural engineer and plant pathologist.
According to news.com.au , he would work in this field for 70 years and start a family that now includes at least one great-grandchild.
And Comanescu said the love of that family, particularly his wife, sons, and grandchildren is the secret to his long life.
As Comanescu said upon receiving the news of his status, “I feel honoured and blessed to be, officially, the oldest man in the world and to represent Romania at the highest level! It’s incredible!”
He has also told any fans he has picked up, “I hope you will outgrow me.”
h/t: news.com.au
