In August 2007, Nanu Ram Jogi (India) celebrated the birth of what he believes is his 21st child a daughter, named Girija at the grand old age of 90, making him the oldest known dad in the world. He fathered his first child in 1943, and hopes to continue having babies until he reaches 100 years old. His current wife (the fourth) was previously married to his son, who died in 1997.

Madagascar, in the Indian Ocean, became an island around 80-100 million years ago, when it split off from the Indian subcontinent. With an area of 587,041 km² (226,657 miles²), it ranks as the fourth largest island in the world.

The Holy Koran Mushaf of Othman, owned by the Muslim Board of Uzbekistan, once belonged to Caliph Othman (c.AD 588-656), third successor to the Prophet Mohammed. Only about half of the original 706 pages survive. It is currently in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The letter ‘O’ is unchanged in shape since its adoption in the Phoenician alphabet c. 1300BC. Information from Archives (e.e. 1996). Submitted for use in Scholastic’s Modern Marvels.

The oldest surviving love poem is written in a clay tablet from the times of the Sumerians, inventors of writing around 3500 BD, and was called by archaeologists by a very un-romantic name: ‘Istanbul #2461’. The author is unknown but is believed to have been recited by a bride of Sumerian King Shu-Sin, who ruled between 2037 and 2029 BC. The following is the start of the poem: Bridegroom, dear to my heart, Goodly is your beauty, honeysweet, Lion, dear to my heart, Goodly is Continue reading →

Henry Allingham, Britain’s oldest man and George Francis, America’s oldest man were both born on 6 June 1896. The oldest ever people to share a birthday were Camille Loiseau (France) and Toyo Endo (Japan), both of whom were born on 13 February 1892; Toyo died first, just 40 days shy of 113.

Radiocarbon dating of a 13-foot-tall (4 metres) spruce tree in Sweden has revealed that its root system has been growing for 9,550 years. From National Geographic: “The researchers found the shrubby mountain survivor at an altitude of 2,985 feet (910 meters) in Dalarna Province.” The results of the dating were announced in April 2008. This tree’s age is related to vegetative cloning. Virtually all types of shoots and roots are capable of vegetative propagation. In this case, 9,550-year-old roots were able to generate a new Continue reading →

The oldest mollusc, indeed the longest-lived non-colonial animal discovered, is a quahog clam Arctica islandica, which had been living on the seabed off the north coast of Iceland until it was dredged by researchers from Bangor University’s School of Ocean Sciences, Wales, UK in 2006. On 28 October 2007, sclerochronologists from Bangor announced that they had studied the annual growth rings in the shell and determined the clam to be between 405 and 410 years old. The clam was nick-named ‘Ming’ after the Chinese dynasty Continue reading →

Oscar Swahn (Sweden) was in the winning Running Deer shooting team at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden, aged 64 years 258 days. In 1920, at the Antwerp Olympics, Belgium, he became the oldest silver medalist in this event at 72 years 280 days. He was born 20 October 1847 in Tanum, Sweden and died 1 May 1927.   He won his first gold medal at the 1908 Olympic Games held in London and returned to the following two Games to eventually win three gold, one Continue reading →