Kane Tanaka, the world's oldest person, dies at 119


The oldest person in the world, Kane Tanaka of Japan, died last week at 119 years old, Japanese officials said Monday.
Tanaka lived in a nursing home in Fukuoka, and held the title of world's oldest person for three years; earlier this month, she became the second-longest lived person in recorded history. Tanaka enjoyed eating chocolate and drinking soda, and credited her longevity to her family, faith, and getting enough sleep, NPR reports.
Guinness World Records said Tanaka was born on Jan. 2, 1903, the seventh child in her family. At 19, she married Hideo Tanaka, and together they had five children and ran a business selling udon, sticky rice, and the Japanese desert zenzai.
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Now, the oldest currently living person is believed to be Lucile Randon, a 118-year-old French nun who is also the oldest known survivor of COVID-19.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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