Emma Morano had eaten about 100,000 raw eggs, give or take.
For most of her 117 years on this Earth*, Morano ate three eggs every day (nowadays, though, The New York Times reports, she's down to two). She picked up the habit about a century ago, when her doctor recommended the diet to ward off anemia.
But it wasn't raw eggs she craved on Nov. 29, 2016, with friends and family — and members of international media — huddled around her dusty, two-bedroom apartment in northern Italy. It was birthday cake.
"Hey, isn’t there anything to eat here?" she asked before diving in.
Emma Morano turns 117. Her secret to longevity? She says: raw eggs and remaining single https://t.co/4GHmE1HsVN https://t.co/kgGE10fTyd— New York Times World (@New York Times World)1480452965.0
At 117 years young, Morano is, at this time, the oldest known person on the planet.
One of her best pieces of advice to living a long, healthy life? Cherish the single life.
She separated from her husband nearly eight decades ago — when doing so wasn't such a popular move — and hasn't looked back since.
As The New York Times reported (emphasis added):
"She is also convinced that being single for most of her life, after an unhappy marriage that ended in 1938 following the death of an infant son, has kept her kicking. Separation was rare then, and divorce became legal in Italy only in 1970. She said she had plenty of suitors after that, but never chose another partner. 'I didn’t want to be dominated by anyone,' she said."
That's right. If you'd asked Morano, singlehood kept her going for nearly 12 decades (along with that healthy diet of raw eggs, of course).
The science is on Morano's side here, believe it or not.
Although you might assume that people in relationships live longer, what with all the ways society is constantly urging us to find our soulmates and settle down ASAP, research suggests single women are just as likely to live long, fulfilling lives as married ones (men may be different).
Living the heck out of a solo life may make certain people happier than settling down with a partner, too. Research out of the University of Auckland's School of Psychology suggests that, depending on what types of factors motivate our decision-making, staying single might be the way to go for some of us.
So yes — "All the Single Ladies" that Beyoncé knows have science on their side.
Morano, who was "very, very happy" celebrating the big 1-1-7, doesn't need a scientific study to tell her what she already knows all too well.
“115 years are a lot," Morano told The New York Times. When you've lived your life like hers, though, it's time well-spent.
Morano was 12 when the Titanic sunk. She watched the world evolve from using telegraphs to relying on smartphones. And she lived through some dark times in postwar Italy.
But if you ask her, global affairs and technological advances are far less memorable than the relationships she's had — the non-romantic ones, of course.
“My sisters and I loved to dance," she recalled to The New York Times.
Congrats, Emma — 117 never looked so good.
* Update 11/30/2017: Morano died April 15, 2017, still aged 117. Minor changes to this story were made to reflect her passing.
