I am considering going to live with my 83 year-old grandmother, whom we think has some kind of (not yet diagnosed) dementia, in a year or so. She lives 500 miles from my friends and family. I know caring for her will be hard; how can I prepare? [more inside]
posted by paduasoy on Aug 1, 2009 - 13 answers

Large pores on my face are getting me down. [more inside]
posted by Fairchild on Jan 7, 2009 - 18 answers

Help me compile a list of healthy, active, famous old people. [more inside]
posted by OlivesAndTurkishCoffee on Nov 29, 2008 - 33 answers

How can I constructively discuss my grandmother's short-term memory loss with her? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jan 8, 2008 - 8 answers

Is there any way to reliably assess a person's age, and if so, to what precision? [more inside]
posted by teem on Feb 6, 2007 - 16 answers

It seems that sticking cheese in the freezer would stop the ageing process, but what about keeping it in the fridge. Could I buy medium cheddar, and stick it in the fridge for a year before opening it? Anyone tried this, any mold or other problems with eating year old but unopened cheese?
posted by pwb503 on Feb 10, 2006 - 10 answers

Should I anticipate age-based housing discrimination on behalf of my mother? [more inside]
posted by puddinghead on Jan 15, 2006 - 9 answers

I'm 22, female, and caucasian. I (try to) wear sunscreen every day. I use self tanner instead of tanning beds. What else do I need to be doing to keep myself looking young? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Dec 28, 2005 - 39 answers

I'm 21 and I'm afraid of getting old... [more inside]
posted by speranza on Sep 28, 2005 - 60 answers

I turn 30 in two weeks. About two years ago, I went from only having to shave a couple of times a week, to shaving every day (or I look like a mountain man). I've also started growing great amounts of hair on my back (ick!), where there was none before.

Is this sudden burst of hormones (I almost want to call it "second puberty") normal for guys going through middle age? I'm just much harier than I was two years ago, and nothing else has changed.
posted by anonymous on Oct 27, 2004 - 18 answers

Life span, longevity and history... (MI)

I had an argument the other day with my friend concerning longevity and life span through history. He claims that people of history would have been lucky to live to be old and that most people died in their 30's or 40's. He added that people were practically married at 15, had kids and worked hard and died young.

I disagreed with him. Practically all historical figures seem to have lived into old age and the stories I have read and heard from historical accounts makes it seem as though there were plenty of old people around. It's not like old men and women are a modern thing.

My thinking is that the numbers that are often cited, 35 year life expectency for example, are only so low because of the high frequency of infant death. Who's right? Can you please use links to back up your arguments? [more inside]
posted by crazy finger on Aug 23, 2004 - 38 answers