When Jeanne Calment of France died in 1997 at 122 years of age, she was acclaimed as the longest-lived person.

BBC: How old can we get?

It studied the life of Jeanne Calment for clues to her endurance.

ECONOMIST: Jeanne Calment | The

As it happens, in the week that Jeanne Calment died, 44% of Germans who took part in a survey said they did not want to live beyond 80, and only 18% hoped to be centenarians.

ECONOMIST: Jeanne Calment