mental_floss magazine
SUBSCRIBE >
GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS >
DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS >
subscriber services >
A few weeks ago, I posted about my grandfather (the hairclip inventor) and how he taught himself to sew at the age of 86 and, of course, 94-year-old Phyllis Turners, who recently got her masters degree. The post seemed to inspire a few of you: life is long, and we’re never too old to try something new.
Or something old. Indian farmer Nanu Ram Jogi recently fathered his—are you ready for it?—21st child! And he’s 90 years old, folks! Also noteworthy: Nanu thinks there might be even more children out there, conceived with women he never married. (As it stands, Nanu has been married four times.)
With an additional 20 grandchildren, Nanu is quite the papa. So what does he attribute his insane virility to? Simple: daily walks and plenty of meat. “I eat all kinds of meat - rabbits, lamb, chicken and wild animals,” Nanu was quoted as saying.
I don’t know about you parents out there, but with Jack, one is a handful right now for us. Twenty-one, well, that’s just showing off. (And think of your Pampers costs!)
He lives in India, so I’m sure that true to common Indian culture, his poor wife has been saddled with the burden of being the sole physical caretaker for the lil’poop machines. No man has to help take full care of his children would want to have *that* darn many…and how much more food and water must that many extra people consume? Its certainly no cause for celebration;its cause to say “Hey buddy, how ’bout putting a cap on that thing, eh? Save some natural resources for your neighbors!” Sheesh.
posted by tribalklang on 8-27-2007 at 4:02 am
i’ve read about this in more than one place, and i LOVE how the woman who actually carried the baby and then had her body ripped apart during labor ISN’T EVEN MENTIONED, EVER. what is her name?
posted by katie on 8-27-2007 at 8:24 am
Something tells me that if he has 21 kids and more he suspects, but isn’t sure of, he’s not really the most responsible dude to be thinking of diapers…I imagine the kids are the ‘woman’s problem’ and he’s just along for the ride, so to speak…
posted by donner on 8-27-2007 at 8:43 am
Ah, there’s hope for me yet!
posted by WizardBoy on 8-27-2007 at 9:36 am
i’m with you, david! my first baby is turning one on labor day. one baby is a ton of work, i can’t imagine 21! even split between four women that’s a lot of kids. they probably don’t mention the wife anywhere because she’s likely very young. might put a dampener on the story if they said the mom was 15.
posted by lindsay m on 8-27-2007 at 9:45 am
how gross is it that this 90 year old man is having sex with a woman young enough to still bear children! I love how he casually remarks that there may be other children out there of women he never married - which means that he has not only not been physically part of raising these children, but has not contributed financially either. sounds like just the kind of genes we need proliferating.
posted by shazza on 8-27-2007 at 11:10 am
I know a family with twenty-three kids, all from one marriage, no multiples. They range in age from twenty-five to one, and their parents say it’s less work now than with the first three.
posted by Rubik on 8-27-2007 at 12:28 pm
90 Years old and made a baby?
Genetics test or I’m not buying it.
posted by Andy on 8-30-2007 at 8:56 pm