RT Journal
A1 Haskell HJ
T1 QUestionable longevity of the bulgarians
JF Journal of the American Medical Association
JO Journal of the American Medical Association
YR 1919
FD July 12
VO 73
IS 2
SP 133
OP 133
DO 10.1001/jama.1919.02610280061025
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.1919.02610280061025
AB To the Editor: 
    —Isn't it curious that generation after generation of medical men should continue apparently without question to accept Metchnikoff's statement about the longevity of the Bulgarians? I have heard his deductions questioned, but never his facts. Yet it should not require great acumen to infer that it would be extremely difficult to verify the ages of individuals among primitive peoples like those of eastern Europe.My father was a missionary in Bulgaria for many years. He toured the country thoroughly and of course talked with any number of peasants. He has told me that one striking thing about peasant life in Bulgaria was the scarcity of old persons. People generally did not know their ages. But by inquiring about events they remembered, he was often able to make a good approximation. It was very rare that he found a person as old as 70. Men and women alike