What is the oldest living animal on Earth? The answer will shock you!

Credit: David Clode

Nature doesn’t just create beauty, it crafts survival miracles. While most animals have short lives, a rare few have mastered the art of staying alive for centuries, even millennia. These aren’t just long-lived creatures; they’re nature’s ultimate time travelers. From the frozen depths of the oceans to the darkest corners underground, they’ve developed bizarre, brilliant strategies to cheat death. Get ready to meet 12 animals whose lifespans will absolutely blow your mind.

Credit: NOAA

Record age: up to 15,000 years

This unassuming sea sponge thrives in the freezing waters of Antarctica, where temperatures hover around 28.6 °F—so cold that biological processes hit the brakes. In such icy conditions, metabolism slows to a crawl, allowing these sponges to live for thousands of years.

Some have reached impressive sizes of over 3 feet tall and have been around since mammoths were still thundering across the tundra. They don’t move, they don’t stress, and they barely change, just quietly existing while centuries pass them by. Their secret to extreme longevity? Glacial patience, deep-sea stillness, and a lifestyle that redefines "low-maintenance".

Credit: Dr. Karen J. Osborn, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Age: technically… infinite

This tiny jellyfish, no bigger than a fingernail—less than 0.2 inches—is like the ocean’s very own Benjamin Button. What makes it truly extraordinary is its ability to rewind its life story, flipping back to a youthful, juvenile stage whenever it wants. While it’s not completely invincible (predators and other threats are still very real), if left undisturbed, it can keep hitting the reset button on aging indefinitely, making it one of the most fascinating "time-benders" in nature.

Credit: Norbert Braun

Record age: 507 years

In 2006, a special clam was discovered buried deep in the seabeds of the North Atlantic. Scientists were able to determine that it had been there since at least 1499—that’s centuries before the United States was even a thought! This ancient marvel, nicknamed "Ming", was able to perfect a slow-and-steady approach to life. Growing at a snail’s pace and barely budging, Ming’s sedentary lifestyle turned out to be a brilliant strategy for beating the clock. Who knew doing almost nothing could be the ultimate secret to longevity?

Credit: Tomas Tuma

Record age: estimated 392 years

These sharks aren’t your average ocean cruisers—they can stretch over 20 feet long and weigh up to 2,200 pounds. But what’s really mindblowing is how slowly they move, like they’re in a permanent state of deep relaxation. Living in the icy Arctic waters, these giants don’t hit adulthood until they’re about 150 years old, and some can glide through the depths for nearly 400 years. Imagine that! These ancient swimmers were already around before America declared independence... and they are still out there, silently roaming the seas!

Credit: Vicki Beaver, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA FIsheries, Marine Mammal Permit#14245, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Record age: over 211 years

This whale is a true ocean giant, stretching up to 60 feet long and weighing a staggering 200,000 pounds. But what makes it stand out isn’t just its size but its age. Some of these majestic creatures carry harpoons from the 1800s still lodged in their skin, like walking history books. Just picture living so long that you’re literally carrying outdated technology embedded in your body—talk about being a time traveler of the seas!

Credit: National Marine Sanctuaries, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Record age: 200 years

Spanning the chilly Pacific coastline from California all the way up to Alaska, this spiky little ball—about 7 inches across—is full of surprises. It munches on algae and calls the deep, dark ocean its home, thriving at depths of up to 300 feet. Don’t let its size fool you: this prickly creature is a true elder of the cold seas, quietly outliving many ocean neighbors while keeping a low profile. A tough, slow-living veteran wrapped in spikes!

Credit: Daniel Dan

Record age: 226 years

Meet Hanako, a legendary Japanese koi who swam through life for an astonishing 226 years. Scientists discovered how old she was by studying the rings on her scales, much like counting the growth rings of a tree. These colorful, ornamental fish aren’t just symbols of good fortune; they’re also secret long-lifers with the potential to celebrate over two centuries of birthdays, as long as they get the right care and a peaceful pond to call home.

Credit: Ryan Grewell

Record age: 190 years

Jonathan is a male tortoise living on the remote island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. He was born back in 1832, and he’s still happily chomping lettuce and soaking up the sun today. Weighing in at more than 400 pounds and measuring around 3 feet long, Jonathan holds the title of the oldest known living land animal on the planet. If he could share tales, they’d span nearly two centuries of history. Imagine that!

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Record age: 152 years

This ancient-looking fish, with its whisker-like barbels, looking like a tiny underwater submarine, prowls the lakes of North America. It can reach an impressive length of up to 7 feet and weigh around 200 pounds. These slow-living creatures don’t rush into adulthood—they start breeding only around age 20—and then take their time cruising through life at a leisurely pace. Believe it or not, one legendary catch in Wisconsin was estimated to be over 150 years old!

Credit: Andreas Sjövall

Record age: over 90 years

This chunky, night-loving parrot from New Zealand is a true oddball—it can’t fly, snores like a grumpy grandpa, and smells like fresh flowers. Despite its quirks, this bird boasts an impressively long lifespan. Sadly, it teeters on the edge of extinction. The oldest known kakapo, affectionately named Richard Henry, lived 90 years, earning him the title of the charmingly eccentric elder statesman of the avian world.

Credit: Daderot, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Record age: 37 years

This tiny, kooky rodent—barely 3 inches long and just over an ounce in weight—could’ve been cast straight from a sci-fi apocalypse flick. Dwelling in vast underground colonies across Africa, it’s practically invincible to cancer, pain, and the usual effects of aging. Scientists are fascinated by this little marvel, even if it’s not winning beauty contests anytime soon. Its superpowers make it a star in longevity research!

Credit: OAR/National Undersea Research Program (NURP)., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Record age: estimated 100+ years

Lobsters have a totally different rulebook than us when it comes to aging. They don’t really grow old; they just keep getting bigger and bigger. Some giant lobsters weigh over 40 pounds and stretch beyond 3 feet long. Their biggest threats? Not old age, but predators or the risky process of shedding their shells. In theory, they could live forever if left alone—but let’s be honest, not many get to enjoy a peaceful, lobster-sized retirement!

What’s in a name?

The origin of 10 of New York City’s (many) nicknames

Credit: Yucel Moran

New York City has so many monikers that one of them could very well be The City of Nicknames. Throughout its history, the most populous city in the United States has received different names, some of which refer to its political and cultural significance, while others were coined in an ironic or satirical way. Because there is a life beyond The Big Apple, in this article, we will uncover the history behind 10 New York nicknames you probably didn't know about. Are you ready?

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This is probably the most widespread nickname for New York. Although it became popular in the 1970s as an advertising campaign to attract tourists, it actually emerged as early as the 1920s. It was coined by a sportswriter named John Joseph Fitz Gerald, who at the time worked for the New York Morning Telegraph.

The expression The Big Apple in relation to New York City was used for the first time in an article on horse racing. As it was later revealed, Fitz Gerald picked it up from the way New Orleans stable hands referred to the city. "Big Apple" was what the jockeys called turf money prizes, and the biggest prize they could aspire to was, of course, in NYC.

Credit: Hen Kaznelson

The nickname The Empire City refers to New York State's moniker. But in turn, it is said to derive from a statement by one of our Founding Fathers. Supposedly, George Washington once said about the city: "Surely this is the seat of the empire!".

The first written reference appeared in 1836 in an Illinois newspaper, which stated: New York City is "the Rome of America, the Empire City of the New World."

Credit: Marc Kargel

In 1898, New York City was consolidated into five counties or boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and later the Bronx. So, it is not surprising that at some point in history, the nickname The Five Boroughs began to be used to refer to the city, especially when alluding to the entire metropolitan area and not just Manhattan, the city center.

Credit: Jon Tyson

Today, no one would doubt that New York is a city that never sleeps: it has a lively cultural life, you'll always find a place open for a bite to eat, and you can even take the subway 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But what you may not know is that this has always been the essence of the city.

At least since the 1880s, people referred to New York City as The City That Never Sleeps for its evening mail delivery, electric lighting, and its mythical nightlife. Yet, it was Frank Sinatra who canonized the moniker in the lyrics of the song "New York, New York".

Credit: Liliana Drew

What do ancient Rome and the most populous city in the United States have in common? At some point in their history, the two cities were dubbed The Capital of the World. In a 1948 essay, author E. B. White, best known for his children's books, borrowed the expression Caput Mundi from the Roman poet Lucan to refer to New York City.

Here is New York is an ode to one of the most iconic places in the world and, according to The New Yorker, is one of the best pieces ever written about the ever-changing city.

Credit: NASA

In the same grandiloquent vein as The Capital of the World, The Center of the Universe is a nickname coined by Robert F. Wagner Jr., mayor of New York City between 1954 and 1965.

Perhaps the moniker is a bit of an exaggeration, but we must admit that NYC is a cosmopolitan and influential city where culture flourishes, finance thrives, and where some of the most important events in history have taken place.

Credit: Alex Vegas

Yes, as you can imagine, this nickname is inspired by the many songs about the city with the title "New York, New York", one of which was popularized by Frank Sinatra.

The City So Nice They Named It Twice was first used in the late 1950s by musician Jon Hendricks. However, it was late-night talk show host David Letterman who made a version of this nickname famous in 1984.

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New York City is like a modern-day Tower of Babel. It is one of the most linguistically diverse places in the world, where all kinds of ethnicities and languages coexist —an estimated 700! Therefore, it is no coincidence that the city has been blessed with the nickname The Melting Pot, reflecting its great cultural diversity.

The term was used by several authors throughout history, including Henry James, but was ultimately popularized in 1908 by the play The Melting Pot by Israel Zangwill, which tells the story of a Jewish immigrant who escapes a Russian pogrom to rebuild his life in New York.

Credit: Naitian（Tony） Wang

You may think New York City got the nickname Gotham from the DC comic Batman. But in reality, it was the other way around. The first person to link Gotham to the city was the American short story writer Washington Irving in 1807. In turn, the author was inspired by a medieval English proverb about a village called Gotham, meaning "Goat's Town".

This tale tells the story of the town’s residents, who, to avoid the king's reprisals, pretended to be fools. Of course, Irving used this negative connotation of the term to satirize NYC. When Gotham began to be associated with the Dark Knight in the 1940s, the nickname came to invoke not New York's foolish aspects but its darker side.

Credit: Jon Tyson

In stark contrast to Batman's dark Gotham, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, authors of Superman, created their Metropolis in reference to the city's cheerier face, that is, New York in the daytime. The main location of the comic book was first called Metropolis in 1939. The rest is history!