Better Looking Past

The past always looks better than it was. It’s only pleasant because it isn’t here.

Finley Peter Dunne

According to the article “How Old Is the World’s Oldest Turtle? 5 Turtles that Survived for Centuries ” from the A-Z Animals website, “Jonathan the Seychelles giant tortoise is currently the oldest known land animal in the world” at an estimated 190 years old. “Jonathan was described as “fully mature” in 1882. Since these tortoises reach maturity at 50 years of age, it is estimated that Jonathan hatched no later than 1832.” And, for the curious, here’s a page with a video of David Attenborough narrating a scene where a turtle tries to mate with a Croc shoe .

About the author

Finley Peter Dunne (born Peter Dunne; July 10, 1867 – April 24, 1936) was an American humorist, journalist and writer from Chicago. In 1898 Dunne published Mr. Dooley in Peace and in War, his first collection of the nationally syndicated Mr. Dooley sketches. Written as though speaking with the thick verbiage and accent of an Irish immigrant from County Roscommon, Dunne’s fictional “Mr. Dooley” expounded upon political and social issues of the day from behind the bar of his South Side Chicago Irish pub. Dunne’s sly humor and political acumen won the support of President Theodore Roosevelt, a frequent target of Mr. Dooley’s barbs. Dunne’s newspaper column became so popular and such a litmus test of public opinion that they were read each week at White House cabinet meetings.