long lives

The 1957 Popular Science article “What Will You Die Of?” said the average 45-year-old American is “about the luckiest man alive—just because he is alive.” It then went on to say that odds of that same American living until he was 65 were just one in three. In the years following this article, major medical advancements unfolded: The Internet was discovered and utilized as an important communicative tool; the first heart bypass surgery was performed…