# 60 is the new 50???? What is this bull? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 2, 2005, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-is-the-new-50-what-is-this-bull/329007 "2005-11-02T01:02:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-is-the-new-50-what-is-this-bull/329007/21 "2005-11-02T09:19:37Z")
Wow, the tone of my post came out totally wrong. I don’t actually think the OP is all that young. (Note to self – don’t use sarcasm late at night. Also? Preview.) ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-is-the-new-50-what-is-this-bull/329007/22 "2005-11-02T11:48:31Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I am really starting to hate those stupid " \_\_\_\_ is the new \_\_\_\_\_" phrases. ENOUGH! Private Eye, a satirical magazine in the UK (which, incidentally, used to be owned by Peter Cook, the funniest man ever to draw breath), has a recurring [column](http://www.private-eye.co.uk/content/showitem.cfm/issue.1143/section.neo) called “Neophiliacs” just to reprint the more stupid uses of this phrase. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-is-the-new-50-what-is-this-bull/329007/23 "2005-11-02T12:02:25Z")
For those that questioned my age, I just turned 49. Maybe my rage is misdirected, my wife who is a bit older than I am turns 50 in a few months and to her that is going to be the end of the world. We have 7 grandchildren already. I don’t think 49 or 50 is all that old and I have no plans of changing anything I do just because I am going to hit the bit 5-0. I bought me an electric road race set yesterday. When I bought it I was thinking I would play with it when the grandkids come to visit. Last night I said screw that and played with it by myself. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-is-the-new-50-what-is-this-bull/329007/24 "2005-11-02T12:04:23Z")
> [@NurseCarmen](#): > > Depends are the new thong. And nausea is the new arousal. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-is-the-new-50-what-is-this-bull/329007/25 "2005-11-02T13:45:27Z")
I hear 90 is the new 80. But who could tell? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-is-the-new-50-what-is-this-bull/329007/26 "2005-11-02T14:24:17Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Moving thread from IMHO to The BBQ Pit. The Pit is the new IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-is-the-new-50-what-is-this-bull/329007/27 "2005-11-02T15:37:33Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > And why not? Growing old gracefully is overrated. Agreed. Remember these famous words, author unknown: > [@](#): > > Life should NOT be a journey into the grave with the intention of arriving > safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in > sideways, champagne in one hand, a good cigar in the other, body thorougly > used up, totally worn out and screaming “SUNNUVABITCH, WHAT A RIDE!!!” ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-is-the-new-50-what-is-this-bull/329007/28 "2005-11-02T15:45:56Z")
> [@jimpatro](#): > > Hmm, I’m 46, play in an alternative band, workout 4 times a week, carry around a 30 lb camera all day, wear hip Italian clothes, people can’t believe I have 20 and 22 yr old kids, am told I look much younger blah blah blah… > > And I’m just being me, not trying to “act young”. > I’m sad for those who just wither away. And laugh at those who think I’m supposed to be a certain way. They’ll be blobs in their 40s. Well told, my friend. I’m 49 and feel (and look) 10 years younger. And I’m not what you’d call a maniac health freak or anything. Plenty of vices for me to work on! My husband is 60 and is in better shape than he was in his 20s. It’s about taking care of yourself and peeling years off your age. We know more now than we did years ago. Products are better, diets are better, and people are trying to get the most out of life by staying healthy enough to walk under their own power. My sister in law is 62 and she looks and feels 20 years _older_. She needs to look at her lifestyle and make changes or she’ll spend her remaining years looking out a window watching the world pass her by. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-is-the-new-50-what-is-this-bull/329007/29 "2005-11-02T15:51:56Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I am really starting to hate those stupid " \_\_\_\_ is the new \_\_\_\_\_" phrases. ENOUGH! > > (Waits for Dopers to start making “blah is the new blah” comments-don’t disappoint me!) “Too much” is the new “ENOUGH!” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-is-the-new-50-what-is-this-bull/329007/30 "2005-11-02T15:54:09Z")
> [@](#): > > Life should NOT be a journey into the grave with the intention of arriving > safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in > sideways, champagne in one hand, a good cigar in the other, body thorougly > used up, totally worn out and screaming “SUNNUVABITCH, WHAT A RIDE!!!” Timing is everything, though. The other standard quote is “Live fast, die young and leave a good-looking corpse.” The problem is that adherents to that philosophy generally outlive their “good looks”, and wind up sun-wrinkled, cirrhotic and lugging around an oxygen tank at 50, looking as if they were 75. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-is-the-new-50-what-is-this-bull/329007/31 "2005-11-02T16:31:46Z")
And while we’re calling BS on all these dang Boomer Age Pussies, I’d like to call BS on all these people in their 50s calling themselves middle-aged. Only about 5% make it past 85, so really, people over 45 saying they’re middle-aged are (eventually) full of shit 95% of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-is-the-new-50-what-is-this-bull/329007/32 "2005-11-02T16:38:51Z")
60 isn’t the new 50. 60 has always been 50! I welcome Dolly Parton to the land of Base 12. If you’re really lucky, she’ll invite you over for a nitecap and a little 59. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-is-the-new-50-what-is-this-bull/329007/33 "2005-11-02T17:24:39Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I am really starting to hate those stupid " \_\_\_\_ is the new \_\_\_\_\_" phrases. ENOUGH! > > (Waits for Dopers to start making “blah is the new blah” comments-don’t disappoint me!) Khaki is the new orange. No, really. It is. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-is-the-new-50-what-is-this-bull/329007/34 "2005-11-02T17:50:41Z")
> [@An Arky](#): > > And while we’re calling BS on all these dang Boomer Age Pussies, I’d like to call BS on all these people in their 50s calling themselves middle-aged. > > Only about 5% make it past 85, so really, people over 45 saying they’re middle-aged are (eventually) full of shit 95% of the time. Actually, no. If you are a male aged 50 you are about 50% likely to reach 80. A female, over 50%. As your age increases, statistically, so does your life expectancy. [Cite](http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr53/nvsr53_06.pdf) See table 11, page 29. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-is-the-new-50-what-is-this-bull/329007/35 "2005-11-02T18:24:00Z")
> [@Lamar Mundane](#): > > Actually, no. If you are a male aged 50 you are about 50% likely to reach 80. A female, over 50%. As your age increases, statistically, so does your life expectancy. > > [Cite](http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr53/nvsr53_06.pdf) > > See table 11, page 29. So does this mean doctors sometimes say to 60-year-olds who have been smoking, drinking, living on fried foods, avoiding exercise and partying like mad all their lives, “Your life expectancy is -20 … you should have died 20 years ago. But because you HAVE somehow lived to be 60, we’re gonna tack an extra 10 years on. We now think you’re going to live to be 70, though we don’t know why.” ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-is-the-new-50-what-is-this-bull/329007/36 "2005-11-02T18:58:27Z")
OK, I’m no mathmatician, but I don’t see where your cite tells me that more than 5.something% of people born between 1946 and 1964 are going to live past 90. All I see is the _average_ number of years someone is expected to live past 85 given a certain birth year range. I’m sure it can be extrapolated, but I’m really disinclined to delve into such calculations, being at work and all. I do believe that I can safely say that someone who is over 50 saying they are middle aged is overwhelmingly likely to not be accurate, no matter which apple or orange you’re using to base it on. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-is-the-new-50-what-is-this-bull/329007/37 "2005-11-02T19:29:11Z")
That would make 25 the new 15, and explain why my brothers took so damn long to move out of my parents’ house. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-is-the-new-50-what-is-this-bull/329007/38 "2005-11-02T19:33:04Z")
Actually, 60 _is_ the new 50, 50 is the new 41.6, 40 is the new 33.3, 30 is the new 24.9, etc. It’s the latest method for combating global warming. Kind of like Daylight Savings Time, only for the temperature scale. Or like HDTV vs. regular broadcst TV - the data points on the new scale much more clearly fits the historic baseline. Or like Canadian money vs. US dollars (“That’ll be $1.98, or $1258647.57 Canadian”). Or like countless other analogies, metaphores, similies, and homophones that do not have time to discuss today. The conversion factor for age works much the same way - enough wishful thinking makes it true. Until you die anyway. At a much younger age than you were. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-is-the-new-50-what-is-this-bull/329007/39 "2005-11-02T20:13:30Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Timing is everything, though. > > The other standard quote is “Live fast, die young and leave a good-looking corpse.” Or as Faron Young used to sing: _Live fast, love hard and die young._ ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-is-the-new-50-what-is-this-bull/329007/40 "2005-11-02T22:30:24Z")
> [@Evil Captor](#): > > “Too much” is the new “ENOUGH!” 😛 But dieticians and nutritionists seem to be telling us that “enough” is the new “too much”! ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-is-the-new-50-what-is-this-bull/329007.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/60-is-the-new-50-what-is-this-bull/329007.md?page=3)