Some estimates even put average life expectancy as increasing by a quarter of a year per year – an increase that has contributed to the rise of the very old. Now that there are more people who live up to 100, 110 or even more, it's only fair to ask: what traits do they all have in common?

The first supercentenarian, or someone who lived to be at least 110 years old, died in 1899 at the age of 110 years and four months old. Since then, lifespans have only been getting longer. The current record holder for oldest person to ever live is the French woman Jeanne Calment, who was born on February 21, 1875 and died on August 4, 1997 at the age of 122 years and 164 days old. Somebody is expected to break her record soon. A study published conducted by researchers from the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) believe that there is a 25 percent chance that someone will break Jeanne Calment's record by 2050.