The booklet is copyrighted 1913 by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. How to Live Long was written for the insurance company by Irving Fisher. Unless you’re an economist, you likely have never heard of the guy. Some say he was the first “celebrity” economist. I’m sorry, and no disrespect to anyone in the field, but the only other economist I can name instantly is Steven D. Levitt who is the economics professor side of the Freakonomics team.

Fisher lived from 1867-1947. From what I’ve read, quirky doesn’t quite explain the man. On one hand, it appears he was a brilliant economist. Wikipedia cites him as the “first Ph.D. in Economics at Yale in 1891.” He was promoted to full Professor of Political Economy at Yale when he was 31. Impressive, right?

Even today his work in economics is sometimes referred to as “landmark” and the man is noted as a mathematical pioneer.

But eight days before the 1929 stock market crash, Fisher was quoted as saying that the market was at its permanent high plateau. Even after the crash he kept insisting it was just temporary. Months afterward he stated that recovery was just around the corner.

He was also an atheist and a strong supporter of eugenics. I told you that quirky doesn’t quite cover everything.

So, you may be wondering how a Yale Economics Professor ended up writing a book with advice on how to extend your life.

In 1898 he contracted tuberculosis. Battling the disease and recovering from it took nearly five years. He became a zealot about health. He helped found the Life Extension Institute, and at the time of writing this booklet, he was Chairman of the Hygiene Reference Board for the Institute.

Oh yes, the Institute was heavy into eugenics as well and suggested mandatory sterilization of what they referred to as “unfit” individuals.

I believe that this booklet was an offshoot of the about-to-be-published book, How to Live, Rules for Healthful Living Based on Modern Science which Fisher co-authored with Eugene Lyman Fisk.

The booklet provides fifteen rules of health to help us live long lives. Fisher devotes five rules to AIR, four rules each to FOOD and HABITS, and just two rules regarding ACTIVITY.

Here’s a taste of his advice:

• Keep windows open all the time to let in fresh air. Open one window at the top and another window at the bottom. Good air comes in one window and the bad air goes out the other. (I swear I’m not making this up.) If any scientists reading this post can tell me exactly how that theory works, I’d love to hear from you.
• Hard foods keep our teeth from decaying.
• Do not smoke too much. Some people shouldn’t smoke at all. (In 1924 he revised this advice and came out full force against tobacco.)
• Germs will rarely hurt you if you are well and strong.
• If we eat more protein than we need, food decays in our bowels and makes poison.
• It’s good to eat cheap “fuel foods” that contain starch or sugar such as bread and common sugar. Note: “cheap fuel foods” were his exact words.

Please don’t take any of Fisher’s advice seriously. Except for not smoking, of course.

This post serves as a good reminder to be careful of whose advice you follow. EVERYONE (it seems) has words of their personal wisdom that they’re waiting to dispense.

And yes, I hope you DO live long!

To my readers: What’s the silliest advice you’ve ever been given?