'Eat whatever you like': Facebook posts mislead on ages that inventors and sports stars died

The claim was shared in a Facebook post published here on March 25, 2021.

“Eat whatever you like,” the post reads. It then lists purported inventors and the ages when they apparently died.

The list claims: the inventor of the treadmill died aged 54; the inventor of gymnastics died aged 57; the “world bodybuilding champion” died aged 41; football legend Diego Maradona died aged 60; the inventor of KFC died aged 94; the inventor of Nutella died aged 88; “cigarette maker Winston” died aged 102; the “inventor of opium” died aged 116 “in an earthquake”; and the inventor of Hennessy cognac died aged 98. 

“How did doctors come to the conclusion that exercise prolongs life?” the post concludes. “The rabbit is always jumping but it lives for 2 years and the turtle that doesn’t exercise at all, lives 200 years. So rest, chill, eat, drink and enjoy life.”

The same list was shared on Facebook here and here. 

The list, however, contains multiple inaccuracies.

Treadmill inventor

William Staub, the American mechanical engineer who built and marketed the first treadmill in the late 1960s, died aged 96 in 2012 -- not 54 as incorrectly claimed in the post.

Gymnastics inventor

Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, the German credited as being the “father of gymnastics”, died at the age of 74 -- not 57 as falsely claimed in the post.

'World bodybuilding champion'

It is unclear who the post is referring to when it mentions the “world bodybuilding champion” who “died at  41”.

The deceased winners of Mr. Olympia, the world’s premier bodybuilding competition, all died in their 70s.

This includes Larry Scott, who won the first competition in 1965 and died aged 75. Three-time champion Sergio Oliva died aged 71.

Football legend

Argentine football legend Diego Maradona died aged 60 in November 2020, as correctly claimed in the post.

Fast-food chain founder

Colonel Sanders, the founder of US fast-food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), died at the age of 90 -- not 94 as falsely claimed in the post.

Nutella inventor

Pietro Ferrero, the Italian pastry maker who created the hazelnut spread Nutella, died at the age of 51 -- not 88 as falsely claimed in the post.

Cigarette company boss

R. J. Reynolds, the founder of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company which manufactured Winston cigarettes, died aged 68 -- not 102 as falsely claimed in the post. 

Opium 'inventor'

Opium has been used for centuries  -- it does not have a single "inventor".

There is also no evidence that the drug’s inventor died aged 116 “in an earthquake.”

Irish businessman

The posts claim 18th century Irish businessman Richard Hennessy, who founded the cognac trading house that shares his name, died aged 98. This is false: Hennessey was in his 70s when he died in 1800, according to multiple sources.

Animal lifespans

The post also claims that rabbits live for around two years, while turtles live for over 200 years. This is mostly accurate. Some turtles have reportedly lived up to 250 years in captivity, such as one Aldabra tortoise at a Calcutta zoo which died in 2006.

A rabbit will typically live between 8 to 12 years, according to the UK Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), but some may live longer.