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Oldest person in the Bible -

Methuselah, mentioned in Genesis 5:21–27, is the oldest person in the Bible, having died at the age of 969. He is seen here depicted on a stained glass window from the southwest transept of Canterbury Cathedral in England.

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Oldest civilization -

Mesopotamia is generally considered the first urban civilization, spanning an era from c. 8000 BCE to 2000 BCE. The Sumerians and Akkadians dominated Mesopotamia from the beginning of recorded history (c. 3100 BCE) to the fall of Babylon in 539 BCE. Pictured is a painted pottery female figurine from Aleppo, Syria, c. 5000 BCE. 

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Oldest religion -

Hinduism is often considered the oldest existing religion still practiced today. It's also the most complex of all established belief systems, with origins that date back more than 5,000 years in India.

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Oldest monarchy -

The Kingdom of Sweden is the world's oldest monarchy, with Eric the Victorious (c. 945–c. 995) regarded as the first Swedish king.

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Oldest country -

The oldest country in the world is San Marino. Founded on September 3, 301 CE, this diminutive enclave in the middle of Italy has enjoyed its status as an uninterrupted sovereign state since its independence from the Roman Empire.

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Oldest constitution -

Drawn up in 1600, the Constitution of San Marino is the oldest surviving constitution of any sovereign state in the world.

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Oldest ruins -

The oldest ruins are those found in Theopetra Cave in Greece, specifically the stone wall found at the entrance to the limestone cavern. Estimated to date back to c. 21,000 BCE, it's the oldest known example of a man-made structure and is thought to have served as windbreak for the cave's residents during the Last Ice Age.

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Oldest city in the Americas -

First inhabited c. 1500 BCE, Tepoztlán near Mexico City is the oldest city in the Americas. It's famous for the El Tepozteco temple.

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Oldest tree species -

The Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva) is the oldest tree species in existence, reaching an age of over 5,000 years old. The tress are found in the higher mountains of California, Nevada, and Utah.

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Oldest song -

The Hurrian 'Hymn to Nikkal' is considered the oldest song in the world. Also known as 'h.6,' the song is part of about 36 hymns written in cuneiform on clay tablets uncovered in the ancient city of Ugarit in northern Syria. The Hurrians were a people who inhabited the ancient Near East during the Bronze Age. Nikkal was a Semitic goddess of fruits and fertility.

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Oldest landmass -

At approximately 4.28 billion years old, the Canadian Shield is regarded as the oldest landmass on Earth.

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Oldest circus -

Ancient Rome's Circus Maximus is the oldest known circus ever to exist. Founded in the 1st century CE, it was a vast arena where chariot races and various performances were held. The site is now a public park.

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Oldest cartoon character -

The Katzenjammer Kids are likely the oldest cartoon characters to ever exist. An American comic strip created by Rudolph Dirks in 1897, it debuted in December of that year. The comic strip still exists in syndication, which also makes it the longest-running of its kind.

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Oldest exam -

The world's oldest exam is the Gaokao. The model stems from the imperial examination, a civil service examination system established in China in 581 CE. In 1952, after the establishment of the People's Republic of China, the Gaokao exam was reformed as the national college entrance exam system. Pictured is artwork from 1540 depicting candidates gathering around the wall where exam results are posted.

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Oldest shoe company -

The world's oldest shoe company is Berluti. Established in Paris in 1895 by Alessandro Berluti, its bespoke handmade footwear is mostly sold to men. Pictured is the original store on Rue Marbeuf in the city's 8th arrondissement.

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Oldest grain -

First cultivated in Turkey 30,000 years ago, einkorn wheat is widely recognized as the oldest grain in the world. Its domestication, however, dates back even further: remnants of einkorn were found with the iceman mummy Ötzi, dated back to 3100 BCE.

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Oldest recipe -

The oldest recipe in the world is for nettle pudding. An ancient delicacy originating out of prehistoric Britain in 6000 BCE, it became a staple of the English diet in the 18th century. Besides nettle leaves, other ingredients are sorrel, watercress, chives, dandelion leaves, barley flour, and salt.

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Oldest non-self-governing colony -

Montserrat in the Caribbean is the oldest non-self-governing colony in the world, established in 1632. A British Overseas Territory, much of Montserrat was devastated in 1995 by a volcano. The southern part of the island remains an exclusion zone.

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Oldest national park -

Bogd Khan Uul Biosphere Reserve in Mongolia is the world's oldest national park. It was established in 1778, this 94 years before the creation of Yellowstone National Park in the United States, which is often mistaken as being the first of its kind (though it is the oldest national park in the US). Pictured is a satellite image of Bogd Khan Mountain (center) with Ulan-Bator at top left.

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Oldest active volcano -

The planet's oldest active volcano is Mount Unzen in Japan. It's estimated to be 2.5 million years old, yet it has erupted as recently as 1991, when a large eruption generated a pyroclastic flow that killed 43 people.

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Oldest lake -

Lake Zaysan in Kazakhstan is arguably the oldest lake in the world, possibly dating back to the Cretaceous period, with a potential age in excess of 66 million years old. Lake Baikal in Russia also claims to be the world's most ancient lake, as clear evidence shows that it is 25–30 million years old.

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Oldest mountain range -

The Makhonjwa Mountains, part of the Barberton Greenstone Belt that spans South Africa and Swaziland, form the oldest mountain range in the world. The range, often described as the "Genesis of Life," features the oldest exposed rocks on Earth, estimated to be between 3.2 and 3.6 billion years old.

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Oldest port -

Byblos Port in Lebanon is believed to be the oldest port in existence, in use for over 3,000 years. The most important timber shipping center in the eastern Mediterranean, it was used by the Phoenicians to ship their local wine and to export wood to the pharaohs of ancient Egypt.

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Oldest ship still in use -

The USS Constitution, launched in 1797, is the oldest ship still in use. Moored in Boston Harbor, the vessel now serves as a museum ship, but sails on occasion, usually to commemorate Independence Day.

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Oldest rainforest -

The Daintree Rainforest on the northeastern coast of Queensland, Australia, is the oldest rainforest on the planet. It's estimated to be about 180 million years old—nearly 10 million years older than the Amazon of South America.

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Oldest ocean -

The Pacific is the oldest of the existing ocean basins. Its oldest rocks have been dated at about 200 million years. It's also larger than all of Earth's land area combined.

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Oldest desert -

Dating back to anywhere between 55 and 80 million years, the Namib is believed to be the world's oldest desert.

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Oldest river -

Known as the Larapinta by the Aboriginal people, the Finke River in central Australia is estimated to be at least 300 million years old.

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Oldest-known tomb -

The Tumulus of Bougon, a group of five Neolithic barrows located in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France, is the oldest known tomb complex in the world. Archaeologists have dated the site to around 4800 BCE.

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Oldest brand of jeans -

Levi Strauss & Co. is the oldest brand of jeans in the world. Founded in 1853 by Levi Strauss in San Francisco, Levi remains an iconic American brand recognized globally for its denim jeans. 

Sources: (Conde Nast Traveler) (National Geographic) (AntiquityNOW)

See also: Denim—the journey of jeans

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