This traction on the retina, which is painless, sends a sensation of light to the brain that we see as flashers. People typically describe these as non-colored sparkles of light in one corner of the field of vision, usually affecting one eye.
South Carolina Republican Sen. Strom Thurmond celebrated his 100th birthday in the U.S. Senate in December 2002; New Jersey Democrat Frank Lautenberg is the oldest current U.S. senator; he is to turn 89 next month.
John Paul Stevens. John Paul Stevens is the longest-running and oldest Justice currently serving. At 89-years old, Stevens is also the oldest-functioning human alive. In fact he is so old that he attended the 1939 World Series at Wrigley Field in Chicago and got to witness Babe Ruth historically call his shot.