A Reddit post on r/interestingasfuck has drawn attention after a user shared a throwback photo of Jim Bowen, the famous British comedian and TV presenter, at what the poster said was age 35. They also noted that Bowen “reportedly had smoked 80 cigarettes a day until he quit in 1973.”
The photo, paired with the remark about Bowen’s smoking habit, drew attention from fellow Reddit users because he looked significantly older than the average 35-year-old today. Many commenters expressed surprise at Bowen's appearance, saying he looked older than his stated age, given the condition of his skin and the amount of gray in his hair.
Reddit users compare their own aging and debate Bowen's reported habit
According to his Wikipedia page, Bowen smoked up to 80 cigarettes a day until 1973. If the photo was indeed taken when he was 35, it prompted many commenters to compare their own appearance and feel better about their own aging.
One commenter wrote, “It was a tough realization that hit me harder than I thought it would.” After seeing the photo, they added, “If this dude is 35 in this pic, I take back everything about my mid life crisis. I'm doing absolutely fantastic.”
Another user said, “I’m 36 but would look 12 next to this man.” One commenter shared, “They were 37, which would make them two years older than Bowen was in the photo if the age is correct. Despite having plenty of gray hairs in their beard, they said they still look younger than Bowen.”
While most commenters used the post as an opportunity to feel a little better about getting older, other commenters calculated what the claim would mean because they doubted the reported number. According to the post, Bowen smoked 80 cigarettes a day, and the commenter laid out a hypothetical scenario showing just how much smoking he’d have to do in an hour.
“Let’s assume he’s awake for 16 hours per day, the average. This means he’s smoking five cigarettes per hour for every single hour he’s awake every day. Assuming it takes five minutes to smoke one cigarette, this means he’s smoking for 25 minutes per 60 minutes. Every hour.”
Another commenter wrote, “Not that crazy if you love cigs and lived in a time where smoking indoors was normal.”
As per Bowen's Wikipedia page, he smoked up to 80 cigarettes a day until 1973. The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the claims discussed in the r/interestingasfuck post.
