Scientists try to answer why Dutch people are so tall

I was having a conversation on Friday night with a friend (whose background is also Dutch) about this very subject.

Scientists try to answer why Dutch people are so tall 

Tall Girls: The Documentary

Depresses the hell out of me that lasses would go to such a drastic step as to have surgery to stop growing. It makes me so sad, because there is nothing wrong with it. It’s not a deformity, handicap, disfigurement, etc. It’s just who you are. It makes you stand out, clothes are a bit hard to find, people say the drippiest things imaginable to you..., and a myriad of other things, but I don’t think there is anything so drastic as surgery and hormone injections to stop your natural growth called for. I could understand it if you have Marfan and you’re going to end up to be Sandy Allen tall, side show freak tall. Then I could see surgical intervention maybe being necessary. But being projected to be 6'3"? That is just awesome, not a cause for consternation. I know it’s awkward for girls especially, but I hope they can learn to accept themselves for who they are. It’s okay to be tall. Please. Grow tall. There aren’t nearly enough tall women in the world.

http://tallgirls-thefilm.com/page/

Height Differentials

I recently saw a chart that showed the height differential between average sized males, and what are considered taller than average males. Then I had someone measure me.

*sigh*

Back of Calf to Back of Buttock (sitting)
50th Percentile Height Male - 18"
95th Percentile Height Male - 19.9"
Me - 23"

Floor to Top of Knee (sitting)
50th Percentile Height Male - 21.9"
95th Percentile Height Male - 24.1"
Me - 25"

Elbow to Fingertip
50th Percentile Height Male - 18.1"
95th Percentile Height Male - 20.1"
Me - 21"

Shoulder to Fingertip
50th Percentile Height Male - 27.8"
95th Percentile Height Male - 30.4"
Me - 33.5"

Seat to Head (sitting)
50th Percentile Height Male - 34.6"
95th Percentile Height Male - 37.8"
Me - 43"

Standing Height
50th Percentile Height Male - 67.6"
95th Percentile Height Male - 74"
Me - 79"

Arm Span
50th Percentile Height Male - 68.6"
95th Percentile Height Male - 75.6"
Me - 80"

Some heady statistics about being tall. And Dutch.

(I stumbled across something I posted online a few years ago. Regrettably I didn’t cite the original source, and I can’t recall where I found it.)

I’m a bit on the tall side. A couple of centimeters over 2 meters.

And, I’m originally from the Netherlands.

The Dutch are said to be tallest people on Earth.

In the United States,

If you were to assemble 5000 men, there is about a 0.0002% chance of encountering someone 201 cm.

If you were to assemble 10,000 men, there is about a 0.0001% chance of encountering someone 203 cm.

In the Netherlands,

If you were to assemble 145 men, there is about a 0.0069% chance of encountering someone 201 cm.

If you were to assemble 313 men, there is about a 0.0032% chance of encountering someone 203 cm.

Wow.

I have to go back there some time just so I can blend in a little bit.

And I would say that those statistics for the US are borne out here in Canada as well. For me to encounter someone as tall as me or taller than me is a very, very rare occurrence. Like, I could count on one hand and still have a few fingers left over in the last five years. Heck, make that ten years. If I do happen to see a fairly tall guy somewhere, I’ll wonder “do I look that tall?” Then when I pass I notice that I have a few inches on him. 
*sigh* 
My dreams of being some sort of secret agent/cat burglar guy were dashed early on.

The Tall Book

Within a one week period I read an interview in Macleans with Arianne Cohen, author of The Tall Book, as well as an article about her and the book in Vogue.

I loved her comments that to be tall is to be public and that it means you constantly have a spotlight on you. And that it’s alienating to not fit in. Both very succinct points. To be very visible to a world you don’t fit into is a strange position to be in. And we have no choice but to accept it. Someone asked me once what I’d ask for if a genie came out of a bottle. “To be a short woman for a week.” A different gender just to see what that’s like, but to be anonymous for a while just seems like more of a novelty.

I jotted off a quick little note saying how much I’d enjoyed the interview and that I was on the hunt for her book and looked forward to reading it. I also included something I’d written about being tall and how it affects certain activities.

She sent me back a very nice letter, and mentioned that she’s working on a “users guide to being tall.” I replied with some info and businesses that may be of help to fellow talls. Some things that are a bit more obscure than just where to get pants that fit. Bespoke high end outdoor clothing, longer than average canoe paddles, built expressly for the customer backpacks, and where to get wetsuits and drysuits.

So if you’re tall, or know someone that’s tall, go out and buy her book! The link at the top of the page has a link where you can purchase the book.

Some Observations about Height and (light)Weight

The older I get, the more I want to reduce the amount of weight I carry on my adventures. I can and have carried some monstrous loads, but  really don’t want to do that if I don’t have to. Some of it just consists of doing away with unnecessary items, and a big part of it is just using lighter items. It’s been a gradual, ongoing process. Some of the stuff is purchased, and can be a bit spendy, and some of it is self made. To get the money to buy or find the time to make, the whole process to shave off the weight on my back will happen over a period of time. And I’m certainly not obsessive about it. When I read about people drilling holes in a titanium spoon or rejecting a cord lock because it weighs 2 milligrams, I think that’s taking it to an extreme.

I frequent various lightweight backpacking / hiking forums, and I love the concepts I glean, the innovative ideas others showcase, the DIY ethic, the information about new and improved gear. But reading through them, I sometimes get the sense that some people set a very arbitrary weight limit to strive for. “I must get my base weight down to X amount of grams!” Some of the weights being advocated as desirable by ultra-lighters, are not very realistic for everyone. Given times of year, given locales, and given body size, they strike this wandering wookie as flights of fancy at best. Making that gear is fun, and buying that gear is fun, and trying out that gear is fun, but I have to wonder if a bit of zealotry isn’t creeping into the mindset of some folks.  

I was thinking about it a while back and it struck me that the ability to go down to a 5 pound base pack weight is partially contingent on where one lives. A lot of people advocating those weights live in Florida or Texas or California. But if I go for a hike here in Ontario in October, the temps can go from 20°C in the day time to -5°C at night. Not sure that I want to be traipsing around with gossamer light gear that has no margin for error under those parameters. “I must get my base weight down to X amount of grams!” That’s swell when you live in San Diego and you’re going for a an overnighter in summer. But when you’re in more northern climes, with far greater variances of temps and conditions, the less realistic that goal becomes.

But something else affects my ability to trim weight off my loadout. My height.

I’m 6'7" or a touch over 2 meters, and a solidly built 235 pounds or a bit over 100 kilos.

I’m a big guy.

My hammock is bigger. My tarp is bigger. My quilt is bigger. My underquilt is bigger. My clothes are bigger. The stuff sacks they go into are slightly bigger. If I was to use a tent, there are many that I can’t fit into, necessitating a larger model. My pack consequently needs to be a bit bigger. I tend to eat slightly bigger portions than a smaller person.“I must get my base weight down to X amount of grams!” That’s swell when you’re a 5'4" woman who weighs 130 lbs. But when you’re a burly giant, the less realistic that goal becomes.

I can try and shave weight off where I can, but at some point I hit a limit that someone a foot and a half shorter than me can squeeze past. Obviously some things are size independent - stove, pot, tools, etc. - but there are certain things that a smaller person has a distinct advantage with.

Sure I'd love to have a feather weight pack as I traipse around. But an extra foot of insulation over me and an extra foot of insulation under me, and an extra foot of nylon to suspend me in the air, and an extra foot of nylon to keep the rain off of me, and the extra length of wool to clothe me make that a more difficult goal to attain.

Height has its advantages, but it also has its disadvantages.

I guess all I can do is enjoy the good aspects of the hand that fate dealt me, and cheerfully deal with the not so good aspects. And to keep on hiking and to keep on striving to shave off weight where I can.