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 

Vintage Dutch Safety Posters

Maybe I’m biased, but I love Dutch graphic art.

Stumbled across these safety posters, spanning from the 1920’s to the 1970’s.

A small selection.

From 1972 – Look Out - Sharp

From the 1950’s – Protect Your Eyes - They’re Worth It

From 1969

Many more examples:
http://50watts.com/Vintage-Safety
http://50watts.com/Hoogspanning-More-Dutch-Safety-Posters

WW2 Netherlands Escape Lines

Being from the Netherlands, and also having an interest in history, I found this really engrossing. A site devoted to telling the stories of (mainly) Dutch (but also Belgian, Luxembourger and French) people (don’t think it’s too hyperbolic of me to say heroes) who hid and helped shot down Allied flyers and return to their own lines, and Jewish onderduikers flee the Nazi’s clutches.

The people who did this, did so at an almost unfathomable risk to them selves and their families. Truly awe inspiring the courage they displayed. Lest We Forget.

http://wwii-netherlands-escape-lines.com/

Floating Houses

I was born in the Netherlands, a country built largely on deltas, the outlet of some of the largest rivers in Europe. A huge chunk of that small country lies below sea level. Their ingenuity at reclaiming land from the sea, and keeping the sea at bay, is very admirable. But the way we’re screwing things up in the world, sea levels are almost certain to rise. Rise to a level that all the ingenious methods the Dutch have devised will prove unable to keep up with. Rather than trying more of the same, architects are now looking at living with the water, rather than fighting against it. Namely, floating houses.

http://www.ecoboot.nl/artikelen/floating_houses.php

http://www.escapeartist.com/OREQ14/Architects_Of_The_Floating_World.html

http://inhabitat.com/dutch-floating-homes-by-duravermeer/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6405359.stm

Given that, my country of birth won’t be the only place affected by this troubling prospect, and given the number of places in the continent I now live in that are damaged or destroyed by flooding, (which seems to be getting worse with each passing year), perhaps it’s time to stop doing things the traditional way, and start building with an eye towards designs better able to deal with rising water levels.

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.