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/

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.