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World's tallest people get that shrinking feeling
So an official study by the Dutch national statistics office finding that they appear to be shrinking might be construed as good news -- even if it could threaten the Netherlands' number one spot.
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Chandra Bahadur Dangi, from Nepal, (left) the shortest adult to have ever been verified by Guinness World Records, poses for pictures with the world's tallest man Sultan Kosen from Turkey, during a photocall in London on November 13, 2014, to mark Guinness World Records Day. Chandra Dangi, measures a tiny 21.5in (0.54m) – the same height as six stacked cans of beans. Sultan Kosen measures 8 ft 3in (2.51m). (AFP/Andrew Cowie)
W
hile the rest of the world literally looks up to the Dutch, the tallest members of the loftiest populace on earth insist it's not easy being big.
So an official study by the Dutch national statistics office finding that they appear to be shrinking might be construed as good news -- even if it could threaten the Netherlands' number one spot.
At a meeting of the Klub Lange Mensen, or Tall People's Club, the lowlanders say there are drawbacks to towering over most of the rest of humanity.
"I've always struggled with my height. When I was 12, I was already the tallest in the class, also taller than my teachers," club chairman Helen Keuken, 57, tells AFP.
"And when I came in contact with the club it was a revelation. I felt like an outsider and now I belong somewhere," says Keuken, who is 1.90 metres (six foot three inches) tall.
In a bar in the Dutch town of Aalsmeer near Schiphol airport, members of the club dance and chat over a drink, glad to have a place to gather where they don't stand out.
Even by Dutch standards they are tall, with male club members needing to measure at least 1.90m and women at least 1.80m (five foot 11).
