In the Headlights: Tall Tales

Tall Tales

I enjoy browsing the Urban Legends website. They always have some interesting stuff, and debunk some of the rumors that have flown around, particularly through the email circuit.

I'm pretty tall, so I enjoyed reading about some record holders in the height department. I'm
5' 10 1/2". My little sister is 6' 3".

This image is one of many of a woman named Heather, who has been featured in emails claiming she is the world's tallest woman. Not even close. She is 6' 5 1/2", and wears heels to make herself over 7' tall. Even in heels, she is not the tallest living woman. That distinction goes to 7' 7 1/4" Sandy Allen who is over a foot taller than Heather.

P.T. Barnum had a woman named Anna Swan in his sideshow. She was 7' 11" by age 15, and weighed 18 lb. at birth. As an adult, she weighed over 400 pounds. She married a man who was 7'9". They had two children who died shortly after birth. She died of heart failure at the age of 42.

Being tall is fine, but in extremes, it can be a problem. Many giants suffer from acromegaly (Remember I said I suffer from acrophobia, fear of heights? Acro- is a Greek prefix meaning "high". Acromegalics are high and large.), a condition arising when the pituitary gland makes too much growth hormone.

Untreated acromegalics are likely to suffer from many medical problems, like diabetes, arthritis, hypertension and heart failure.

[Story and links from Urban Legends]

July 18, 2006 in Current Affairs, Entertainment, medicine, Weblogs | Permalink