Europeans Taller than Americans....

[Cheshierekat]

I'm 6'. That's tall for a woman, and according to this thread tall for an American too, right? Now that I think about it, I do often times feel like I am surrounded by midgets.

[David]

Em an Amer. And aboot 6'2" dark hair, big dark eyes, olive skin that is either light or dark depending on my outdoor habits of the year, wieght fluctuates from 180-190. People generally have a positive impression of me until they get to know me. Not really fair to shorter or what are considered "stupid looking" people. Just because someone is above 6' does not make them naturally a leader, smart or good. (I don't know how it is in Europe but in America there is a whole mythology about blondes being the dumbest or at least more "out there", and that dark haired people lean towards being more ruthless or rational, intelligent, and generally hard-nosed. I know I must be below the average fat to wieght ratio in America, eat alot of different things, sometimes binge on junk, but it isn't a structural component of my overall diet, mostly eat in moderation or not at all. I'm one of those people who forgets to eat sometimes if I'm doing a series of things, no inner sense of hunger really until I really start to notice until I can't think as clearly chiming in that hey maybe I should eat... but even then I have to think about it through a kind of logic and not just know that I should eat instinctively... its not like with most people I've talked to who say they just have the urge to eat.... but if If I have forgotten to eat for say... 10-16 hours or so, and start eating some food, then I become ravenous... whole thing is kind of strange. Some hunger connector just isn't wired up right or something. Probably a good thing in a society that is inundated with food which is mostly bad for you. My weight seems to remain at a healthy level so I guess it isn't really a problem either way... I do think I'm seeing more and more morbidly obese people around me, or people that weigh way too much for their body size. Not a good thing.

...Another form of subtle discrimination against another group - short people this time. This doesn't really explain many tall people in certain areas of Saudi Arabia, African regions, or Iran where food is scarce in some areas yet height is still very high. Oh, btw, for those that don't know, there are alot of areas of China where people are very tall. There is a whole North-South split there, I just can't remember which are tall and which tend to be shorter corresponding with region... someone may know...

[The Hunter]

And so you're saying that there are a bunch of happy milk men in Holland?

What? Milk-men? They're extinct.

And one more good site that explain's it all.

http://www.vwl.uni-muenchen.de/ls_komlos/covereu.html

[Sho]

*gets Meh for editing*

[Sniper]

A German scientist has come up with a study which shows that from being the tallest nation in the world for 200 years, the average American is now less tall than his European counterpart.
In a study that has taken him 20 years, Professor John Komlos says that the tallest people in Europe, the Dutch, with an average height of 6 feet 1 inch are a good 3 inches taller than Americans. The average Brit is apparently half an inch taller than the average American
"Statistically speaking, tall people are more likely to go on dates, to earn more [about £450 more per inch per year], to live longer - in short, to be more successful."


http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.j ... wstop.html

I read this on another forum and thought that it would be funny to post here.

I can only think of one thing to say. Like the man said when he looked at the big dung heap, "I didn't know they could pile crap that high."

[The Hunter]

*Looks at Sniper's sig*

Ummm... Yeah.

[David]

I wonder at the unique situation we are in today in terms of world history where the biggest imperial culture ever is at once also one of the most provincial and fundamentalist, a mentality embedded in its current head of state. From a president such as John Adams who knew several languages and a man of many talents to a man that does not fully grasp his native language, spending much of his free time chopping wood for image enhancement, making his advisors do the same in some kind of theatrical everyman play, completely false, a countries mind grows soft and decadent.
I'm sure the current head of state enjoys luxuriating in his winter palace at Crawford; a president who proudly proclaims "I don't watch the news, I get my information from my advisors", in his ignorance he further paints the picture of himself as the emperor with no clothes, fully controlled by scheming viziers. It has been established many times that the media has in fact been privy to important information before the state apparatus is even faintly aware, especially in the realm of foriegn intelligence. Perhaps the Atlantic and Pacific oceans ought to be renamed the seas of Maginot.
Video wars and stale sound bite bumper sticker politics, and policy people who actually believe simplistic jingos and ideology that before was only meant for public consumption. We live in the information age, yet degenerate culturally and intellectually, and fracture into meaningless specializations. So much information, no knowledge. World dementia.

[kroner]

It is an odd thing. What bothers me most is that Bush's pride in ignorance is in order to paint himself a man of the people. This is exactly what he is not both in background and policy, and yet a lot of people buy into it completely. Andrew Jackson may have been coarse but at least he did the right thing now and then...

so in conclusion...
Vote democrat please!

[rklenseth]

Andrew Jackson did a lot of bad things as President. Remember the Trail of Tears.

As far as voting Democrat, I'm not all that sure Kerry is a better choice. I am actually looking at the other candidates. I fear Bush with all of encroaching on our rights and I fear Kerry with all of his lying and wanting to nationalize a lot things under the government. So I fear that voting for either them will not help the country much. I might vote for the Libertarian (sp?) candidate. Though I have not decided yet.

I only wish a strong independent would stand up and make the run. The sooner we do away this party system the sooner America will be better off.

[kroner]

didn't i say "now and then"? that doesn't even imply most of the time. he also completely disregaurded supreme court decisions. what i was saying is that at least his man of the people image wasn't all a fake.

now as for kerry, you can say what you want about him but he'd be a hell of a lot better than bush and frankly he's the only other choice we've got at this point so he's getting my vote.

[Meh]

These are the ones I like when I'm not just voting democratic to prevent republicans coming in.

http://www.natural-law.org/

Don't know if they'll be up to anything this time. Don't see anything on the site and it's already end of April.

[Psycho Pixie]

it isnt genetics....

The average american for th past 20-30 years has been drinking coffie on a constant basis. Coffie is proven, in large quantities to stunt your growth.

So, duh, of course the average american is short. we all work 80 hour weeks, drink coffie and lve on mcdonalds food. we are fat, short, and either tired or wired.


Psycho Pixie

[Cheshierekat]

*begins chugging the coffee*

[ephiroll]

I think the short/tall factor is just genetics. The women in my family average 5'1", the tallest being about 5'5", but all the men in my family (no matter how tall their mothers are) are at least 6'1" and the tallest 6'10" with 6'3" being average. The only men in my family that are shorter then 6'1" are those that married into it, and we're a family of 50+ hour work week, coffee drinking, cigarette smoking, partying, stubborn, type A perssonalities that live on average to be about 80 (the youngest person in my family to die in recent memory was 75) and many push close to 100 (3 of the last five people in my family to die were over 90). It could be the mix of blood in my family, I don't know what all I have in me, but for the most part I'm Irish , German, and Cherokee Indian. At the last family reunion about 150 of us showed up (40 of them men aged 18-70), woe to anyone who gets on our bad side because even the old farts in my family can kick some ass. My grandfather on my dad's side for instance is about to turn 70 and still works at least 40 hours a week just for the hell of it to have something to do. I fully expect to live til I'm 80, and with healthcare advances it wouldn't surprise me if I make it past 100, barring any unforseen accidents of course.

[rklenseth]

it isnt genetics....

The average american for th past 20-30 years has been drinking coffie on a constant basis. Coffie is proven, in large quantities to stunt your growth.

So, duh, of course the average american is short. we all work 80 hour weeks, drink coffie and lve on mcdonalds food. we are fat, short, and either tired or wired.


Psycho Pixie

I think it is genetics. I don't drink coffee and in fact I abhor it. Disgusting stuff that should be damned to the special Hell reserved for child molestors and people who speak at the theatre.

Both my parents are gorram short to. Not as short as me being 5'1" but I don't think either of them peak 5'5". But what is funny is that both my younger brothers, one 17 and the other 15 have surpassed the 6' mark. But that wouldn't be uncommon as both my grandfathers and my father's brother (or my uncle) are way over 6 feet tall. So I definitely see where genetics work in my family. It is either you are short or you are tall. I obviously got the ruttin' gene for shortness. I guess I can blame this on my father's sperm. Wait, doesn't that mean I am blaming myself since in essence I am my father's sperm. Oh, damn it. I've gone and gotten myself confused again.