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Where Knowledge Junkies Get Their Fix
Some may find these photos, er, entertaining, but, of course, we here at the _floss see the trivia value in them.
They’re shots of the world’s tallest man, Bao Xishun, taking a mini-me-eting with He Pingping, who many believe to be the world’s shortest human. So what’s so interesting about that, I hear you asking? Well, dig this: both men come from the exact same region of Inner Mongolia!
The stats:
Mr Xishun: 56 years old, 7.9 ft (was normal height until age 16 when experienced an unusual growth-spurt)
Mr. Pingping: 19 years old, 2.4 ft (was the size of a grown-up’s open palm at birth )
And that’s the long and short of it…
Comments (24)
Comment
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i’m not gonna lie…this makes them seem like circus attractions and us as mindless spectators in search for the next little spectacle that’ll enthrall us for a few seconds, then leave us bored of it for the rest of our lives
posted by ray on 7-16-2007 at 12:21 pm
I disagree to ray’s comment…all I see are 2 humans who seem to defy the laws of genetics.
posted by mark on 7-16-2007 at 4:08 pm
I can feel they are happy people (especially the tall guy), and I am happy for them.
posted by Coyote on 7-16-2007 at 5:03 pm
How can you say that? I find this inspirational. The fact that two very different people, can come together like this is very nice. I don’t look at it to get my kicks, it is awe-inspiring. Maybe not everyone thinks like you :-\.
posted by Fastisio on 7-16-2007 at 5:05 pm
I can’t really agree with that Ray…
It’s not as if they are battling it out to the death. These men obviously did not choose their heights, but they are achievements none the less. You don’t think it’s possible that they wouldn’t be somewhat interested in meeting the person at the opposite end of the chart?
posted by Sumner on 7-16-2007 at 5:06 pm
i’m not gunna lie… i am a mindless spectator always in search of the next little spectacle that will enthrall me, if only for a few seconds. this did the trick :)
posted by eric on 7-16-2007 at 5:18 pm
Mr. Ping ping is kind of a hottie.
posted by Grace on 7-16-2007 at 5:22 pm
A great occasion that can be attributed to the extent which mankind has brought information and travel technolgies together.
We are presented with not two oddities, as you suggest, but with two humans, each of significant beauty.
We need to strive to see similarities and not differences with our thought.
posted by Mike on 7-16-2007 at 5:32 pm
i think that ray is being a bit short-sighted. It’s not like they’re animals being forced to do this – they’re doing it by choice and probably earning a load of cash while they’re at it! I say good for them.
posted by Collins on 7-16-2007 at 6:00 pm
Yikes! Is this one way of telling us that we shouldn’t marry anyone from Inner Mongolia? I’m curious about their genetic make up. Obviously, Mr. Xishun is suffering from giantism while Mr. PingPing is suffering from dwarfism. But are these cases curable? Mr. Xishun has just married. Will there be any possibility that one of his children will suffer the same fate?
posted by portrait from photo on 7-17-2007 at 2:27 am
can i hire them for my circus?.
posted by ken on 7-17-2007 at 2:52 am
Must be weird being that small.
posted by esvl on 7-17-2007 at 2:57 am
Didn’t the tall guy save dolphin a couple months ago?
posted by jared on 7-17-2007 at 6:49 pm
He’s not the worlds tallest man anymore
Google search “Leonid Stadnyk”.
posted by anon on 7-17-2007 at 7:21 pm
Yes, Mr Xishun introduced his arm in the dolphin’s mouth to reach for a plastic bag the dolphin has swallowed and successfully grabbed it and pulled it out.
I dón’t believe their statures to be of genetic origin, probably some environmental complex influence begining even in pregnancy.
posted by Miguel on 7-17-2007 at 7:21 pm
There is another, much younger Chinese guy who is a fraction of an inch shorter than Xishun, who is in training to become a basketball player for an American team.
posted by Tdave on 7-18-2007 at 3:17 am
I heard the little guy is hung like a horse
posted by Dom on 7-18-2007 at 5:02 am
I disagree that this is some sort of circus freak show for our entertainment,I believe this to be yet another shining example of the great diversity of our species! And another oppurtunity to once again realise how little we actually recognise the differences and similarities between us all, what an amazing awe inspiring even this must have been, if he felt small before he sure does now and vice versa!
posted by Arran greener on 7-18-2007 at 10:12 am
i don’t really see this as awe-inspiring. i just think it’s cool
posted by jason on 7-18-2007 at 10:37 am
i agree and disagree with many of these statements. first of all, i consider it entertainment even on an intellectual level it’s entertainment. it’s like when you’re reading a book for fun like Harry Potter compared to one of “literature,” they’re both for entertainment, just on different levels. on a less significant note, i don’t really see this as defying the laws of genetics, it’s actually obeying the laws of genetics because there are going to be random variables and such to create diversity in the human species. and thirdly, this is somewhat not really inspirational. martin luther king is inspirational. it’s cool how two people from opposite ends of the genetic spectrum can meet and we can take pictures and yadda yadda yadda. but what am i inspired to do because of it? marry into their family? i think not
posted by brad on 7-18-2007 at 10:51 am
damn that guy is tall but i feel sorry for the short guy
posted by brad on 11-29-2007 at 12:25 pm
wow!!!! this is what i need for me math subject!!!!its nice to have like this cause it helps others to know abput other countries!!!
posted by pepperju on 12-11-2007 at 3:22 am
do you know that maybe im only at the tallest mans waist because im small but my nephew that is 2 yrs old was bigger than the shortest man!!!
posted by pepperju on 12-11-2007 at 3:26 am
all i have to say is that ray is a retard for thinking that. its not like they were forced to try for the records!!! and theyre probably very inspiring!i mean the tall guy saved a dolphin!
posted by karolina on 2-5-2009 at 9:17 pm