Who Is the Tallest Person in the World?

Superlatives. It is what always gets our attention in different aspects. These superlatives always pique our curiosity and be mind blown about what we thought were impossible and highly unlikely are actually true and were proven. I mean, who would have thought that some things can actually be true and how these subjects being regarded as the “MOST” is phenomenal since they are known to the world and because of them, continuous research and analysis happens in order to find an answer as to why it happened. These researches could also help with evolving so many major aspects in life such as science, mathematics, and economy.

From “The RICHEST person in the world, “The MOST dangerous animals…”, and “The TALLEST person in the world!”. Speaking of the latest, being tall is something that every person aspires to. Height is one of the most noticeable features of a person at first glance. Kids usually ask “what is your height?”, or “how tall are you?” to their peers at school or probably in the playground when they try to make some friends, for the sake of trying to flex or boast themselves.

As children start to age, they start to grow in size quite rapidly. Parents and doctors use their height as one of the ways to assess if the child is growing properly or in accordance with their age. Parents would sometimes mark their kids’ height by having them face their back on the wall, leaning on it so their back would stick to the wall and they would have to stand straight, then the parents would mark the surface where their kids’ height stops. This is a way for parents to keep tabs on their children’s height because it is like a mini-milestone and it is something to be proud of!

The reason why kids are looking forward to growing taller every day is that there are so many benefits to being tall. Getting taller for kids means that they could ride their favourite rides in amusement parks. As most people have known, amusement parks especially extreme rides have some age limits, weight limits, and height limits as well to ensure the safety of the people who wants to try the rides, and we all know that most kids love the thrill and speed of things which is why it is such an achievement for them to grow tall and outsize their other peers.

Growing taller is what kids want due to the nuances of having to play better in physical activities such as sports while the others just simply want to be taller because they want to be able to reach higher shelves such as cupboards or bookshelves in a library in order to not have to get a stool or stairs to reach it and help other people with reaching stuff that is too high for their reach.

Since we all know that kids are curious people, they tend to wonder about a lot of things in life. Since we are in discussions about height, do you ever wonder who possesses the tallest height in the whole world? This seems to be a tricky question because out of all the roughly 7 billion people in the world, it can be quite difficult to find amongst that number of people who the tallest person is.

This is why back in the day, people would just do word of mouth or gossip since we did not really have access to media or the internet. But good thing, there are photographs that serve as proof or evidence which is why some people are verified as one of the tallest people to have ever existed.

Do you ever just wonder how on Earth do these happen? Especially with the tallest person in the world, Robert Wadlow. Just when you think that athletes, typically basketball players are so tall with their towering height ranging from 6 feet to 7 feet tall, science and the Guinness Book World Of Records slap the fact right at your face.

The Life of Robert Wadlow

Robert Pershing Wadlow is regarded as the tallest man in the whole world by the Guinness Book World of Records and there are proofs and evidences about his height which is through photos and diagnosis from doctors. Robert Pershing Wadlow is from Illinois, United States of America. He is regarded as the “Gentle Giant” due to him being mild-mannered.

As to what Norris and Ross McWhiter, the founders of the Guinness World Records back in the year 1955, the only acceptable evidence about the height of giants are the recent date made under medical supervision. Basically, it is like a “to see is to believe” kind of concept. King of Bashan was supposedly the recorded tallest person to have ever lived with his allegedly 16 feet tall figure but unfortunately, there are some miscalculations about units which is why the data about the King of Basha was disregarded.

This is why the twin founder brothers of Guinness World Records are regarded as the tallest man alive with such records and evidence that are irrefutable.

Robert Wadlow’s height was first measured when he was just the age of 22. It was measured that he had a towering height of 2.72 metres or about 8 feet and 11 inches (8 ft. 11.1 in).

It was surprising when he was born on February 22, 1918, he was no different than other babies born into the world. When Wadlow was still an infant, he weighed about 3.85 kilograms or 8.7 pounds.

But when he started to age, he just rapidly and abruptly shot up to a staggering height of 1.63 m or 5 feet and 4 inches tall at the age of 5 years old! For a toddler that is extremely tall because toddlers usually are 3 feet or probably smaller. This is the reason why at age 5, Wadlow had to wear teenage clothes when he was only just a toddler.

By the time he was 8 years old, he was 5 feet and 11 inches tall. Due to this, Wadlow outsized his entire family. Normally for children at that age, they would still remain small and would not tower over their parents since during age 8, children are usually about 4 feet tall or probably even smaller. With Robert’s towering height, he could even lift his father while climbing the stairs.

Despite the fantastic height Robert Wadlow possesses, his height caused him to undergo medical issues that worsened as he grew older. When he was younger, he tried to participate in activities so that he would not miss so much of his youth. When he was 13 years old, he joined the Scouts training and he had to have uniforms and tents customised because he was extremely tall.

Spectacularly, at the age of 17 years old, he reached the mark of 2.45 metres or about 8 feet tall which makes him the tallest teenager ever. By the year 1936, he graduated high school and entered college for the intentions of studying law.

Robert Wadlow’s Celebrity Career

As the time passed, Robert grew a little taller than before. Later that year, Wadlow would sometimes go on a tour with the popular brothers of Ringling Brother Circus and due to this, Wadlow had gained popularity worldwide.

He started getting interviews from popular radio stations as well. One time, he was interviewed for a radio station and he was asked if he was annoyed when he got stares from people due to his height and he told the interviewer, “No, I just overlook them.”

The mild-mannered man started to gain popularity and with him as a start-up celebrity status, he gained money from it. He also went on a promotional tour with International Show Company which is now called INTERCO, and the company agreed to make shoes for him for free. Robert Wadlow had a foot size of 47 centimetres long which is about 18.5 inches long. This size is equivalent to 37AA in the US standard of shoe size (if in the UK, it is about 36, a roughly European size of 75) – thus making him having the largest feet in the world. His shoes cost about $100 back in the day but if it is sold in today’s currency exchange, it would amount to $1,5000 or 1,026 GBP.

What was the Cause of Robert Wadlow’s Height?

It is no shock that Wadlow’s height is extremely questionable since both of his parents are indeed tall but that does not mean that their offspring could outsize them by almost 2 feet. Medical experts diagnose the cause of Robert’s Wadlow height was because of hyperplasia found in his pituitary gland. This is the cause of high amounts of his human growth hormone levels to produce and Wadlow was not given any treatments or remedies to his disease.

Wadlow usually consumed about 8,00 calories on a daily basis which caused him to grow taller until he died.

Ever since then, the medical treatments for such diseases had been advanced and were given the chance to tall people with pituitary gigantism to have their surgical operations in order to put a halt on the production of their growth hormones.

Sources:

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records/hall-of-fame/robert-wadlow-tallest-man-ever