Science Proves All Things Short and Unhappy

Turns out that tall people lead better lives, so say scientists that polled more than 454,000 adults.  These folks were polled via telephone and asked about their height and how they viewed their lives.  Reporting in the journal Economics and Human Biology, the scientists found that taller people judged their lives more favorably and overall expressed more positive emotions– in part because they tended to have higher incomes and education.

Taller men and women were more likely to report enjoyment and happiness, and less likely to report pain and sadness.  Taller men, although not taller women, also worry less.

How did these eggheads define tall?  For men above average height was 5ft 10in (177.8cm) and for women above the average height was 5ft 4in ( 162.6cm). However one of the researchers, Angus Deaton from Princeton University said, “surprisingly people who say that their lives are the ‘best possible’ are slightly shorter on average.”  So what was the point of the study?

If they sampled randomly, who dishes on the phone with a complete stranger about how lousy and screwed up their life is?  The study did acknowledge that a person could be “too tall” and not benefit from the positive association between height, happiness, and income.

Being taller than 6ft 5in (195.6cm), psychologist Dr Colin Gill pointed out at that height, “It is about as tall as people think is normal, beyond that you are odd and life becomes very difficult.”

Meet 27 year-old Sultan Kosen, from Turkey.  He was just announced as the world’s tallest man at 8ft 1in (2.47m) by Guinness World Records.  Suffering from pituitary gigantism, Mr. Kosen has trouble finding clothes, cars, furniture, and doorways that accommodate his frame. He hopes that his new found fame will help his love life.

“Up until now it’s been really difficult to find a girlfriend. I’ve never had one, they were usually scared of me.  I’m hoping now I will find one.”

He went on: “Hopefully now that I’m famous I’ll be able to meet lots of girls. I’d like to get married.”

He does seem positive in that he explained, “the good thing about being so tall is that I can see people from a long distance. The other thing is at home they use my height to change the light bulbs and hang the curtains, things like that.”