Anatomy
SUPERHUMANS
SHORTEST LIVING
PEOPLE (MOBILE)
Jyoti Amge (IND, left)
measured 62.8 cm
(2 ft 0.7 in) tall on
16 Dec 2011 – her
18th birthday. She
had previously been
the shortest female
teenager.
Khagendra
Thapa Magar (NPL,
right) – previously
the shortest male
teenager – measured
67.08 cm (2 ft 2.4 in)
tall on 14 Oct 2010.Humans glow. Our bodies emit tiny amounts of light, a thousand
times weaker than the human eye can perceive.Most fingers and toes
(polydactylism) at birth
India’s Akshat Saxena was born with 14 fingers
(seven on each hand) and 20 toes (10 on
each foot), as confirmed by doctors
on 20 Mar 2010. Akshat subsequently
underwent a successful operation to
reduce his number of fingers and toes
to 10 apiece.Longest fingernails on one hand (ever)
The fingernails on the left hand of Shridhar
Chillal (IND) reached an aggregate length of
909.6 cm (29 ft 10.11 in), as measured in
Pune, Maharashtra, India, on 17 Nov 2014.
The longest nail was on the thumb and measured
197.8 cm (6 ft 5.8 in).
The longest fingernails on a pair of hands
(male, ever) belonged to Melvin Boothe (USA).
Boothe’s nails had a combined length of 9.85 m
(32 ft 3.8 in) when measured in Troy, Michigan,
USA, on 30 May 2009.
The longest fingernails on a pair of hands
(female, ever) belonged to Lee Redmond (USA).
She began to grow her nails in 1979 and carefully
manicured them to reach a length of 8.65 m
(28 ft 4.5 in) by 23 Feb 2008. Sadly, Lee lost her
nails in a car accident in 2009. For the woman
who currently has the longest nails, see p.64.Tallest athlete to compete
at a Paralympic Games
Measuring 2.46 m (8 ft 0.85 in), Morteza
Mehrzad Selakjani was a member of Iran’s sitting
volleyball team at the Rio Paralympic Games in
Brazil on 7–18 Sep 2016. He helped his team to
the gold medal, top-scoring in the final with
28 points. Even when sitting down, Selakjani’s
right hand can strike the ball from a
height of 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m).Tallest living man
Sultan Kösen (TUR, b. 10 Dec
1982) measured 251 cm (8 ft
2.8 in) in Ankara, Turkey,
on 8 Feb 2011. He also
boasts the widest hand-
span: 12 in (30.48 cm),
as measured in the
Guinness World Records
office in London, UK,
on 7 May 2010.
The tallest living
woman is Siddiqa
Parveen (IND). Initial
reports put her height
at 249 cm (8 ft 2 in) –
unfortunately, becauseof ill health and Ms Parveen’s inability to stand
upright, it is impossible to ascertain her exact
stature. Dr Debashis Saha, who performed
the examination on Ms Parveen, estimates her
standing height to be at least 233.6 cm (7 ft 8 in).Tallest twins (male)
Identical twins Michael and James Lanier (both
USA) of Troy, Michigan, both stand 2.235 m
(7 ft 4 in) tall. They played basketball at the
University of Denver and UCLA, respectively.
Their sister Jennifer is 1.57 m (5 ft 2 in) tall.
The tallest twins (female) are Ann and
Claire Recht (both USA). They were measured
on 10 Jan 2007 and found to have an average
overall height of 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in). Both sisters
are volleyball players.Tallest married couple (ever)
Anna Haining Swan (CAN, 1846–88) was said to
be 246.38 cm (8 ft 1 in) tall but, in fact, measured
241.3 cm (7 ft 11 in). On 17 Jun 1871, she married
Martin van Buren Bates (USA, 1837–1919), who
stood 236.22 cm (7 ft 9 in). The lofty couple’s
combined height was 477.52 cm (15 ft 8 in).Shortest woman (ever)
Pauline Musters, known as Princess Pauline
(NLD), measured 30 cm (1 ft) at birth. When she
died at the age of 19 in 1895, her post-mortem
examination confirmed her height as 61 cm (2 ft).
Chandra Bahadur Dangi (NPL), the shortest
man ever, measured 54.6 cm (1 ft 9.49 in), as
verified in Kathmandu, Nepal, on 26 Feb 2012.Shortest twins
Matyus and Béla Matina (b. 1903–c. 1935) of
Budapest, Hungary, who later became American
citizens, both measured 76 cm (2 ft 6 in).Most variable stature
Adam Rainer (AUT, 1899–1950) is the only person
in medical history to have been both a dwarf and
a giant. At the age of 21 he measured just 118 cm
(3 ft 10.5 in), but then started to grow rapidly. By
1931, he had nearly doubled in height to 218 cm
(7 ft 1.75 in). He grew so weak as a result of his
growth spurt that he became bedridden and
was to remain so. At the time of his death, he
measured 234 cm (7 ft 8 in).TALLEST ACTOR
Neil Fingleton (UK, left, with GWR Editor-in-Chief
Craig Glenday in 2008) measured 232.5 cm (7 ft
7.53 in). He swapped the basketball court for the
movie set, appearing in X-Men: First Class (USA/
UK, 2011), 47 Ronin (USA, 2013) and Jupiter
Ascending (USA/AUS, 2015). Neil also featured
in TV series Doctor Who and Game of Thrones,
playing the wildling giant Mag the Mighty (right)
in the latter. Sadly, Neil died on 25 Feb 2017.Q: Hypertrichosis is an
abnormal amount of
what on the human body?
A: HairHairs are fine,
thread-like strands
of protein (largely
keratin, which is also
a part of fingernails
and toenails) that
grow on every part
of the body apart
from areas such as
the soles, the palms
and the lips.Back: 13 cm (5.1 in)-^
Craig Bedford (UK), 9 Nov 2012
Abdomen: 16.77 cm (6.6 in)-^
Elaine Martin (USA), 25 Jan 2013
Nipple: 17 cm (6.69 in)-^ Daniele Tuveri (ITA), 13 Mar 2013
Ear: 18.1 cm (7.12 in)-^
Anthony Victor (IND), 26 Aug 2007
Arm: 18.9 cm (7.44 in)-^
Kenzo Tsuji (JPN), 22 Oct 2012
Eyebrow: 19.1 cm (7.5 in)-^ Zheng Shusen (CHN), 6 Jan 2016
Leg: 22.46 cm (8.84 in)-^ Jason Allen (USA), 25 May 2015
Chest: 23.5 cm (9.25 in)- Zhao Jingtao (CHN), 13 Sep 2014
100%
LONGEST
HUMAN HAIRS