Quick Bits About Height

We've collected these amazing facts about height

Taller Every Morning
You are tallest in the morning because the joints in your backbone pull apart slightly when you are lying in bed. During the day, gravity squeezes the bones together and you can lose as much as 1 inch (2.5 cm) of height. (more)

You have more than 200 joints in your body. There are about 40 joints in your hand alone.

Tall People Have Longer Legs
The thighbone, or Femur, is the biggest bone in the body. An average adult femur is about 20 inches (51 cm) long - half the length of a baseball bat - and it's up to 2 inches (5 cm) thick.

While individual lengths may vary, someone close to 7 feet tall could have a femur that is 24 inches (63 cm) long that's 2 feet!

Extremes of Height
The tallest Person on record is Robert Pershing Wadlow, who was 8 feet, 11 inches (2.7 m) tall. Since he died in 1940 there have been many contenders for the title of tallest living person.

Pauline Musters who was only 21.65 inches (55 cm) tall, takes the prize for the shortest person ever.

Growth
In general and barring any accidents, larger animals live longer than smaller animals.

As you grow, not all parts of your body get bigger at the same rate.

Height is an hereditary characteristic. Heredity is the passing on of traits from parents to children. Height can also be affected by general health and nutrition this means that being really tall is part nature and part nuture.