But you didn’t answer how the air is “up there”.
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Aren’t there potentially confounding factors besides nutrition and disease? It might be that taller/shorter people fare well in certain climates and environments for other reasons.
For instance, the northern European countries tend to be fairly cold, so it would be beneficial to be closer to the sun. Conversely, in a hot desert climate short people might be well-served by being able to fit into small shelters or burrow underground.
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Tax-funded socialized medicine = taller people?
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The graph I posted is “% of population earning <$2/day,” and it seems to correlate ridiculously well with the “tallest people” graph.
I think we should get around to solving that poverty thing, and then we can start looking for other confounding factors.
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The last two women I dated were something like 5’2" and 5’3", respectively. And that was okay (if I like someone, I don’t much give a damn for their physical attributes), but lately I’ve been working on dating women who are more in my realm of ‘size’.
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Pretty sure if you dig deep enough you’ll find that all the above correlate to wi-fi access.
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Wee fish on flatbread and its lowering of human value per BMI-adjusted mass; maps TBA.
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Yeah, but my suggestion teases out the difference between the US and Canada.
Oh, I see the confusion. No, there was a leak of supreme awesomeness around a hundred and fifty years ago that has contaminated everything: the air, the soil, the water.
Anyway, one of the side effects is a couple of extra inches.
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I’m sure nutrition has a lot to do with it. I grew up in various European countries during the 60s and 70s. Most of the adults around me were of the WW2 or post-war generation, and everywhere except Sweden (which was neutral during WW2), by the time I was a teen I’d be one of the tallest people in a bus or in other crowds. (I was almost 6 feet).
I no longer stand out.
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I’m 6’3", wear size 14-15 shoes, and can palm a basketball. Know what that correlates with?
Shoes are damn expensive 
Btw, when did 5’9" become short?
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If you’re a man. I’ve been called a “giant” and “very tall” in North America, and I’m only 175cm. In Europe they don’t note my height at all.
I wonder how much the average height has to do with culture, not just tradition. The Netherlands doesn’t just have the nutrition thing happening. Dutch men are also more okay with tall women than, generally speaking, North American men.
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Doesn’t show causality. Maybe short people make less money because they’re not as good as tall people.
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Sure, that’d be the main factor, no question. But on your graph, the US, Australia and the Netherlands are all the same colour, whereas the height graph shows the Netherlands have a better health system than Australia, which has a better health system than the US.
My folks are 5’8" and 5’2", and I’m 5’10", so he’ll probably be at least a bit taller…
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That’s it! You want to prove who’s better? Let’s throw down!
On my graph, they’re all at the lowest level (<2%) — we might see better correlation if there were more granulation in the data within that 2%.
Or not, I don’t know.
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Can’t help it.
Few years ago I was hiking/swimming with friends along the northern part of the Arroyo Seco river in California. At one point there’s an outcropping of rock with a deep-enough point of the river about 30+ feet below, it’s a common spot for people to jump into the river with plenty of spots nearby to watch and hang out. Some crusty locals (large white dudes, lots of tats, headbands and so on) were jumping from the rock, when one of them paused briefly to literally beat his chest and scream at the top of his lungs to (or at) some women down below, “I’M A MAN, BAYBEEEEEEEE”…and then he lept, with no flourish whatsoever, anti-climatic, into the river.
So when I see that phrase (and it’s not often), that whole stupid scene plays out in my head (thanks for that).
Amsterdam was neat because it’s close to the only place people didn’t stare or double-take at me–it was absolutely lovely.
Which is shameful, North American dudes, but you keep that up since it widens my dating pool. 
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