Humans are not the tallest living beings on Earth, but among the billions populating this planet, there exist some extraordinarily tall individuals whose heights seem scarcely believable. Though the average person rarely exceeds six feet, there are men and women who hold record-breaking heights, towering over almost everyone they encounter. Reaching over eight feet brings unique advantages like seeing great distances, but also disadvantages like difficulty finding properly fitting clothing and cars. Let's look at 15 real-life giants who stand out today due to their exceptional stature.
Sultan Kösen, a Turkish farmer born in 1982, holds the Guinness World Record for tallest living man at 8 feet 2.8 inches. Kösen's abnormal growth stemmed from gigantism and acromegaly caused by a pituitary gland tumor. Though his height helps him assist family and friends, clothing that fits, shoes, and gloves that accommodate his record-breaking 11.2-inch hands prove challenging to find.
At 7 feet 0.7 inches, Rumeysa Gelgi is the tallest living woman. The Turkish software developer's height results from Weaver syndrome, a rare condition spurring excessive growth hormone production. Gelgi uses a wheelchair but can walk short distances with a walker. She wishes to leverage her unique stature to raise awareness for similar conditions.
Other remarkably tall individuals, living and historic, include Pakistani Zainab Bibi, French wrestler André the Giant, Iranian volleyball player Morteza Mehrzad, Chinese women Yao Defen and Sun Fang, Ukrainian-American Igor Vovkovinskiy, Robert Wadlow, Neil Fingleton, Shaquille O'Neal, Russian model Ekaterina Lisina, and more.
While dealing with both advantages and disadvantages, these real-life giants stand out for their extraordinary heights, reminding us of the incredible diversity that exists among the billions of humans on our planet.
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