Talk:Robert Wadlow

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Contents

[edit] Metric?

Shouldn't this article made more metric? Nobody except some Americans and Brits find all those inches, feet and pounds very informative.

[edit] Where's Wadlow?

I could see why Waldo would be harder to find than Wadlow :)

-G

[edit] Leg braces

Given that there is evidently disagreement, I thought we should discuss here whether or not leg brace is an article that should be linked to. The first thing I wish to clarify, which may have been too abbreviated in my edit summary, is that it is generally encouraged to link to articles that don't yet exist, as long as they someday might. This allows people who find the "red link" to follow it, create the page, and immediately have other articles pointing there. You will note that International Shoe Company is also linked; one day, maybe someone will write an article on it.

The question is therefore whether there should be an article on leg brace. It seems like a reasonable enough term to want to look up in an encyclopaedia - in reading that "he had to use leg braces", one might easily be interested as to what these were, and when and why they are used. Thinking about it, though, the article is likely to be more inclusive: Brace, I note, lists multiple meanings, including Brace (orthopaedic); perhaps we should link the phrase "leg braces" to that (as yet non-existent) article instead. What do you think? - IMSoP 16:07, 22 Apr 2005 (UTC)

[edit] He was a Freemason.

He was a Freemason. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 132.241.245.49 (talk • contribs) 13:31, 19 July 2005 (UTC)

FreeMason? Please tell us where you got the idnformation that he was a freemason. That sounds interesting if it is true. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 216.99.204.122 (talk • contribs) 18:02, 29 July 2005 (UTC)
An Alton, Illinois history page states that he was a member of DeMolay and, presumably shortly before he died, a Mason. —rebug (talk) 00:07, 25 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Newspaper articles

Here are some newspaper articles with content to later be included (by myself or others) with proper references. -- BRIAN0918  18:46, 6 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Wadlow's physical dimmensions

Ht. 8 ft 11.1 ins [272cm] as recorded by Dr. Cyril MacBryde and Dr. C. M. Charles. He stood 9'1 with shoes.

Wt. 491lbs [222kg] at age 21.

Shoes: US men's size 37AA [47cm] the same as modern size 29 US men's

Hands: 12.75 ins [32cm] from carpus to top of middle finger

Ring size: 25 (3.95 inches in circumference).

Wingspan: 9 ft 6 ins [290cm]

Standing Reach: Approx. over 12 ft [365cm] —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 216.99.204.102 (talk • contribs) 01:40, 17 January 2006 (UTC)

Interesting thought...what about scoliosis, curvature of the spine? I read somewhere that it is present in about all of gigantism cases. It was used to re-calculate Zeng Jinlian's height to get her over 8 feet. A look at Wadlow's photos when he was older seem to me to reveal some back abnormalties(Note the twist in his posture, in his torso area). It seems that you add that to their height(like John F. Carroll and Zeng) Wadlow would be over 9 feet tall. Of course, the exact amount would require medical analysis, exhumation, and his surviving family would nix that. Mytg8 14:53, 14 April 2006 (UTC)
He probably stooped a bit, which some extremely tall people do. There's nothing recorded about his having had any problem like that. 67.71.142.224 13:40, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Wingspan

Wingspan? What the hell are you talking about? Anyway, "wingspan" is the same as height. Always was and always will be for any individual. -G —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 64.231.132.149 (talk • contribs) 23:08, 12 June 2006 (UTC)

Except that these types of pituitary disorders are known to disort limb length disproportionately. It's not inconceivable for his wingspan to be greater than his height.

-NPW —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.21.231.187 (talk • contribs) 12:32, 30 June 2006 (UTC)

Actually, many people have wingspans which are quite different from their height. Just measuring, my wingspan is almost two inches longer than my height. Nleamy 18:53, 11 October 2006 (UTC)


Oh contrare... mon amis...

I am 5 ft 6 in. in height, yet my wingspan measures out to 6 ft. 2 in. even.

You shouldn't believe everything you hear. Test it for yourself. I bet you that your wingspan is longer than your height.

-G- (Mandy) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.183.238.134 (talk) 15:17, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Are Robert Wadlow's measurements accurate?

When the Doctors in St. Louis measured him, was he measured with his shoes on or off?

If he was measured with them on, he should be listed as 8 ft 9, not 8 ft 11.

If indeed he was 8 ft 11, barefoot, then He would have stood 9 ft 1 in his shoes. (assuming his heal was 2 inches or more tall. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Tuscaloosa11 (talk • contribs) 05:44, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Basketball

I know he was fragile and all, but the guy would have been a deadly baller. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 05:58, 9 March 2006 (talk • contribs) 67.170.176.203.

He needed leg braces just to walk...no he wouldn't. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Brodey (talk • contribs) 04:24, 11 March 2006 (UTC)
The braces must have been for support and correction for bone growth. He obviously wasn't fit for Basketball,unless it was full-time goal tending.
Aside from his handi-cap he was a rather healthy young man until about aged twenty. But ultimately, even if he had the best medical care, he propbably wouldn't have reached much over 30 given his fastly progressing disease. By age 22 he needed a cane to walk, and probably would have needed a wheelchair within a few years. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 207.225.65.89 (talk • contribs) 00:54, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
It wouldn't have mattered if he'd been able to walk very well or not. He was so tall, he could have stood under the net and they would have fed him the ball. It wouldn't have made for very exciting basketball. Maybe it would have brought about some rule changes. I don't know much about basketball, but I think that in Robert's day there wasn't much money in it, and at the time they thought big guys weren't as agile or as co-ordinated, and the game was played by much shorter men. 67.71.142.224 13:45, 29 October 2006 (UTC)
The main effects of his appearing on the court on the other team would be mainly psychological. Physically, though his height would obviously be an advantage his fragility and inability to walk unsupported would have enabled his opponents to score quite a few times. (No matter how tall your opponent is, you can still score if he isn't blocking you.) Littleghostboo[ talk ] 09:21, 8 November 2006 (UTC)
There is a video on Youtube showing him "playing" basketball. However, when he was 12 he couldn't play baseball; he could bat but couldn't run with those size 25 feet.Mytg8 06:07, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] What if Wadlow had reached age 30?

How tall could he have grown? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 207.225.65.89 (talk • contribs) 01:01, 20 March 2006 (UTC)

I highly doubt that he would have reached 30, but if he had, then I would guess he'd probably be somewhere around 10 ft. / —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 85.228.218.15 (talk • contribs) 20:21, 27 March 2006 (UTC)
10 feet?? That's fricking huge. He would've hit his head on a basketball rim. If he was a NBA player that would certainly be a herculean sight. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 207.225.65.89 (talk • contribs) 01:08, 3 April 2006 (UTC)


There's no reason why he couldn't have reached 30. 67.71.142.224 13:42, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

No one would ever get that tall today. Now they can shrink the tumour on the pituitary gland so it would stop him from growing. So no one today is likely to ever get that tall again, at least in developed countries. 4.142.78.107 09:22, 8 September 2007 (UTC)eric

[edit] Time of death

We say he died at 12:40 pm on 15 July 1940. Guinness Book of Records says he died at 1:30 am that day. Seems to me there's no value in recording the time of a notable person's death 65 years ago, so given this discrepancy I intend to remove it. JackofOz 08:58, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Shoe size

Guinness also says his shoes measured 18.5 inches/47 cm, but we say 19.3 inches/49 cm. Does anyone have documentation for this detail? JackofOz 08:58, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Interesting link

Here's an interesting link: http://www.rabbitbrush.com/hickson/wadlow.html In the link, there's also a photo (it was in the main article previously). —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 85.228.197.105 (talk • contribs) 18:32, 27 June 2006 (UTC)


HERE'S ANOTHER SUPERB LINK http://robertwadlow.blogspot.com/ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.202.53.21 (talk) 03:08, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Gigantism

The article says that Gigantism, the dissorder Wadlow had, usually involves only the trunk and lower extremities, and that the head and trunk are of more or less normal size. This actually seems to be a partial fallacy. Gigantism often has certain early characteristics in childhood accompanied by macrocephaly (an enlarged head), hands, and feet. Though Wadlow's head and trunk were not in the same proportion to his height as most humans, his head (an est. 12 inches tall from chin to scalp) was much larger than an average person's head which is c.9-inches tall.

Just for the record, Wadlow was measured at 8'11.1" barefoot. Several well trained doctors aren't going to measure the world's tallest man with shoes on, and especially not using those sort of exact figures including the one tenths of an inch. In this regard, Wadlow was a legitimate Nine-foot-one ins tall in his shoes, and the only man to surpass 9-ft if he had hypothetically been in the NBA. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.59.155.91 (talk • contribs) 05:30, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Redundancy

I just noticed that there is a reference to the pituitary glandtumor not only in the introduction, and them a re-statement of it in the section titled "Today". Was this intentional, or is it an accidental redundancy? I would think stating it once in the introduction should be enough. Rookie Rover 00:47, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Death by Leg Braces?

A few weeks back, I was watching an episode of Ripley's Believe it or Not! where they discussed whom I believe was Robert Wadlow (he was an incredibly tall man from the early 1900s and died in his 20s). I don't recall any mention of leg braces though; they said that the man's uncomfortable, oversized shoes had to be custom made for him and that a nail in one of them caused an infection in his foot which lead to his ultimate demise. Am I thinking of someone else, or is this actually an old, debunked tale on Wadlow's death? Cale 06:57, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Did he shrink?

He diden't shrink thats so weird, duh! you can't shrink! what are they thinking!!??

In the 'Early life' section the last sentence states: 'At 19, he was 8 ft 6 in (260 cm) and weighed 435 lb (31 stone/197 kg)', but in the next section it is said that 'When Robert was 21, he reached 8 ft 3 ½ in (252.7 cm) tall.'. Obviously the first figure is more true than the latter because he could not possibly grow 7.5 inches in only one year. Or could he?

I find it hard to believe he shrunk only to start growing again... 85.226.253.247 01:43, 31 October 2006 (UTC)

I think it's supposed to say 8 ft 8 ½ in.

lol, 8 feet 8 1/2 in? lol

[edit] Duration of growth

He showed no indication of an end to his growth even at the time of his death. - I sincerely doubt that he showed no indication that he was going to stop growing at his time of death... -bladebot 01:27, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Is it said that people stop to grow at the age of 19/20. So why did he grow even as an adult? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.247.109.210 (talk) 01:43, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Only 22

In the "Later years and death" section of the article, in the sentence concerning his death, it reads: He was only 22 - This doesn't sound very encyclopedic, if no one minds i am going to change it to He was 22. 218.186.9.1 12:55, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

I did it ∆ Algonquin 11:01, 11 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Gravestone

The article states that his gravestone simply reads, "At Rest". However, the link to Find A Grave [1] has photographs of his grave, which clearly doesn't read "At Rest" anywhere on it. --Jordan Elder talk 23:25, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

Exactly. It's a basic regular headstone with dates. So I deleted that sentence. -70.152.240.37 05:51, 6 July 2007 (UTC)


The gravestone does read "At rest" in small letters at the bottom of the stone. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.244.187.141 (talk) 23:36, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Handsome Family tune

Added a reference to the (rather beautiful) song "The Giant of Illinois," by the Handsome Family. Right now there's a bootleg Andrew Bird cover of this on YouTube, but the original sounds *much* better. The lyrics include a reference to an incident in which Wadlow and a friend supposedly killed a swan (I wonder if that's true). Anyway, if you're interested, you can perhaps listen to a brief preview of the Handsome Family singing their song here: http://www.last.fm/music/The+Handsome+Family/_/The+Giant+of+Illinois ThaddeusFrye 02:26, 25 September 2007 (UTC)

Ok, looking at the links from the Handsome Family Wikipedia article, I also found a recording from a live performance: http://ia310107.us.archive.org/1/items/hf2001-11-25.sbd.shnf/hf2001-11-25d1t12_64kb.mp3 —Preceding unsigned comment added by ThaddeusFrye (talk • contribs) 02:35, 25 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Wadlow reached 9 feet 1 1/2 inches? this is an error

[edit] Family in California

Robert Wadlow's living cousin and other relatives reside in Atascadero, California. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.176.234.147 (talk) 02:49, 22 December 2007 (UTC)

--71.222.40.209 03:05, 29 October 2007 (UTC)