2 meter person. The tallest people on the planet

Robert Pershing Wadlow is the tallest man in world history, about whose growth there is undoubted information.

Wadlow's parents were rather average height (father was 180 cm tall and weighed 77 kg); he (the first-born) had two younger brothers and two sisters, of normal height. Until the age of 4, Robert had normal height and weight for his age, but from that moment he began to grow rapidly and attract everyone's attention. At 8 years old, he had a height of 1 m 88 cm, at the age of 9 he could carry his father in his arms up the stairs, and at 10 years old he reached 198 cm in height and 100 kg in weight. At 18, he already had a height of 254 cm, weighed 177 kg and wore shoes in size 37AA (75 European); by this point Wadlow, now an All-American celebrity, was making shoes for free.

Over time, Wadlow's health deteriorated: due to his rapid growth, he had limited sensation in his legs, he began to need crutches. On June 27, 1940, his height was measured for the last time in St. Louis - the giant's height was 2.72 m. On July 4, 1940, during a speech on the occasion of Independence Day in Manistee, Michigan, a crutch rubbed Robert's leg, which caused an infection and rapidly developing sepsis. Doctors tried to save the life of the famous American with a blood transfusion and surgery, but on July 15, the tallest man in the world died in his sleep.

Wadlow's funeral was attended by 40,000 Americans: his coffin weighed half a ton and was carried by 12 people. Wadlow's grave was carefully concreted at the request of his family, who feared that Robert's remains would be stolen. On his grave is written only: "Rest in peace" (At Rest); his monument is twice the standard in the cemetery.

Source: Guinness World Records

7 Useful Lessons We've Learned From Apple

10 deadliest events in history

Soviet "Setun" - the only computer in the world based on the ternary code

12 never-before-seen images from the world's best photographers

10 Greatest Changes of the Last Millennium

Unattractive Tutankhamun

Pele was so good at football that he paused the war in Nigeria with his game

More than once a sad schoolboy came with his head bowed and the words “why should I know physics if I don’t want to be some kind of scientist.” And after all, even adults find it difficult to answer the question why they need to learn these formulas, axioms, laws and postulates. By the way, far from one profession is associated with this science, here is a detailed list: pilot, radio mechanic, train driver, gas cutter, engineer, aircraft mechanic, programmer, climatologist, etc. To master most technical specialties, you must have the skills taught in school in this lesson. The knowledge gained will help the child become intellectually developed, he will be able to support any conversation and will know many interesting facts.

Also, physical laws surround people everywhere, we just don’t think about it. Let's look at everyday examples in which such skills come in handy.

First, movement. Everything on the planet is constantly moving, including the celestial bodies themselves. We can use physical formulas to calculate the time it takes us to get to a certain place.

Secondly, the force of attraction. Everyone knows the bizarre story about Newton and the apple. After all, for sure, each of us has often wondered why this or that object flies to the ground at such a speed, one breaks when it falls, and the other does not.

Third and most importantly, everything in the world consists of atoms and molecules, the features and functioning of which are studied by this area. Therefore, in order to better know not only the structure of the entire cosmos and our specific Earth, but also to know oneself, it is necessary to assimilate school material. A solution book written by professional methodologists and published by the Exam publishing house in 2015 will help with this.

Why does everyone like the educational and methodological complex in physics so much, a collection of tasks for grades 7-9 (author: A.V. Peryshkin)

The proposed guide will be useful not only for those who do not understand the topics in the lessons. Excellent students will have the opportunity to practice and consolidate their skills, go through sections in advance to be more confident in the lessons. Advantages:

• will allow you to prepare well for the upcoming control and final tests;
• the presence of correct answers to all compiled tasks;
• the site is compatible with all types of modern devices for accessing the Internet;
• online mode.

The contents of the collection with GDZ in physics, a collection of tasks for grades 7-9 from Peryshkin

• accuracy, measurement error;
• aggregate states of matter, difference in molecular structure;
• interaction, mass of bodies;
• pressure in liquid and gas. Calculations;
• work, power, energy.

If some people only dream of extra centimeters in height, then others, on the contrary, experience great discomfort and a desire to be in the role of a dwarf, especially when your height is more than 2 meters and you can hardly find clothes and shoes in size, you can’t get on public transport and lie down freely on a standard-sized bed. This is exactly how the tallest people in the world live sadly and not quite cheerfully.

The first on this list is Bao Xishun, whose height reaches 2 m 36 cm. The giant lives in China, in a country where people are mostly short.

Before him, the title of the tallest man was held by the Ukrainian Leonid Stadnik, who had a height of 2 m 53 cm, weighed more than 200 kg, and his palm size was 32 cm, which is also an absolute record. Leonid began to grow at a tremendous speed at the age of 12, due to a violation during a pituitary gland surgery, and by his 40 years he had a shoe size of 62. Note that a native of Pakistan who wears shoes has the largest foot in the world, just think , size 72. However, in 2014, Leonid died at the age of 44 from a brain hemorrhage.

If you study history and turn time back several centuries, then the tallest man in the Russian Empire was the peasant Fedor Andreevich Makhnov. It is believed that at that time (XIX) he was the tallest man on the planet, since his height was 2 m 85 cm, foot length - 51 cm and palm - 32 cm. Fedor weighed about 180 kg and earned his living by who performed in the circus. It is surprising that Fedor took a not low girl for his wife. The wife's height is 2 m 15 cm, and their five children also reached the 2 m bar.

The title of the tallest man on earth, now living, goes to Sultan Kesen from Turkey. His height is 2 m 51 cm. Such a large growth is due to a pituitary tumor. In addition, being a giant is not entirely pleasant for Sultan Kesen, since a man has to move only on crutches, and it is extremely difficult and expensive to find suitable clothes and shoes for himself.

The branch of the championship "The tallest man in the world", according to the official data of the Guinness Book of Records, belongs to Robert Pershing Wadlow, who was born in 1918 in Michigan, USA. Robert, like our previous hero, suffered from a pituitary tumor and acromegaly. Unfortunately, the man lived only 22 years, and grew throughout his short life. At the age of 8, his height reached 1 m 88 cm, at 18 years old - 2 m 54 cm, and at the time of death - 2 m 72 cm, and weight - 199 kg. As he grew, Wadlow's health only worsened, and later, against the background of an infection, he developed sepsis, and despite all the efforts of doctors, the good giant died in 1940. The coffin of the tallest man in the world weighed almost half a ton, and was carried by 12 people. Tens of thousands of people came to the funeral of the famous American. That's how famous Robert Wadlow was among his countrymen.

At one time he was known all over the world, but now he is almost forgotten. He would have turned 135 this year. With a weight of 182 kilograms, his height was ... 285 centimeters!

Fedor Andreevich Makhnov was born on June 6 (18 according to the new style) June 1878 in the village of Kostyuki, Staroselsky volost, Vitebsk district. He came from an ancient family, whose ancestors moved to Russia from the south, from Syria. Makhnov's parents, as well as his two sisters, were of quite normal growth; his grandfather was very tall, but in any case not a giant.

The boy was born very large, and his mother died in childbirth. Fedya was brought up by his grandfather, who loved him very much. The gifts of an amazing child appeared early. At the age of 8, the kid could lift an adult, his father taught him to play the harmonica.

At the age of 12, he took the “bar” of 2 meters. I could sleep more than 24 hours in a row.

Other children laughed at him because of his height. For this, he took off their hats and hung them on the ridge of the roof of a bathhouse or a barn. Due to the growth of his son, Fyodor's father had to rebuild the hut, raising the ceilings. With the increase in growth, the strength of the boy also grew. He could lift an adult man, pull a hay cart on his own, help in the construction of houses, lifting heavy logs.

The local landowner Korzhenevsky, having learned about the abilities of the young strong man, hired him to clean the nearby Zaronovka River from boulders that interfered with the operation of the water mill. Prolonged work in very cold water played a very unfavorable role in Fedor's life. He caught a cold, and the illnesses that followed later made themselves felt for the rest of Makhnov's life.

By the age of 14, a 2-meter young man ceased to fit in the house. Because of this, my father had to build up walls on several crowns. The local blacksmith was ordered to make an individual bed, but he, overloaded with work, made it all summer. In the end, it turned out that Fedya had outgrown this bed as well.

It was problematic to dress and shoe a tall guy. Everything was made to order. Money for clothes had to be earned in Vitebsk at the Polotsk Bazaar. It was there that the German Otto Bilinder, who owned a traveling circus, noticed an unusual teenager.

The enterprising German quickly realized what benefits could be derived from the growth of the boy and suggested that Fedya's father let his son go to Germany to perform in the circus.

Speeches poster

It didn’t take long to persuade his father, and the 14-year-old boy went to conquer Europe with his abilities. Otto Bilinder took custody of Fedor. First, for an illiterate guy, he hired teachers who taught him German. Otto took over the teaching of circus art. Fedor's training lasted almost two years. When he was 16 years old, a contract was signed with him for performances. So Fedor Makhnov became a circus artist.

In Berlin, Otto Bilinder settled the guest at his home, taught him circus tricks. Fyodor broke bricks with the edge of his hand; unbent and bent horseshoes and thick nails; lying on his back, he raised the platform with three musicians along with the instruments. But people came to the circus to look first of all at the artist himself - the real Gulliver. And he grew by leaps and bounds. By the age of 25, he reached 2 m 85 cm.

The bet in his speeches was made on power numbers. More than two and a half meters tall, the giant bent iron horseshoes with one hand, smashed bricks with a blow of his hand, twisted metal rods into a spiral, and then straightened them again. Particularly successful were the numbers when he, lying on his back, raised a wooden platform with an orchestra of three musicians. In those days, Greco-Roman (classical) wrestling tournaments were very popular in circuses. Famous strongmen and world-class wrestlers, including Russian titans Zaikin and Poddubny, took part in them.

Fedor Makhnov also participated in similar tournaments. True, he did not become a great athlete due to the fact that the world's best wrestlers always came out against him, and a chronic back disease did not allow him to fully show his talents. However, his appearance in the arena alone caused a storm of delight from the public.

Makhnov devoted nine years to work in the circus, after which he became a completely wealthy person. However, great growth also brought a lot of trouble to Fedor. It was hard for him to move, since all transport, hotels, catering establishments were calculated only for people of standard sizes. Because of this, Fedor returned home to his native Kostyuki at the very beginning of the 20th century. For the money earned in circus performances, he bought from the landowner Korzhenevsky, who left for France, his land and house. Makhnov rebuilt the estate to fit his height, furnished it with suitable furniture and renamed it Velikanovo. All the necessary building materials and furniture were sent to him from Germany by Otto Bidinder, with whom Fedor maintained close friendly contacts until the end of his life.

Having settled in a new place, Makhnov decided to get married. And although by nature he was very kind, and he was not deprived of finances, he found a bride with great difficulty. She became Efrosinya Lebedeva, who worked as a rural teacher. As a girl, she was tall, but still inferior to her fiancé by almost a meter. In 1903, the first daughter Maria appeared in the family, and the next year the son Nikolai was born.

To replenish the family budget, from time to time Fedor went to various wrestling tournaments, performed in circuses, demonstrating his abilities in various cities of the Russian Empire.

Fedor in Europe

Archival information about the stay of the giant Makhnov in the German capital in 1904 has been preserved. The Germans were ready to fulfill any whims of the Belarusian Gulliver. In the middle of winter, Fyodor wanted strawberries - they delivered them to him. In Holland, in Paris, he repeatedly violated the contract, once they wanted to imprison him for hooliganism, but the cells of the Paris police could not accommodate people of such height.

Fedor with his wife Efrosinya

In 1905, the Makhnov family went on a tour abroad. Traveling in Western Europe, they visited France, Great Britain, Belgium, Holland, Italy. The Pope himself honored them with an audience. According to family tradition, he took off his golden cross and gave it to the giant's daughter. The Makhnovs also visited the USA. To do this, however, had to redo the cabin of the steamer.

These trips were not without incidents. At receptions in palaces, Fedor lit cigarettes from candles from the upper tiers of chandeliers, which extinguished them.

In Paris, he had a skirmish with several citizens. The police officers who arrived wanted to send the giant to jail, but not finding a suitable cell, they limited themselves to a conversation.

During dinner at the German Chancellor, a huge tea set was placed in front of Makhnov, but Fyodor did not appreciate such a “joke”, demanding to replace it with an ordinary mug.

Fedor on a trip abroad

While in Germany, Fedor always wanted to return home. When he saved up enough money, he left for his native Kostyuki, despite the fact that the owner persuaded him to stay. Height did not allow living in his father's house. At this time, the landowner Krzhizhanovsky was just selling his estate. Makhnov bought it along with the land, rebuilt the house according to his own parameters. From Germany, Otto Bilinder sent him furniture. Thought about getting married. It turned out to be the hardest question! Girls of ordinary height did not dare to marry such a thug. And where to find him to match? Finally, the whole world found a bride - teacher Efrosinya Lebedeva. For a girl, she was tall - 1 m 85 cm. She was two years younger than Fedor, but outlived her husband by 35 years, she died in 1947. Played a wedding. In 1903, their daughter Maria was born, in 1904 their son Nikolai was born. In 1911-12, the Makhnovs had three more children. Thus, the Makhnovs had five children in total. None of them grew above two meters. They lived together, in love and harmony. Fedor was a kind man, loved his children, helped the peasants. And from Germany there were invitations to return to the circus again ...

Together they traveled the world. Fedor attended a reception at the German Chancellor, at an audience with the Pope, who liked Fedor's little daughter Maria so much that he took off his gold cross on a chain and presented it to the girl, at a reception at US President Theodore Roosevelt. So that Makhnov could cross the ocean, the cabin of the ship was remade for him. Efrosinya liked this life, she even wanted to stay in Germany.

But when the German doctors began to persuade them to sign a contract, according to which, after death, the giant’s corpse would be left to them for scientific research, she was afraid that something could suddenly happen to Fedor, and they left home.

In Paris, almost all members of the Anthropological Association showed great interest in the extraordinary physical data of the giant. They wanted to examine it more thoroughly, but Makhnov refused to undress in front of doctors all his life, allowing them to measure only the length of his feet and palms - 51 cm and almost 35, respectively.

His ears were 15 cm long and his lips were 10 cm wide, which must have made a certain impression on his wife, a woman of normal size, when they kissed. After a few days of rest, he always got taller. This was due to the extraordinary ability of his spine to decrease and contract under the influence of large loads.
He ate, like everyone else, four times a day, but his breakfast could feed the average family for two days. According to the materials of the press, it is known how our giant ate. In the morning he ate 20 eggs, 8 round loaves of white bread with butter, drank 2 liters of tea. For lunch - 2.5 kg of meat, 1 kg of potatoes, 3 liters of beer. In the evening - a bowl of fruit, 2.5 kg of meat, 3 loaves of bread and 2 liters of tea. And before going to bed, he could still swallow 15 eggs and a liter of milk.

As anthropologists rightly noted, this inhabitant of Belarus “is only legs.” His boot, barely reaching the giant’s knee, reached the chest of a normal person, and a 12-year-old boy could fit in it with his head. If Fedor had been born without legs, he would hardly have reached average height. His head, which was unusually small with such a huge body, gave him an unusually ridiculous appearance, which he tried to hide by wearing a richly decorated Cossack uniform.

A long nomadic life undermined Makhnov's already not very good health. The chronic disease of the joints, earned in childhood in the cold water of Zaronovka, aggravated. It became more and more difficult to walk. Otto Bilinder tried to help Fedor by sending a heavyweight horse from Germany. Unfortunately, the sent animal did not solve the problem, because with its nearly three-meter height, the giant's legs still dragged along the ground when he mounted it. And although Fedor became very attached to the horse, he preferred to take the troika as the main means of transportation on trips.

Traveling abroad brought a lot of new things to the economic life of Fyodor Makhnov. Almost the first in the district, he began to use agricultural machines, purchased by him in Germany and kindly sent by Bilinder. For a while, he even bred horses.

Unfortunately, Fyodor Makhnov did not live long. In 1912, chronic illnesses finally crippled the giant's health, and he died at the age of 34, having, however, managed to rejoice before that at the birth of three more of his children: daughter Masha (1911) and twin sons Rodion (Radimir) and Gabriel (Galyun) born just six months before his death. The exact reason for such an early departure of Makhnov's life was never determined. German doctors believed that Makhnov died from bone tuberculosis, which many giants suffered from. According to other sources, he caught a cold and got pneumonia. The version of poisoning by rivals on the wrestling mat is also not ruled out. According to the grandson, there is a version that Fedor, having moved to the farm, did not leave the performance in the circus. He often traveled to Germany with his family.

The Vitebsk giant was buried at the local cemetery near the village of Kostyuki. Russian Sport magazine published an obituary announcing his death.

The growth of Fyodor Makhnov, even after his death, continued to amaze everyone. The undertaker, thinking that there had been a mistake in the order for the coffin and the fence, did the job for the average person. When it turned out that he was mistaken, he had to urgently remake the coffin, and there was no time left to remake the fence, and he had to leave it.

On the surviving tombstone, one can still read the inscription: “Fedor Andreevich Makhnov, born on June 6, 1878, died. On August 28, 1912, in the 36th year, the Biggest Man in the World Rostom Was 3 arshins 9 vershoks.

The story about Fyodor Makhnov can be supplemented by the fact that his height on the tombstone is indicated incorrectly. He was taken from a contract with Bilinder, signed by the giant at the age of 16. Since that moment, Fedor has grown another 30 cm.

The giant's wife subsequently wanted to correct the mistakes on the tombstone and remake the fence, but the outbreak of the First World War and the revolutionary events that followed prevented her from doing this.

In 1934, the remains of Makhnov were exhumed for scientific purposes and sent to the Minsk Medical Institute for study. During the war, the giant's skeleton was lost, like many other things. Only a photograph and a description made by Professor D.M. have survived. Dove.

There is also such a version of how this happened: in 1935, the son Rodion studied at the Minsk Medical Institute, and at one of the lectures on giantism, the professor cited the example of Fyodor Makhnov. What was the amazement of everyone when Rodion got up and said that this was his father. It was then that he was asked to talk to the family about the sale of his father's skeleton. The mother agreed to sell for 5 thousand rubles. After the death of her husband, she married a second time, gave birth to three more children. Money was needed... Many people were present during the exhumation, including a widow and children. In 1936, Minsk professor D.M. Golub published an article on the skeleton of acromegalic in the collection of works of the Psychoneurological Institute of the Belarusian Academy of Sciences. Acromegaly is characterized by hyperplastic changes in the skeletal system, soft parts, and most internal organs. Simply put, all giants suffer from gigantism.

However, according to descendants no one opened the grave, much less sold anything! The remains disappeared after the Second World War, they were supposedly taken to Germany, because. even before the revolution, the German Academy of Natural Sciences wanted to get them.»

Today, the children of Fedor and Efrosinya Makhnov are no longer alive. All lived a difficult but worthy life. During the years of collectivization, the Makhnov family wanted to be dispossessed and deported, but the peasants interceded and were left in peace. Nikolai and Gavrila were officers, they went through repressions. Rehabilitated. Rodion became a doctor and during the Great Patriotic War he was shot by the Nazis for his connection with the partisans. The elder Maria worked all her life as a livestock specialist, and the younger Masha worked as an accountant. All children were more likely to grow to their mother - 180 - 190 cm. Makhnov's descendants were scattered around the cities and villages of Belarus and Russia. On the site of the former estate, only a birch remained, perhaps planted by Fyodor Makhnov himself. And the names of the Giants' Farm, the Giants' Forest remind the locals of the tallest man in the world who once lived in these places.