How TALL is 'tall'?

[Valandil]

When reading JRRT's books, we get a lot of vague references to (among other things) various characters who are 'tall': Elrond is tall, Aragorn is tall, Boromir is tall - not as tall as Aragorn, but broader... Elendil was known as 'the Tall'...

Nothing specific in the main books, so it's left to our imagination just what 'tall' means. Possibly because the main books are written from a hobbit-centric POV, and they couldn't distinguish very well from down there the difference between: 6'-2", 6'-4", 6'-6", etc. Probably a good thing anyway... Tolkien describes a LOT, but is still able to make great use of his readers' imaginations.

So I thought of Boromir as 6'-2"/6'-3" - maybe 6'-4" - and built like an NFL linebacker - running about 240 lbs or so (oh - metric - I guess we're talking 190 cm and 110 kilos). Aragorn between 6'-4" and 6'-6" - maybe about Michael Jordan's build - about 220 - 225 lbs. (195-197cm? and right about 100 kilos?)

Anyway - I got UT this past spring and got my mind blown! I read "The Disaster of the Gladden Fields" first - which is followed by some extensive notes on Numenorean measure. Their basic unit (oh - what was the name? The book's at home - I'll edit later to add it if nobody else does) is about 38" - just short of a meter (what is that - about 96cm?). Two of these (6'-4") were considered 'man-high' and was 'average' for a Numenorean man of late Second/early Third Age - and it's there we're told that Galadriel was of the same height. The REAL KICKER of all this was where it says that Elendil was almost 2 1/2 of these!!! A full 2 1/2 would be 7'-11" (~240cm)!!! What WAS he... like 7'-8"? 7'-10"??? That just sounds WAY too tall!!!

Started thinking about the other characters: Were some of them commesurately taller than I had thought? We are told that those heights declined through the Third Age - along with Numenorean lifespans. What about the First Age Elf and Men heroes? The ancestors of Elendil from those times? How tall were Elros and Elrond??? Were THEY well over 7' tall?

What do you guys think? It totally changes my concept of these characters with these extreme heights (and makes it hard to not think of them as uncoordinated!:p ).

[Artanis]

As far as I know, JRRT have not told us anywhere the height of any of his characters, except for Elendil, who is said to have been 7"11'.

Edit: I dug up a post from some time ago, by Inderjit Sanghera, from his posts he seemed to know his stuff so I think his words can be trusted:I don't think I ever said Thingol 9 foot if I did it was a silly assumption on my part. I think he may have been 8 foot-ish+ since Elendil, who stood at a height of about 7"10 and he is never specifically mentioned as being 'tallest of the Elves/Men" one can assume the 'tallest of the Edain' Tuor were taller and people like Argon, Turgon, Penlod and Thingol were taller, by a few inches maybe. Just speculation on my part, since Tolkien never gives a specific height on indivdiual people, apart from Elendil, though he does say the Noldor and Hadorians averaged 7 feet;

[Valandil]

Interesting... Tolkien doesn't even say that Elendil was tallest of the Edain though. He only says he was tallest of those who escaped the downfall of Numenor. One wonders if the royal family of Numenor was even taller though.

Does Inderjit Sanghera still post?

[Falagar]

Originally posted by Valandil
Interesting... Tolkien doesn't even say that Elendil was tallest of the Edain though. He only says he was tallest of those who escaped the downfall of Numenor. One wonders if the royal family of Numenor was even taller though.

Does Inderjit Sanghera still post?
He drops in now and then, as far as I know.

[Artanis]

Originally posted by Valandil
Does Inderjit Sanghera still post? No - haven't seen him around for many months. :(

Edit: Drops in? But he doesn't post? Sneaker.

[Valandil]

So how tall do you guys picture: Elrond, Aragorn, Boromir... etc?

(EDIT: and... any idea where Tolkien says the Noldorians and Haldorians averaged about 7' tall? Funny - I had always pictured the House of Beor as slightly taller than the house of Hador. And was Tolkien talking about all the people in those groups... or just the leaders?)

[Artanis]

I've never really cared about their height - I guess since I'm so small myself the height of people usually falls into one category: Taller than me. :D

Boromir - wasn't he described as a big man? I mean, both tall and strong.

[Falagar]

Boromir was a bit less in height than Aragorn, but Boromir was "broader and heavier built".

[Valandil]

Interesting that you two respondents (to date) on this thread so far are both Norwegians! (whom I think of as a tall people):) Are most people still pretty tall up there??:D

[Artanis]

Originally posted by Valandil
Are most people still pretty tall up there??:D Funny - other people here have asked me the same thing. I don't think we're any taller than others? :confused:

[Falagar]

Originally posted by Artanis
Funny - other people here have asked me the same thing. I don't think we're any taller than others? :confused:
Artanis: Stop giving us away!

Yeah, I think so. The average height is about 9 feet, is that tall?...

;)

[Valandil]

Originally posted by Falagar
Yeah, I think so. The average height is about 9 feet, is that tall?...

;)

Oh?... you folks have very small feet???:D

[Dúnedain]

I could have sworn I read something that said Aragorn was between 6'5"-6'7". That's how I have always pictured him as well, and Boromir being just a tad shorter...

[Attalus]

I have always thought of the Noldor as over 7', taller than the other Elves.

[Lefty Scaevola]

The Nolder (Tatyar) tender to be taller than the other elves. In a passage describing the Imyar, Tatyar, & Nelyar, they are compared to tall straight cedars, the others to less tall trees.

[Valandil]

Oh... finally looked it up: The unit of measure I was looking for was called a ranga ... it was approximately 38"

[Dúnedain]

Originally posted by Valandil
Oh... finally looked it up: The unit of measure I was looking for was called a ranga ... it was approximately 38"

Which means??? lol what did these ranga consist of? Was there a passage that they were used in?

[Valandil]

Originally posted by Dúnedain
Which means??? lol what did these ranga consist of? Was there a passage that they were used in?

(Rats! Don't have the book with me again...)

It's just their standard unit of measure. If you have UT - it's in the notes after 'The Disaster of Gladden Fields' - something like 'A Note on Numenorean Measure'... I think it was something like the heel of trailing foot to the toe of the leading foot at a leisurely step... and I think it mentions that a marching step could be much more than that (1 1/2 ranga??). I'm mostly going off memory - so don't hold me to this, until someone can look it up and post it.

The whole thing comes up because Tolkien goes into detail about the travel plans of the march from Osgiliath to Imladris - and the trip itself - and standard Numenorean marching procedures (cross-country and otherwise).:)

[Artanis]

UT, Númenórean linear measures:
The Númenórean ranga was slightly longer than our yard, approximately thirty-eight inches, owing to their great stature. Therefore five thousand rangar would be almost exactly the equivalent of 5280 yards, our "league:" 5277 yards, two feet and four inches, supposing the equivalence to be exact. This cannot be determined, being based on the lengths given in histories of various things and distances that can be compared with those of our time. Account has to be taken both of the great stature of the Númenóreans (since hands, feet, fingers and paces are likely to be the origin of names of units of length), and also of the variations from these averages or norms in the process of fixing and organising a measurement system both for daily use and for exact calculations.
Thus two rangar was often called "man-high," which at thirty-eight inches gives an average height of six feet four inches; but this was at a later date, when the stature of the Dúnedain appears to have decreased, and also was not intended to be an accurate statement of the observed average of male stature among them, but was an approximate length expressed in the well-known unit ranga. (The ranga is often said to have been the length of the stride, from rear heel to front toe, of a full-grown man marching swiftly but at ease; a full stride "might be well nigh a ranga and a half.") It is however said of the great people of the past that they were more than a man-high. Elendil was said to be "more than man-high by nearly half a ranga;" but he was accounted the tallest of all the Númenóreans who escape the Downfall [and was indeed generally known as Elendil the Tall]. The Eldar of the Elder Days were also very tall. Galadriel, "the tallest of all the women of the Eldar of whom tales tell," was said to be man-high, but it is noted "according to the measure of the Dúnedain and the men of old," indicating a height of about six feet four inches.
The Rohirrim were generally shorter, for in their far-off ancestry they had been mingled with men of broader and heavier build. Eomer was said to have been tall, of like height with Aragorn; but he with other descendants of King Thengel were taller than the norm of Rohan, deriving this characteristic (together in some cases with darker hair) from Morwen, Thengel's wife, a lady of Gondor of high Númenórean descent.Hmmm - let's convert these numbers to the metric system also:
38 inches - that's almost 1 meter, 0.9652 metres, to be exact. So man-high would be 1.93 metres. That's tall enough.

And Elendil would be nearly 2.4 metres. A giant.

[Wayfarer]

Yes. The commentary on height and measurement is certainly interesting.

For example, is Elendil's stated height of almost eight feet before or after the decline of the numenoreans? If it was after, then the numenoreans of the early second age would have been formidable indeed.

The question of when the measurement originated comes up again when you try to determine how tall the various characters were. If it was a measurement still commonly applied in the third age, then 6'$" is a bare /minimum/ for the heights of characters like Aragorn and Boromir, and by assoiciation a lot of the other lordly folks.

Something else that has crossed my mind is that the orc chieftan in moria was described as /almost/ 'man high'. Using this measurement, that would put him at above six feet in height. That would mean an average orc in those days was probably as large as if not larger than your average human today.

Another thing to consider is that hobbits were mostly in the three-foot range. That's short even by our standards, but compared to Aragorn, Boromir, or Legolas they must have been positively tiny.

[Thorin II]

Going along with this, I remember reading somewhere that Gandalf was 7' tall. I also remember reading that Aragorn was the tallest member of the Fellowship.

Hobbits must've been foot stools.

[Dúnedain]

With those calculations and descriptions Elendil would have been 7'9" :eek:

[Nurvingiel]

So Halflings really are Halflings. Go Pippin, Merry, Sam and Frodo!

[Artanis]

Originally posted by Dúnedain
With those calculations and descriptions Elendil would have been 7'9" :eek: He was 7'11" , actually.

[Valandil]

Originally posted by Thorin II
Going along with this, I remember reading somewhere that Gandalf was 7' tall. I also remember reading that Aragorn was the tallest member of the Fellowship.

Hobbits must've been foot stools.

I don't recall that about Gandalf. He and the other Istari were said to be as men in appearance... and I don't think necessarily Numenoreans. I believe we're told that Elrond is taller than him - and I don't think we're given an actual height for either.

[Dúnedain]

Originally posted by Artanis
He was 7'11" , actually.

38" + 38" + 19" = 95" = 7'9" :D

[Dúnedain]

Does it specifically state Elendil was 7'11"?

[Radagast The Brown]

Originally posted by Dúnedain
38" + 38" + 19" = 95" = 7'9" :D Artanis said in the beginning of the thread that Elendil's height was mentioned - 7'11. Probably one of the versions wasn't accurate.

[Dúnedain]

Originally posted by Radagast The Brown
Artanis said in the beginning of the thread that Elendil's height was mentioned - 7'11. Probably one of the versions wasn't accurate.

I am aware of that, but if it wasn't written specifically as 7'11", then it can't be as a result of the calculations of the Rangar. Plus 7'9" may even be too tall, since it described Elendil as "more than man-high by nearly half a ranga". So it says "nearly half a ranga". We know half a ranga = 19", but nearly doesn't mean it is half, so it could very well be a bit shorter than that. Unless of course it says specifically he was 7'11", but no one provided an actual quote other than saying they read that...

[Artanis]

I have no clue how to do math in feet and inches.

Let's see:
1 foot = 0.3048 metres
1 inch = 2,54 centimetres

1 ranga = 38 inches = 0.9652 metres
2,5 rangas = 2.413 metres = 7' 11"

Well?

[Dúnedain]

Originally posted by Artanis
I have no clue how to do math in feet and inches.

Let's see:
1 foot = 0.3048 metres
1 inch = 2,54 centimetres

1 ranga = 38 inches = 0.9652 metres
2,5 rangas = 2.413 metres = 7' 11"

Well?

hehe, I don't know the conversions either, lol. That is probably how we are getting different outcomes. Either way he is damn tall! lol

[Artanis]

Ha!
1 foot = 12 inches, correct?
That is: 95" = 7' 11"

Phew ...

[Dúnedain]

You know what is weird about all of this as well is how the heights have declined and whatnot. Granted I can understand it when the blood of Numenor is mixed with that of lesser man, but in looking at the Numenoreans themselves it kinda doesn't make sense, just in comparison with modern people. It's interesting to note that in the world we know today the average height of humans is constantly going up and even with having smaller parents. For example, my father is 5'10" and my mother is 5'2". You would think I would be relatively short or at least near my father's height, because it usually seems that children are often closer to the height of their father (especially guys anyway). But not me, I am 6'5"! How, I have no idea, but I am certainly their offspring, lol. It's strange too, because no one in my family is over 6' except for me. My grandfather was 6' and he was the tallest until I came along and yet I still surpassed him by 5"!

So with that being said, and looking at Elendil as an example, I wonder what the actual heights of Isildur and Anarion were. I mean in a comparison state from humans today and how our heights are naturally increasing, the Numenoreans were naturally decreasing. Maybe it was the beginning of the fated decline of the blood of Numenor, before the blood was even intermingled...

[Radagast The Brown]

Artanis - 95:12 = 7.916, and 2.413 meters are 7.92 feet.

[Artanis]

Originally posted by Radagast The Brown
Artanis - 95:12 = 7.916, and 2.413 meters are 7.92 feet. And the point is ... ? :confused:

[Dúnedain]

Originally posted by Artanis
Ha!
1 foot = 12 inches, correct?
That is: 95" = 7' 11"

Phew ...

Yes, but but 95" divided by 12 = 7.9 :D

1 inch = 0.0833333333 feet

So, 95 inches multiplied by 0.0833333333 feet = 7.9166666635 feet :D

Here is a convertor, I just found it:

http://www.metric-conversions.org/length/inches-to-feet.htm

[Artanis]

Originally posted by Dúnedain
Yes, but 95" divided by 12 = 7.9 :D

1 inch = 0.0833333333 feet

So, 95 inches multiplied by 0.0833333333 feet = 7.9166666635 feet :D

Here is a convertor, I just found it:

http://www.metric-conversions.org/length/inches-to-feet.htm You're such rascals! :rolleyes: :p
0.9166666635 feet = 11 inches and you know it. :D

[Radagast The Brown]

Originally posted by Artanis
And the point is ... ? :confused: My point is that Dunedain was right. Elendilk was about 7.9 feet tall, if the quote you gave is correct.

[Artanis]

No, Radagast, you're wrong. See above post. :)

[Dúnedain]

Originally posted by Radagast The Brown
My point is that Dunedain was right. Elendilk was about 7.9 feet tall, if the quote you gave is correct.

*Jumps around like Gollum reclaiming the Ring and yelling PRECIOUS! PRECIOUS!!* :p

[Radagast The Brown]

Wait one minute... :mad: these feet are confusing. Lucky me, I don't have to use them.

Sorry Artanis - I'm still puzzled though... :o

[Artanis]

Originally posted by Radagast The Brown
Wait one minute... :mad: this feet are confusing. Lucky me, I don't have to use them.

Sorry Artanis - I'm still puzzled though... :o I feel lucky for not having to use them too! The metric system is the only sensible ... :cool:

[Dúnedain]

Just use these converters:

http://www.metric-conversions.org/length/inches-to-feet.htm

http://javascriptkit.com/script/script2/inchconvert.shtml

http://www.economatics.co.uk/industrial/conversiontables/conv04.htm

The outcome is all the same :D

[Thorin II]

Don't mock our archaic units of measure. :D

In either case, I find it interesting how Tolkien made his "best" people extremely tall. He definitely seems to consider it a virtue.

[Wayfarer]

Oh, come on. I can't stand metric. Centimeters (and Decimeters) are too small to be useful in my day to day measurements, and the Meter is too large and unweildy.

The metric system simply has nothing that would make me want to use it.

Honestly. What good does it do me to say I'm about 150 centimeters or 1.5 meters tall? It just strikes me as imprecise and unhelpful.

And well I'm at it, (to bring the subject back on topic) I'd like to know what kind of psychos these numenoreans were with their measurements! Come on, I know it's supposed to be the length of a stride, but that just doesn't strike me as particularly useful.

[Nurvingiel]

Originally posted by Thorin II
Don't mock our archaic units of measure. :D

In either case, I find it interesting how Tolkien made his "best" people extremely tall. He definitely seems to consider it a virtue. Hobbits?

[Wayfarer]

He made them short- also a virtue. ;)

Actually, it seems to me that the elves and high men have the 'noble' virtues- Height, beauty, wisdom, strength, and so on, while the hobbits have the 'simpler' virtues- contentedness, endurence, and so forth.

[Radagast The Brown]

Originally posted by Wayfarer
Oh, come on. I can't stand metric. Centimeters (and Decimeters) are too small to be useful in my day to day measurements, and the Meter is too large and unweildy.

The metric system simply has nothing that would make me want to use it.

Honestly. What good does it do me to say I'm about 150 centimeters or 1.5 meters tall? It just strikes me as imprecise and unhelpful.
No they're not. And if you're 1.5 meters you are small no matter which system you use. :p It's just tat you're used to your sustem. the matric system is simple - ten centimeters, for example, will give you a decimeter, and ten decieters will give you a meter. and then a 1000 meters gives a kilometer. Simple!

[Earniel]

Originally posted by Wayfarer
Honestly. What good does it do me to say I'm about 150 centimeters or 1.5 meters tall? It just strikes me as imprecise and unhelpful
It may not do any good to you but I find it a lot more useful and precise since a simple 150cm saves me a lot of trouble calculating. :D With centimeters and millimeters I find the metric system a whole lot more precise than so many feet and then some.

[Nurvingiel]

Originally posted by Wayfarer
Honestly. What good does it do me to say I'm about 150 centimeters or 1.5 meters tall? It just strikes me as imprecise and unhelpful. Are you really that short? Cool. I agree with you, being short is a virtue! (I'm only 15 cm taller than you, not much.)

[Thorin II]

Originally posted by Wayfarer

Actually, it seems to me that the elves and high men have the 'noble' virtues- Height, beauty, wisdom, strength, and so on, while the hobbits have the 'simpler' virtues- contentedness, endurence, and so forth.

Well put. My point is that Tolkien seems to link nobility to height. Interesting, given that he wasn't a tall man...

[Wayfarer]

It's just tat you're used to your sustem. the matric system is simple - ten centimeters, for example, will give you a decimeter, and ten decieters will give you a meter. and then a 1000 meters gives a kilometer. Simple! So you're saying you like metric because you're a simpleton and your brain can't handle any calculations other than multiplying by ten? :p

And no, I'm not 1.5 meters. That was an example.

[Radagast The Brown]

Originally posted by Wayfarer
So you're saying you like metric because you're a simpleton and your brain can't handle any calculations other than multiplying by ten? :p

And no, I'm not 1.5 meters. That was an example. No- but it's easier to remmeber how much every centimeteer worths, for example, because of that.

Didn't think you are.

[Wayfarer]

How much every centimeter is worth. Right. ;)

Allthough I will give you this- It would be awfully weird playing Freelancer or SFC using english measurements. :D

[Willow Oran]

Metric conversions are evil. They seem simple but if you're used to feet and inches then metric is just plain confusing.

Anyway, how do the calculated heights for these characters compare to your imagined heights for them?

Personally I find the two to be quite a bit different in most cases. I find it difficult to imagine the proportions for somebody who is between seven and eight feet tall without getting a ridiculously stretched image that doesn't look at all noble. (And conversly a rather squashed image for the hobbits.) I've found that the best way to envision say an elf's height is to think of the character in terms of the drawing rule where the figure should be about eight heads tall. Does anyone else do something similar?

[Nurvingiel]

I just imagine everyone in heights relative to each other. I imagine hobbits to be taller than they really are though. (My average hobbit is about 4 feet tall, and I believe the average is 3 1/2 feet.)

[Valandil]

Willow - I think you touched on one of the things I'm thinking of... with characters THIS tall, it's hard for me to visualize the proportioning. I most easily think of some of the tallest NBA players - like Manute Bol and Shawn Bradley (is that his name?) - guys who are like 7'-6" or 7'-8" and just very, very slender. Their shoulders look narrow because of their height, etc. It's hard to picture the heroes of JRRT's books looking this way.

The 8 heads rule is something to think about - and maybe we think in terms of them having the same proportional width as someone in the 6' or 6'-6" range - but that would make them seem monstrous! (and did these Elves have like really big heads?:D ) Hah - also makes me think of another basketball player... what was his name? He was a freshman at Illinois the same year I was (uh-hum - 1981-82), in the same dorm - he was like 6'-9" tall, VERY skinny and had a real small head, proportionately. Some people called him "beanpole":)

[ethuiliel]

Wait one minute... these feet are confusing. Lucky me, I don't have to use them. I do, and it is confusing. Inches, feet, and yards are okay, but once you get to miles it gets very confusing, I can never remember how many feet or yards are in a mile.Oh, come on. I can't stand metric. Centimeters (and Decimeters) are too small to be useful in my day to day measurements, and the Meter is too large and unweildy. That's the thing I like about feet and inches. I guess I like both systems, just different aspects of each.

[Valandil]

Originally posted by ethuiliel
I do, and it is confusing. Inches, feet, and yards are okay, but once you get to miles it gets very confusing, I can never remember how many feet or yards are in a mile.

Oh, that's easy: 5,280 feet, or 1760 yards, which is 8 furlongs, with each furlong being 660 feet or 220 yards, because you see an acre is one furlong by one-tenth furlong, which is 660 feet by 66 feet, making 43,560 square feet in an acre, so that 10 acres is an eighth of a mile square, 40 acres is a quarter mile square, 160 acres is a half mile square and 640 acres is a mile square!

See... Easy!:D

[ethuiliel]

Oh, that's easy: 5,280 feet, or 1760 yards, which is 8 furlongs, with each furlong being 660 feet or 220 yards, because you see an acre is one furlong by one-tenth furlong, which is 660 feet by 66 feet, making 43,560 square feet in an acre, so that 10 acres is an eighth of a mile square, 40 acres is a quarter mile square, 160 acres is a half mile square and 640 acres is a mile square!
See... Easy! Huh?

Back on topic...
I always imagined the men and wizards to be tall, but somewhere between 6 and 7 feet. It seems I underestimated them.

[Wayfarer]

*thwaps Valendil, because he deserves it.*

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Just to drop in my two cents:

Metric system is uber-efficient evil Borg measurement.

English system is measurement with a soul.

Nyah. :p

[Earniel]

A very unpractical soul, then. :p

Oh, and: You will be assimilated.

So there.:D

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Arrrgh! Damn you, Borg Queen! ;)

[Turgon_Turambar]

I think it says somewere that Elendil was well over 7 feet tall.

[Earniel]

Originally posted by Gwaimir Windgem
Arrrgh! Damn you, Borg Queen! ;)
Yer asking for some nanites, boy. And they ain't need to be tall. :p

[Valandil]

Originally posted by Turgon_Turambar
I think it says somewere that Elendil was well over 7 feet tall.

Yeah... maybe the first post in this thread! ;)

[Count Comfect]

About the dimensions of these amazingly tall Numenoreans/Elves, etc... one must imagine them to be very very wide, partly because they are described as athletic, strong, swift, etc. and unless they are very wide (in proportion or more to their height, in fact) their thighs would give way because of the immense weight bearing down on them due to the added weight from their height. So I wonder... how wide did Tolkien actually imagine? Maybe that explains why hobbits are so easily just picked up by Gandalf, Aragorn, etc... they aren't just shorter, they are much lighter because they are thinner too.

[ethuiliel]

Maybe that explains why hobbits are so easily just picked up by Gandalf, Aragorn, etc... they aren't just shorter, they are much lighter because they are thinner too. Dispite the fact that they eat six meals a day. Makes sense though.

[Valandil]

btw... last week I saw an internet article about a guy from a small town in Russia. He's 30 years old and is still growing... he's now 8'-4" tall - which makes him the tallest currently living person (and now within about 7" of the tallest in modern times - someone in the Guiness Book of World Records). Apparently he had an operation (when he was 14?) that messed with his pituitary gland - and he's just continued to grow. He says it's hard to travel (fitting into cars, on buses, trains, etc), work outside (getting warm enough boots or shoes his size) - and all kinds of things.

I'm thinking the guy would make a mint if he could get himself to Hollywood... just being an extra or wearing costumes in movies where they need someone who is massively tall (like next time someone wants to do a 'David & Goliath' movie - or whatever). Or, if he could even learn a few basic skills about blocking out & positioning, maybe the Chicago Bulls should be drafting the guy. :)

[Count Comfect]

And maybe we could make the Sill with him as one or more of those tall men ;)

[Mrs Maggot]

Correct me if I'm wrong… but is that not 2.5 METRES tall?! I would be up to this guy's elbow!

[Valandil]

Originally posted by Mrs Maggot
Correct me if I'm wrong… but is that not 2.5 METRES tall?! I would be up to this guy's elbow!

Yes - since the conversion factor for inches to centimeters is 2.54, 8'-4" equals exactly 100" = 254 cm or 2.54 meters tall, for you metric users out there.

Has anyone else seen anything about this guy? Anyone want to be his agent? :p

[ranger]

i never really thought about that... so when they say tall, they really mean TALL!i am a ranger.... no really i am...... really..... ( you dis my family, friends hobbies.......YOU ARE GOIN DOWN!!!!) aragorn (viggo) rocks!!!!!

[Last Child of Ungoliant]

Originally posted by Valandil
Oh, that's easy: 5,280 feet, or 1760 yards, which is 8 furlongs, with each furlong being 660 feet or 220 yards, because you see an acre is one furlong by one-tenth furlong, which is 660 feet by 66 feet, making 43,560 square feet in an acre, so that 10 acres is an eighth of a mile square, 40 acres is a quarter mile square, 160 acres is a half mile square and 640 acres is a mile square!

See... Easy!:D

how can you remember so many silly comparisons?
surely it is easier metric...??

10 mm=1 cm
10cm=1 dm
10 dm=1m
1000 m=1 km

mm= millimetre
cm= centimetre
dm= decimetre
m= metre
km= kilometre

is that not muuuch easier??

so, what is tall by today's standards, and what is short by today's standards?

I am between 4 and 5 ft (nearer the 5 ft mark?)
is that teeny weeny for an 18 yr old?? lol
:D
(small but perfectly formed)
:p

[ethuiliel]

What wrong with us Americans....are we crazy, do we want to make everything complicated, or are we just plain stubborn?!? I personally prefer metric because it's easier to calculate, but I use both.

[Radagast The Brown]

Originally posted by Valandil
btw... last week I saw an internet article about a guy from a small town in Russia. He's 30 years old and is still growing... he's now 8'-4" tall - which makes him the tallest currently living person (and now within about 7" of the tallest in modern times - someone in the Guiness Book of World Records). Apparently he had an operation (when he was 14?) that messed with his pituitary gland - and he's just continued to grow. He says it's hard to travel (fitting into cars, on buses, trains, etc), work outside (getting warm enough boots or shoes his size) - and all kinds of things.

I'm thinking the guy would make a mint if he could get himself to Hollywood... just being an extra or wearing costumes in movies where they need someone who is massively tall (like next time someone wants to do a 'David & Goliath' movie - or whatever). Or, if he could even learn a few basic skills about blocking out & positioning, maybe the Chicago Bulls should be drafting the guy. :) Valandil, you do know he's going to die soon? I saw an article on him on TV, he's from Ukraine I tihnk, not Russia. It can be fixed, apperently - in another operation - but the family doesn't have enough money. So if he wouldn't have this operation soon he'd die.

Edit - I didn't understand, how many furlongs are a mile?

[Valandil]

Originally posted by Radagast The Brown
Valandil, you do know he's going to die soon? I saw an article on him on TV, he's from Ukraine I tihnk, not Russia. It can be fixed, apperently - in another operation - but the family doesn't have enough money. So if he wouldn't have this operation soon he'd die.

Edit - I didn't understand, how much furlongs are a mile?

That's sad to hear... I hope something works out. It'd be great if someone in Hollywood would cover the cost and bring him in to use in special roles requiring a tall 'extra'.

Eight furlongs in a mile.

[Telcontar_Dunedain]

Surely tall can only be compared to others of the same culture. A hoobit that was 4'3 would be a big hobbit yet a man, an elf or even a dwarf of that size would be miniscule. Bandrobas Took was a massive hobbit at 4'5 when fully grown but Bergil son of Beregond was almost 5' and he was only 10.