Posted on 04/08/2015 7:17:23 AM PDT by blam
America used to be the world’s tallest nation until 2007 when Holland passed us. In 1850 the average American was 2.5 inches taller than your average European. The change has mostly come from opening the floodgates to immigrants in the 1960s. We imported a lot of people shorter than the average American. No doubt better nutrition in other nations, especially Asia, has increased their height. But the biggest reason why America lost its standing as the tallest nation in 2007 is the simple importing of 10s of millions of immigrants over the past 50 years.
I was an exchange student in holland about 30 years ago. The Dutch were tall back then. I remember walking into a bar and being the shortest person there - and I am about 6’.
All the Dutch I knew smoked cigarettes, and drank beer and coffee, all day and night. I figured that is what made them so tall.
I should have said non western European immigrants. Our nation is nothing but immigrants and offspring, but I mean when we changed in the 1960s from primarily western European immigrants to mostly Hispanics from the western hemisphere..
That so depressed them so much they stopped thinking about having sex. Naturally, it was the taller Dutch people who paid Randy Newman to write the song.
In fact the original lyrics Newman wrote were "short Dutch people, got no reason to live...etc." The word Dutch was excised for the American market.
My mother’s side of the family is from Norway as is my mother in law’s family. My family says it’s their Norwegian roots that makes them short. My husband ‘s family says the same thing about their being fairly tall. At a family reunion a few years ago, my great aunts and uncles and their kids kept asking,”Who is that big guy over there?” when seeing my husband. There are always exceptions to the norm, bummer for the men in my family.
Gehakt.
I think so too :-)
Some flags look so much alike, you have to think for a minute to figure out which state it belongs to.
Doesn’t happen with our flag :-)
-JT
Maryland’s flag comes from Lord Baltimore’s crest. I think it looks nice, but why they would choose to have a British nobleman’ crest as a state flag is the part I don’t get.
The state began as a charter to George Calvert. I don’t know, but I guess it was a nod to history and beginnings...
Many places in the original 13 that became states are named after British aristocrats.
JT
He means someTHING of a mystery.
Only paying for your own dinner on a date makes you taller.
I had always heard that the impact of the 1994 famine had a permanent impact on the size of the Dutch for subsequent generations.
Dutch Famine of 1944
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_famine_of_1944
It's rough on one's backbone!
I can’t believe you wrote #2. I almost choked on my food.
A close friend of mine got one of those DNA tests and always assumed his ancestors came mainly from central and eastern Europe. Test came back with 12% Mongol gene markers.
Genghis Khan and his men were busy spreading their seed around back in the day . . .
I think there is less gravity holding them down on that part of the world.
Our first 2 daughters were born in Maryland years ago. I did not know the flag’s design then.
Seeing it now - don’t know about ugly, but it makes me dizzy as it ‘waves.’
‘My mother’s side of the family is from Norway____’
Speaking of Norway - - -
My 2 sister’s-in-law, one in her late 70’s now, the other deceased at 86, born of pure Norwegian parents who emigrated to New York, were always some of the tallest women around, back in the 1950’s to at least the 1980’s.
At about 5’6” and 5’8,” they were certainly taller than my (Scottish) side of the family!
We just drew the short stick with our Norwegian genes. At 5’4” my mom and I are much taller than all the other women on that side of the family. Don’t know where she got her height, her mom and aunts were all barely 5’ tall.
Drawing the short stick - - Norwegian genes -
Our 4 daughters - with the Norwegian and Scottish genes, range from five feet two, to five feet five. Dad is five foot 10, and Mom, five feet!
I don’t think we can account that much by looking at our ancestors - ?
Altho I think 2 of our grandchildren - 13 and 17, will be tall because it looks like it already, with their Dad’s very tall side, and ‘other’ grandmother’s (tallish) Norwegian ancestry, come to think of it!
Then there’s the occasional kid who comes in on the short side of tall parents - !
Shall we talk about weight - - ???! nah!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.