Of course, in fairy tales, folk tales and legends. Even in some ancient manuscripts and even in sacred books you can read about them. For example, in the myths of Ancient Greece, in the Iliad and Odyssey, in the Bible and in the Koran. There are many descriptions of giants, cyclops, various evil spirits, heroes, in a word, huge characters, not similar to us. One of the most famous historical characters is the giant Goliath, who was more than three meters tall. Subsequently, King David fought with him and won.
In our area there is a legend that giant people not only lived on the banks of mighty rivers and in the mountains, but even after death they still continue to grow underground. Allegedly, in ancient cemeteries, near dilapidated mazars, huge skeletons are found, the bones of the legs of which are stretched four meters from the skull.
It was believed that all this is a fantasy, an invention. No clever historian will accept a fact as scientific, relying only on ancient traditions. Give them, historians, evidence - bones from mounds, shards, jewelry, ruins of giant buildings. Well, at least a huge tooth or jaw of a giant, which from time to time are found in different parts of the world.
Archaeological finds from different years confirm that giant people lived on Earth in ancient times. There is evidence of finds of the remains of giants in almost all parts of the world: in Mexico, Peru, Tunisia, Pennsylvania, Texas, the Philippines, Syria, Morocco, Australia, Spain, Georgia, in Southeast Asia, on the islands of Oceania - everywhere there are such artifacts and there are legends similar to ours. You can believe in them or not believe in them.
Fairy tales? But here in Kazakhstan not long ago archaeologists made a sensational discovery. They found skeletons of two-meter people in the Aktobe region. These, of course, are not four-meter monsters, but still, they are not our average height from 160 to 170 cm.
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Kazakh scientists immediately came to the conclusion that in ancient times giants actually lived on the territory of our republic. In their opinion, the age of the archaeological site "Kumsay", where excavations are carried out and the skeletons of giants were found, is more than 4 thousand years. This is the time of transition from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age. Scientists have counted more than 160 mounds there. So many in Eurasia have never been found anywhere. If there is a giant in each kurgan, it will be possible to consider that in ancient times there was really a country of giants between the Caspian and Aral. And if so far only two have been found, then what a rarity here! There, in the Guinness Book of Records, two-meter giants are constantly competing, which of them is more than centimeters in height. Every country has its own giant. Now in the Book there are a dozen heroes more than 2 meters tall.
A couple of years ago, in the Caucasus, in the mountains of the Borjomi Gorge, Georgian archaeologists also discovered the remains of mysterious creatures, about which local residents have been making legends for centuries. The bones of fossil Caucasians belong to giant people who lived 25 thousand years ago. Georgian archaeologists claim that the height of their giant ancestor could be from 2.5 to 3 meters.
From all the legends about giants, you can get a big picture. First, the giants, according to legends, possessed incredible strength. It is thanks to them that the world received many giant monuments, such as the Tibetan City of the Gods, Stonehenge, Teotiukan, the Egyptian Sphinx, etc. For example, in Lebanon, at the base of the Baalbek terrace, there are three huge blocks, each 800 tons. They were adjusted to each other with amazing accuracy - to the millimeter. And this is an impossible task even for the most modern construction equipment. Just to move one such block, it would take the effort of more than 40 thousand people. Who could have built such a gigantic structure by hand if not giants ?!
Secondly, also according to legend, the giants possessed such knowledge, to the level of which modern science has not yet reached. For example, Atlas, who opened the mysteries of astronomy to people, which is why he was immortalized in the image of a strong man who supports the globe. True, now these qualities are usually attributed to aliens who allegedly once visited the earth, built gigantic structures and shared knowledge with earthlings. Our ancestors themselves, apparently, were well stupid! Couldn't think of anything!
A height of two meters and a few more centimeters is a lot. But it is not that rare either. For example, Peter the Great and his associate Lefort were just that - more than 2 meters tall. They write about Peter in different ways: he was 204 cm, then 240. Obviously, no one with his yardstick approached the tsar. But in the museum "Peter's House" there is his bed - very large!
The king clearly had health problems. Usually tall men have a large foot, while the two-meter Peter had only 39 feet, which is why Peter, although he was Great, was unstable - he walked with a cane (he often beat bribe takers with it), stumbled and even fell. Now the majority of our contemporaries wear such shoes as his. It turns out that this is the most widespread women's shoe size in the world - 39th.
The famous boxer Nikolai Valuev's height is almost the same as that of Peter the Great - 213 cm, but the shoe size is proportional - 52 (paradoxically, but the mythical Bigfoot Yeti, judging by the footprints, has a smaller foot).
The boxer also refutes the statement that the heroes are not distinguished by their intelligence. Nikolay is a deputy of the State Duma, a cheerful and witty TV presenter from the United Russia party.
Information that all tall are strong men is doubtful. On the contrary, doctors say that modern giants usually grow up as a result of a brain disease, and their bones, and especially joints, do not support the enormous weight and also suffer. Many heroes walk on crutches, and in old age they suffer from various diseases and rarely any of them live long.
However, not all tall people are necessarily sick. The growth of a person, among other things, is influenced by environmental factors, sometimes - inherited from parents by the disease. Growth can be influenced by belonging to a particular race or nation. For example, the average height of urban Chinese is 165 cm (for men) and 155 cm (for women), and the average height of the Dutch is 178.7 cm and 168.7 cm, respectively. Living conditions, in particular, food, are of great importance. For example, prosperous South Koreans are on average 7 cm taller than North Koreans living in poverty.
The films often show knights-heroes. Meanwhile, their armor preserved in castles and museums is very small. Our contemporary, even of average height, cannot wear them. Such a "hero" mounted a horse with the help of servants.
Like all people, nothing human is alien to giants. Almost all of them dream of a soul mate, which, with their huge growth, is difficult to find and charm. For example, a resident of Mongolia Bao Khishun (height 2.36 m), only at the age of 56, met his life partner, with whom he had a wedding. The wife of the giant was a 29-year-old Chinese woman, who, with a height of 1.68 meters, she barely reaches the elbow of her chosen one. Bao Hishun became famous for saving the lives of two dolphins from the Chinese dolphinarium. With his long arms, he pulled the plastic bags that were stuck there from the sea mammals' throats.
In everyday life, big people experience a lot of inconvenience. Clothes of large sizes are sewn, but usually only in the USA, where there are many tall and fat people. They have feet up to size 60, but where to get such shoes? In the suitcase department?
Airplane seats, train compartments, hotel furniture, door openings, bathrooms and showers are all designed for middle-aged people. A giant can only get into a car by hunched over.
President of Ukraine V. Yushchenko and Mayor of Kiev V. Klichko.
How to straighten up on the bus? In addition, most giants have serious health problems. Both ordinary people and historians, especially physicians, have always been interested in this mystery of nature - gigantism. But not all the reasons for it are revealed.
Fans of all sorts of ratings, the Americans recently found out that they have ceased to be the highest in the world: they are outstripped by the Europeans, or, rather, the inhabitants of Northern Europe - the Dutch, Norwegians, Danes and Germans. American growth is declining for the first time in 300 years, while European growth is clearly increasing. Today, the Netherlands holds the upper hand, where men are 4.7 cm taller than Americans and women 5.7 cm taller than Americans. The Dutch, with an average height of 184.3 cm, are followed by the Norwegians, Danes and Germans. Americans with a height of 179 cm dropped to 4th place in the ranking, but they are the most well-fed. The Italians take an even lower position with 174.5 cm. They are ahead of the French.
Among the Kazakhs, two heroes were especially famous: the famous Kazakh wrestler and circus artist Khadzhimukan Munaitpasov (1871-1948), and in the 50s of the last century he impressed the fans with his height - 236 cm. - basketball player Uvais Akhtaev. He was the best center in the USSR, and perhaps in the world, given that at that time there were no players even two meters tall in the country.
Khadzhimukan Munaitpasov, although he stood out among his not very tall fellow countrymen, nevertheless was “only” 195 cm tall, weighed 139 kg, and his shoe size was 54. But he was perfectly built and strong, and was not famous at all for his tall stature. Khadzhimukan is the first Kazakh who won the title of world champion in French wrestling, won many times in world, Russian, regional, and then all-Union championships in classic wrestling among super heavyweights.
It is generally accepted that heroes are kind and sympathetic people. The strongman Khadzhimukan was just that. He founded the first professional theater in the history of Kazakhstan, from which many eminent artists of that time emerged. And for the elderly, during the Great Patriotic War, participating in various championships, he collected money and presented the front with an aircraft named after Amangeldy Imanov.
Of the Soviet female giants, the most famous is the famous basketball player Ulyana Semenova, who was born in Latvia in 1952 and has a height of 2 meters 13 centimeters. Russian Ekaterina Gamova, who has twice won silver Olympic medals as part of the volleyball team, is 7 cm lower than Semyonova - her height is 2 meters 6 centimeters. Katya is the daughter-in-law of actress and director Svetlana Druzhinina and cinematographer Anatoly Mukasey.
No “heroes” were found among Kazakhstani women. Although we have tall girls, but the wits call the tallest "lady" in Kazakhstan the champion in height … the chimney of the Ekibastuz GRES-2, which has a height of 419.7 m. This "young lady" was built in 1987 and is still pore is the tallest chimney in the world.
About human height
* During the day, a person's height changes by an average of 0.5-1 cm. The greatest growth occurs immediately after sleep: during the day, the intervertebral discs settle, and during the night they restore their original height.
* Astronauts' height increases by 5-8 centimeters during long-term stay in zero gravity. However, this is quite dangerous as the spine loses its strength. After returning to Earth, growth gradually returns to its previous value.
* On average, men grow up to 18-25 years old, and women - up to 16-19 years.
* In general, humanity is gradually "growing". If 50 years ago the average height was 165 cm, now it is 2.5 cm more. Its weight has also increased by about a kilogram. In adolescents, the changes are even more noticeable. The average height of a modern teenager is 3-5 centimeters more than that of his peer of the 30s.
* An epochal change in human growth is called acceleration. For example, Neanderthals hardly differed in height from modern humans (160-165 cm). In the Middle Ages, human growth began to decline. But over the past 100 years, human body length has increased dramatically.
* By itself, high growth is not yet a sign of gigantism - a serious illness caused by excessive production of growth hormone. Healthy people with gigantic growth (200 cm and more) differ from people of average height only by their height. And people who are sick with gigantism also differ in proportions.
High is smart?
At various times, researchers have tried to establish a relationship between growth and the talents of different people. But it was not possible to deduce patterns. It turned out that there are a lot of "kids" among geniuses, which is explained by their exaggerated demands on themselves, ambitions and the desire to prove to others that they are not worse than "long" ones. As Napoleon said to his adjutant, "you are not taller, but longer, and I can easily equal your height, having shortened you by the head."
Here is more or less reliable information about the growth of famous people.
Tamerlane - 145 cm. Genghis Khan - 145 cm. Alexander the Great - 150 cm. Charlemagne - 150 cm. Nestor Makhno - 151 cm. Dmitry Medvedev - 162 cm. Joseph Stalin - 163 cm. Vladimir Lenin -164 cm. Nikita Khrushchev - 166 see Alexander Pushkin - 166 (or 161?) see Winston Churchill - 166 cm. Nicholas II -168 cm. Napoleon I - 169 cm. Vladimir Putin - 170 cm. Konstantin Tszyu - 170 cm. Adolf Hitler - 175 cm. Leonid Brezhnev - 176 cm. Ivan the Terrible - 178 cm. Alexander I - 178 cm. Alexander III - 179 cm. Alexander II - 185 cm. Boris Yeltsin - 187 cm. Arnold Schwarzenegger - 187 cm. Jacques Chirac - 189 cm. Bill Clinton - 189 cm. Alexander Marshal - 193 cm. Charles de Gaulle - 196 cm. Philip Kirkorov -198 cm. Vitali Klitschko 201 cm.
Famous women were also not all of basketball height: Queen Victoria - 152 cm. Catherine II - 157 cm. Elizaveta Petrovna - 180 cm. Tennis player Maria Sharapova - 188 cm.