# Dutch are becoming freakishly huge giants! Cows and indoor plumbing are blamed. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 22, 2004, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390 "2004-07-22T18:49:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2004, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/1 "2004-07-22T18:49:59Z")
[Dutch just keep growing](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/20040722/od_uk_nm/oukoe_odd_health_tallest) ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2004, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/2 "2004-07-22T19:29:06Z")
Wow! That kid is almost as tall as a windmill! ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2004, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/3 "2004-07-22T19:34:28Z")
**Heloise** : “Alright **Coldfire**. No more dairy products and you have to pee outside.” ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2004, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/4 "2004-07-22T20:38:06Z")
I’m trying to lose weight, dammit, I’m really trying! And why do I have to pee outside now? 🙂 I’m two centimeters taller than the average Dutchman, or so it seems. Thing is, I probably weigh more than average, too. I’m surprised half of our population is overweight already - what are the criteria used? ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2004, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/5 "2004-07-22T20:39:04Z")
> [@](#): > > In the Netherlands, where the average man is about 185 cm (6 foot 1 inch) tall. > > “The Dutch are growing,” said GfK spokesman Koen Snoeren…six inches taller than they were four decades ago…the Dutch could grow another four inches in the next few decades… Average Dutch man: _1964_: **5’9"** _2004_: **6’1"** _2034_: **6’5"** (does the math) _2736_: **100’0"** Tall. Let’s just see whose Basketball team dominates the Olymipics that year! ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2004, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/6 "2004-07-22T20:42:57Z")
> [@Coldfire](#): > > I’m trying to lose weight, dammit, I’m really trying! Get a handheld and moderate from atop a treadmill, rowing machine or stationary bike. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2004, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/7 "2004-07-22T20:46:49Z")
It’s gotta be the shoes. ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2004, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/8 "2004-07-22T21:09:14Z")
I _told_ you hashish doesn’t stunt your growth!! ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/9 "2004-09-30T19:36:55Z")
Does nobody else see the connection between THC-induced eating frenzies and growing big? ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/10 "2004-09-30T19:47:15Z")
[Fixed link to the same story](http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_23-7-2004_pg9_14). And it’s not just the men who are tall, you know. The women are tall too, (5.8 on average, like me) and many like to wear high heels. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/11 "2004-09-30T20:04:19Z")
Now that I see the pic I have to guess that the clogs account for at least 7 of those centimeters. ---
**Author:** ![Merkwurdigliebe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/12 "2004-09-30T20:24:31Z")
Yeah, they went from the shortest to tallest in about a hundred years. That’s why they are all getting really cramped now. This is really crazy. Most other Europeans don’t seem to be growing at such an extreme rate. ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/13 "2004-09-30T20:27:35Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > Now that I see the pic I have to guess that the clogs account for at least 7 of those centimeters. Yeah, but if they keep growing, they’ll need bigger and bigger clogs, leading to the complete deforestation of the Netherlands! ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/14 "2004-09-30T21:39:54Z")
> [@Merkwurdigliebe](#): > > Yeah, they went from the shortest to tallest in about a hundred years. > [@Jefferson Airplane](#): > > One pill makes you larger and another makes you small. They should have taken the blue pill. ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/15 "2004-09-30T23:23:17Z")
Maybe Nature knows something we don’t. Maybe she’s preparing the Dutch to be able to wade through the water and have their noses above it when the dykes (shut up) give way. Shows how much we know about Yurp over here–I had thought the littlest nation was France. ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/16 "2004-10-01T00:13:05Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > [Fixed link to the same story](http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_23-7-2004_pg9_14). > > And it’s not just the men who are tall, you know. The women are tall too, (5.8 on average, like me) and many like to wear high heels. And this is a problem because…? (6’1" American guy, who wholeheartedly approves of 5’8" Dutch women in heels.) ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/17 "2004-10-01T00:26:04Z")
> [@JohnBckWLD](#): > > Average Dutch man: > _1964_: **5’9"** > _2004_: **6’1"** > _2034_: **6’5"** > (does the math) > _2736_: **100’0"** Tall. > Let’s just see whose Basketball team dominates the Olymipics that year! So in the 1600s, the Dutch were only about four feet tall? ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/18 "2004-10-01T13:58:46Z")
> [@Mehitabel](#): > > Shows how much we know about Yurp over here–I had thought the littlest nation was France. Please tell me I’ve been whooshed. France is the largest country, in terms of land, in the EU. Comparative sizes of some European Countries\*: USA: 9,158,960 sq km Alaska: 1,477,268 sq km Texas: 692,247 sq km \*\*France: 545,630 sq km Spain: 499,542 sq km \*\* California: 411,048 sq km **Sweden: 410,934 sq km** Montana: 380,849 sq km **Germany: 349,223 sq km** New Mexico: 314,925 sq km \*\*Norway: 307,860 sq km Finland: 304,473 sq km \*\* Arizona: 295, 260 sq km \*\*Italy: 294,020 sq km \*\* Oregon: 251,419 sq km \*\*UK: 241,590 sq km \*\* Alabama: 133,949 sq km \*\*Greece: 130,800 sq km \*\* Indiana: 93,719 sq km **Portugal: 91,951 sq km** Maine: 86,156 sq km \*\*Austria: 82,444 sq km Ireland: 68,890 sq km \*\* West Virginia: 62,758 sq km \*\*Denmark: 42,394 sq km Netherlands: 33,883 sq km Belgium: 30,278 sq km \*\* Maryland: 25,314 sq km Rhode Island: 2,706 sq km \*\*Luxembourg: 2,586 sq km \*\* \*USA and some States included for comparative purposes only. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/19 "2004-10-01T14:05:06Z")
Maybe they meant littlest as in, with the shortest inhabitants? ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/20 "2004-10-01T14:28:27Z")
> [@Coldfire](#): > > Maybe they meant littlest as in, with the shortest inhabitants? I hope so. Anyway, the littlest nation would be Munchkinland, which is between Czech Republic and Molvania. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390.md?page=2)