# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2004, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/21 "2004-10-02T00:49:57Z")
> [@JohnBckWLD](#): > > Average Dutch man: > _2736_: **100’0"** Tall. I can smell a Zaeger and Evans comeback In the year 2525 Those freaky deaky Dutch will be eleven foot ten If they’re still alive and assuming a linear growth rate based on the last forty years Okay, so you couldn’t dance to it. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2004, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/22 "2004-10-02T01:11:31Z")
> [@Random](#): > > (6’1" American guy, who wholeheartedly approves of 5’8" Dutch women in heels.) They make clogs with heels? ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2004, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/23 "2004-10-02T01:15:07Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > I hope so. Anyway, the littlest nation would be Munchkinland, which is between Czech Republic and Molvania. What about Fredonia? **RT** ’s gonna be mad you forgot about him… ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2004, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/24 "2004-10-02T01:17:58Z")
You know, on that Daily Times page of headlines, I gotta say one of them made me a bit more curious than “Dutch keep growing” … “Urine added to troops’ dried food ration” but it’s really fairly sensationalist: “The ration comes in a pouch containing a filter that removes 99.9 per cent of bacteria and most toxic chemicals from the water used to rehydrate it.” Here I thought they were going to recreate conditions on Mir. ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2004, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/25 "2004-10-02T10:46:19Z")
> [@Coldfire](#): > > 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? The usual measure seems to be a Body Mass Index of 25 to 30 (30+ is “obese”). BMIs as a measure of health are meaningless for the extremely muscular (athletes) and the frail (brittle old people), but are suitable for most folk. ---
**Author:** ![deadeyesdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@deadeyesdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deadeyesdad)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2004, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/26 "2004-10-02T18:17:51Z")
> [@JohnBckWLD](#): > > Average Dutch man: > _1964_: **5’9"** > > _2004_: **6’1"** > > _2034_: **6’5"** > > (does the math) > > _2736_: **100’0"** Tall. My family is the average Dutch family. '64 my grandfather was 58 years old and was 5’9". My dad will be 58 years old this year and he is 6’1". In 2034 I will be 63 and I am 6’5". We are even Dutch. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2004, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/27 "2004-10-02T21:28:26Z")
> [@SolGrundy](#): > > They make clogs with heels? Ooh, you just invented a new fetish. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2004, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/28 "2004-10-02T21:53:53Z")
Cheesy! 😛 Sorry… ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2004, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/29 "2004-10-02T23:06:37Z")
> [@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. Looks like my Icelandic relatives have got some competition. My mom is now the shortest in the family at 5’8.5, while I’m up there [I’m at least 7-10 years younger than my brothers and cousins, so I’m a little behind generationally] at 5’10. Of course, I think the American women that I come in contact with are short if they’re under 5’5. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/30 "2004-10-03T13:28:59Z")
**Mirrored Indigo Shadows** , are tall women common in Iceland, as well? Or is it just your family? If that’s true, I wonder what Iceland and Holland have in common. I’m not sure its a northern Western European thing. Tall people are common in Holland, and to an extent in Germany, but the people in out neighbouring countries, such as France, Belgium and England, are much shorter. But why? When I’m in Italy, I feel positively _titanic_, a blond Walkure towering over short dark men. I must say, I kinda like it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/31 "2004-10-03T22:05:12Z")
There’s a relatively new, moderately upscale furniture store in a nearby mall which features the work of, IIRC, _Danish_\* designers, and everything there was _absurdly_ oversized for my modest 5’4" height. I’m talking about armchairs where I can’t fill the seat (which is deeper than my thighs are long) and which leave my feet dangling above the floor, and table-and-chair ensembles where I felt almost like a little kid at the “grownups’” table… without the booster seat. I’m all for tailored sizing in all things; I was just wishing they offered scaled-down versions of their pieces for shorter people, is all… ☹ - Although it \*might’ve \* been Dutch, or perhaps some of both. They are neighbors, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/32 "2004-10-04T11:15:49Z")
[This pic](http://www.racchvs.com/alex/fotowerk.htm) (scroll down to the picture of the model ship on the table) shows our blond Royal successor, Prince Willem-Alexander, in the midst of a Japanese delegation. The pic shows that Willem-Alexander tries very hard (by showing interest in every objects at waistheight in the vicinity) to tower only two feet above most of his hosts, instead of three feet if he stood up straight. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/33 "2004-10-04T11:27:39Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > [This pic](http://www.racchvs.com/alex/fotowerk.htm) (scroll down to the picture of the model ship on the table) shows our blond Royal successor, Prince Willem-Alexander, in the midst of a Japanese delegation. > The pic shows that Willem-Alexander tries very hard (by showing interest in every objects at waistheight in the vicinity) to tower only two feet above most of his hosts, instead of three feet if he stood up straight. 🙂 Wow, is he freakishly tall, or did they find the shortest Japanese possible? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/34 "2004-10-04T13:25:29Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > Wow, is he freakishly tall, or did they find the shortest Japanese possible? From a picture at the bottom of that page, he seems to be a bit taller and broader (and with a noticeably larger head) than Bill Clinton, who just shy of 6’3" (1.89m) and varying between 210 and 240 lbs (95 to 110 Kg) as times have gone by, is a big guy but not freakishly so. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/35 "2004-10-04T14:58:11Z")
By Dutch standards, Prince Willem-Alexander is just on the tall side of average, as the other pics on that same page show, where he stands next to several other Dutch people. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/36 "2004-10-04T16:58:44Z")
Hmm. I’m only 178 cm (5’10"), which I consider to be extremely average. (It was, in my family–my father’s side (and my Swedish cousins) were all 6’2, 6’3, and my mother’s side was 5’5, so I am in the middle.) But even I’ve had the experience of standing in a bus shelter on the way home from work and _towering_ over everyone else there. With the rise in Asian immigration, there are many more petit/petite people in Toronto. OTOH, I’ve seen several people on the subway who were a head taller them _me_. One of them had to duck to get through the subway-train door. Dealing with that all the time must suck… > [@Maastricht](#): > > a blond Walkure towering over short dark men… :: **Sunspace** breaks into sweat at the thought of beautiful North European women\* :: [sub]_Not that I don’t like South European, East European, or West European women_\* as well. \*\*or Asian women, or…[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/37 "2004-10-04T17:44:31Z")
Dutch people are very tall, and it’s not just Dutch people who live in the Netherlands, either. Dutch-Americans are tall, too…of course, we Americans are quite fond of indoor plumbing and cattle as well. I spent my formative years in a community in Montana that is home to many people of Dutch descent, and I was always one of the shortest people in my class. I always just thought of myself as a short person. Granted, my mother (of English/Scottish/Irish descent) is only about 5’1", but my father (of German descent) is about 5’11", which is not short at all. However, at least one kid in my class had a _mother_ who was 6 feet tall. Very, very tall people. It was quite strange to move to Minnesota (which is where my father is originally from) when I was 14, because it felt like I grew about 6 inches over that summer when I started my new school. We lined up by height for gym class or something like that (a practice in my old hometown that very likely contributed to a bit of a short complex in the first place) and I headed over to the short end like usual…but I belonged in the middle of the girls! I was average! It was amazing! I am now about 5’6" (I’m sure some of those girls I went to school with were taller than that even when I last saw them in 8th grade.) And, yes, basketball was big in that town, especially girls’ basketball. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/38 "2004-10-04T23:43:07Z")
Perhaps we should revive the “polder” thread ( **Maastricht** remembers that one fondly, I suspect! ;)) to provide more space for the “expanding” Dutch population!? (How do you say “The Markerwaald must be drained!” in Dutch?) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/39 "2004-10-05T01:09:45Z")
Damn! I’m short for a Hollander then! Just a hair under 6 feet! Pops Mercotan was 5’ 10", Gramps Mercotan was more like 5’ 8", but old Great-Gramps Mercotan was 6’ 2". Why o why didn’t he breed true? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390/40 "2004-10-05T02:08:38Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > Damn! I’m short for a Hollander then! Just a hair under 6 feet! Pops Mercotan was 5’ 10", Gramps Mercotan was more like 5’ 8", but old Great-Gramps Mercotan was 6’ 2". > > Why o why didn’t he breed true? 😉 My dad was 6’1" - right on target! I hit the average for Dutch women, as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dutch-are-becoming-freakishly-huge-giants-cows-and-indoor-plumbing-are-blamed/256390.md?page=3)