# Super tall people--still occurs today?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-tall-people-still-occurs-today/22990>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 20, 2000, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-tall-people-still-occurs-today/22990 "2000-06-20T16:03:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\
**Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-tall-people-still-occurs-today/22990/21 "2013-06-07T11:58:26Z")

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That kind of gigantism can still happen in places where pituitary treatment is out of reach for some reason. Yao Defen, the world’s tallest [woman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yao_Defen) at 7’ 8", had an untreated pituitary tumor, for instance.

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**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\
**Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-tall-people-still-occurs-today/22990/22 "2013-06-07T20:41:40Z")

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> [@plnnr](#):
>
> . . . and scientist believe that Abraham Lincoln may have suffered from it as well.

And possibly [Michael Phelps](http://hernaturehisnurture.com/2008/08/16/michael-phelps-and-marfan-syndrome/).

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**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\
**Post date:** [June 23, 2013, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-tall-people-still-occurs-today/22990/23 "2013-06-23T21:15:51Z")

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Holy crap. Reading this ancient thread is like time traveling. I’ve been married to that “fiance” for 12 years now, and we have two kids. This thread reminds me we really should get genetic testing done to determine if they inherited the Marfans gene.

Oh, and braaaains.

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**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/super-tall-people-still-occurs-today/22990/24 "2013-06-24T14:26:02Z")

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Well, if we must have zombies, at least we can take advantage of the Information Age and point out that the tallest person alive today is [Sultan Kosen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_K%C3%B6sen) of Turkey, 8’3" tall. He suffers from the same pituitary malfunction as Wadlow and has a distinctly similar appearance.

The condition can nowadays be corrected via surgery, which Kosen didn’t receive (I’m unsure why not) until he was [28 years old](http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57396454-10391704/worlds-tallest-man-29-finally-stops-growing-with-help-from-va-doctors/).

For those interested in Wadlow, there is a very nice park with a lifesize statue of him in Alton, Illinois (just across from St. Louis), with a little museum across the street. The museum has lots of pictures but few artifacts as Wadlow’s family threw out most of his clothes and effects after he died to deemphasize the freak show aspect of his life.

You can still talk to people at the museum who knew Wadlow when they were children, although this obviously will not be the case for much longer.

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