# The Shortest Person You Know **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 17, 2003, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shortest-person-you-know/219621 "2003-12-17T21:38:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BuckleberryFerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shortest-person-you-know/219621/41 "2003-12-21T21:19:19Z")
First, a little backstory: (Not as to why she’s short–that’s because her family’s little.) As you know, I have a life-sized cardboard stand-up of Merry, Sam, Frodo, and Pippin. This is pre-Ent draught, so they’re all about 4’, 4’5" or something. Out of sheer curiousity, I had my friend stand next to them. She was only a few inches taller. She has curly dark hair. We now call her Frodo. ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shortest-person-you-know/219621/42 "2003-12-21T21:38:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BuckleberryFerry \* > \*\*First, a little backstory: (Not as to why she’s short–that’s because her family’s little.) > > As you know, I have a life-sized cardboard stand-up of Merry, Sam, Frodo, and Pippin. This is pre-Ent draught, so they’re all about 4’, 4’5" or something. Out of sheer curiousity, I had my friend stand next to them. She was only a few inches taller. > > She has curly dark hair. > > We now call her Frodo. \*\* Well, to be fair, Hobbits are not usually that tall. The range for height is from the mid 2s to the high 3s. Bullroarer (and Pippin and Merry) were among the very few to exceed 4 feet. ---
**Author:** ![BuckleberryFerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shortest-person-you-know/219621/43 "2003-12-21T21:50:43Z")
Odd, that, **Bambi Hassenpfeffer** , I always thought that was the height range for the dwarves, and the hobbits were mid 3s to low 4s, with Merry and Pippin (and selected others) being unusally tall by about six inches. So are hobbits shorter than dwarves, or is it 'tother way round? While we’re at it, let’s make a ful hijack and ask how tall elves are in comparison to men. Very sorry for the distraction. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shortest-person-you-know/219621/44 "2003-12-21T23:18:50Z")
> [@](#): > > “A hair under six feet” is actually well above average height. It certainly isn’t short, no matter how tall you are in comparison. Ack, that was a typo on my part. My husband is a hair under FIVE feet, and his mother/uncles all six inches shorter than that. ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shortest-person-you-know/219621/45 "2003-12-21T23:58:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LaurAnge \* > \*\*I read this thread really hoping **Francesca** posted in here. It would have been terribly embarassing to be the first one to name her 😉 \*\* Heh. I have a big personality! ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shortest-person-you-know/219621/46 "2003-12-22T01:28:42Z")
I may be tall for a hobbit, and granted they’re pretty cute, but I wants me some elf instead. _g_ And I thought that dwarfs – Tolkien’s, anyway – were taller than hobbits. If I remember right, from the books, hobbits top out at about four feet. So that’d put the dwarfs at closer to five. Still short, but a lot more…massive. ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shortest-person-you-know/219621/47 "2003-12-22T02:01:54Z")
As far as I can recall, dwarves top out around 5, and elves top out in the mid-6s. Men follow the range we see today, and the Istari are about elf sized, maybe a little taller. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shortest-person-you-know/219621/48 "2003-12-22T06:54:54Z")
A girl who I have a bit of a crush on is a few inches shorter than 5 feet. I don’t knot anyone shorter than that. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shortest-person-you-know/219621/49 "2003-12-22T06:57:48Z")
_knot_ is of course supposed to be _know_. My apologies. ---
**Author:** ![ouisey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9fc29f/32.png) [@ouisey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouisey)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shortest-person-you-know/219621/50 "2003-12-22T19:14:04Z")
Among the “talls” in my family, I’m the shortest. I’m 5’10" and feel dainty compared to my family. Then I go into the real world. ---
**Author:** ![Sassafras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@Sassafras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sassafras)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shortest-person-you-know/219621/51 "2003-12-22T19:40:19Z")
My mom, who is 4’11". And to answer the other thread, my dad is the tallest person I know, at 6’4". Quite a couple! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-shortest-person-you-know/219621.md?page=2)