# Why do tall people look so tall? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 13, 2024, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tall-people-look-so-tall/998801 "2024-03-13T13:23:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2024, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tall-people-look-so-tall/998801/41 "2024-03-14T16:07:24Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > My brother spent two years in China for work. Twice he took his wife and son on vacations to China. They were treated like freaks, with people asking to get pictures taken with them. They played along. I went to China in 1981 with a group from high school. The city had been closed to foreigners for decades and we were the only white people that many of them had ever seen. We were followed wherever we went. It was a bit unnerving but you kind of got used to it. I can’t imagine what actual famous people go through every day. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2024, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tall-people-look-so-tall/998801/42 "2024-03-14T16:10:30Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > we were the only white people that many of them had ever seen. Yeah, my brother mentioned that their height was a big deal, but also the fact that they were white was a thing. Some of the people were farmers who had never been to a city, nor seen a white person up close. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2024, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tall-people-look-so-tall/998801/43 "2024-03-14T16:12:07Z")
I’m 6’2 and black haired, and I visited China in 2019, and even I would even then often be asked by Chinese people, especially children, for an opportunity to take pictures with me. I can imagine how often this would happen to a less unusual (from a Chinese perspective) looking person at a time when China was less exposed to foreign tourists. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2024, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tall-people-look-so-tall/998801/44 "2024-03-14T16:22:04Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > I remember reading (perhaps in Life magazine) that the tallest man in the world at that time (mid 1960s?), over 7 feet, I think, drove an (original-style) VW Beetle. Was it this guy? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/gkBqVVbnZ1c/hqdefault.jpg "The Simpsons - Tall Man In Small Car") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkBqVVbnZ1c) ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2024, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tall-people-look-so-tall/998801/45 "2024-03-14T16:29:05Z")
Or maybe [these guys.](https://www.tiktok.com/@lukaedit6/video/7247283511277964590?lang=en) ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2024, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tall-people-look-so-tall/998801/46 "2024-03-14T16:37:44Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Yeah, my brother mentioned that their height was a big deal, but also the fact that they were white was a thing. Some of the people were farmers who had never been to a city, nor seen a white person up close. Yes, this. While the median height is indeed significantly lower in China than compared to the US, say, it’s nonetheless not _that_ rare to encounter tall people. There were several colleagues in my Shanghai office who were over 6ft tall. And I had a female Chinese friend who was 5’10. And my office was not very big, and I don’t have many friends 🙂 I would guess that people in the cities are taller as nutrition is still a factor. As you say, a lot of the attention that foreigners get in the smaller towns is simply that many people there may never have seen a non-Han chinese person outside of TV. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-tall-people-look-so-tall/998801.md?page=2)