Many people have insecurities about their size, weight, or other traits they view as flaws. However, with a bit of perspective, it becomes clear that some insecurities are unjustified and that there are others with physical characteristics that can be genuinely challenging in everyday life. This man and woman are a perfect example.
She is the world’s smallest woman, standing at just over 60 cm, and she recently met the world’s tallest man, Sultan Kosen, who is 35 years old and from Turkey. At 2.51 meters tall, Kosen is a veritable skyscraper compared to Jyoti Amge, whose height is almost the same as one of Kosen’s shoes.
The two recently came together for a photo shoot in Egypt, and the result is simply incredible! The idea came from the Egyptian tourism promotion committee, and it worked remarkably well given all the attention the two stars received.
Amge’s height is due to a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia. This genetic disorder affects bone growth, resulting in a tiny stature and disproportionately small limbs. She was named the smallest woman in the world in 2001 at just 18 years old and weighed only 5 kg!
She always needs custom-made clothes, plates, and utensils to accommodate her tiny body. On the other hand, Kosen also requires many of his everyday items to be custom-made, but in the opposite sense.
In Kosen’s case, his height results from pituitary gigantism, which occurs when the pituitary gland secretes too much growth hormone, leading to excessive growth and size. As a result, Sultan Kosen was declared the tallest man in the world in 2001 by the Guinness World Records.
He was the first person to be measured for inclusion in the record book in over 20 years and at that time also held the record for the largest hands, with the greatest distance between the wrist and the tip of his middle finger measuring 28 centimeters!
«I never imagined I would be included in the record book; I dreamed of it, but it was a huge surprise,» said Kosen. But in reality, he probably shouldn’t have been surprised, as according to Guinness, only ten people in the world have ever been recorded as being over 2.43 meters tall.
It’s worth noting that he had previously participated in the annual Guinness World Records Day celebrations in London, where he met the smallest man in the world, Bahadur Dangi from Nepal. Dangi, aged 74, measures only 54 centimeters and weighs just 14 kg.
The elderly Dangi was a weaver and also helped care for livestock in his mountain village called «Reemkholi.»
«Being able to finally meet Chandra after all this time is amazing. Even though he is small and I am tall, we have faced similar challenges throughout our lives, and when I look him in the eyes, I see that he is a good man.»
This should remind us that nothing justifies complaining about our size or seeing it as a fatality. The courage and dedication of such people should inspire us to always see the good side of things.
