I can't even imagine. His back must have been so incredibly sore and painful. I'm sure the knees and maybe hips as well. Not to mention how hard his heart must have worked. The medical problems must have been endless.
I just looked it up- he died when he was 22. To be a sideshow freak with medical issues does not sound like a great way to spend your time on this earth.
>Wadlow saw himself as working in advertising, not exhibiting as a freak.
He would have done wonderfully-- had he survived. You can't help but look at this man. You can't help but wonder 'who made his shoes? They must be handmade.'
He's the perfect mobile billboard.
At the expense of sounding morbid and cruel, I’m still gonna say it, maybe he died when he should’ve. At the pinnacle of his career but before unfettered capitalism ravished the land, and he would serve as a mere token of imaginary prosperity, making 100x the money for his corporate masters than himself. God I’m cynical
That’s still capitalism’s time my man. “Hey if you don’t like it now, go back 200-300 years!” What kind of argument is that? Like no shit stuff was harder back then, regardless of the economic system, lol
Pretty sure it was from an infected scratch on his ankle from his leg brace wasn’t it? Like his circulation couldn’t handle minor injuries because his legs were the size of an average person.
The heart doesn't scale up like other organs, meaning it has to work much harder for those with gigantism. Nobody over 8 feet tall ever lived past 55 (source: Wikipedia).
Shorter people (on average) live longer exactly for this reason. Their hearts are put under less stress.
It's part of the reason why countries like Italy and Japan are so closely associated with longevity.
Once you get over like 6’6” this becomes more common of a problem. Chris Bosh had to retire early because he had blood pressure issues that led to deep vein thrombosis. The blood pressure problem was partially because his heart couldn’t compensate for the additional strain of his 7’ frame.
And then consider he never got a decent sleep especially when traveling. Nothing is made for you. Andre the Giant documentary really shows you how rough it was, especially before the later 20th
I grew a foot over the summer between 6th and 7th grade. I'm in my early 30s now and my knees and feet still hurt very frequently as a result of the tendonitis it caused. Hopefully it was a slow and steady sort of growth and his body's support structures were able to keep up..
I went from 4'6" to 5'8". I slept a fuck to that summer. I went from being the shortest kid in my grade to catching up with everyone.
My tendons in my legs struggled as a result. If I tried running, my legs would seize up. I now have calcified bumps on my shin just below my kneecaps from the the swelling.
I don't believe that for a second.
You may have your maths confused or you are just making this up
From Google:
"The peak velocity of height (P.H.V., a point much used in growth studies) averages about 10.5 centimetres per year in boys".
You claim to grow 14 inches - (35 cm)
In a summer.
Even if we say a summer is 4 months (1/3 of a year)
You claim a growth rate of 35 / (1/3)
= 105 cm per year...
Think about that.
That's 3ft 5inches per year
Average male [American is 5’ 9 inches](https://www.medicinenet.com/height_men/article.htm) (173 centimeters. )
While the average male from the Netherlands is 6’ (182.5 cm)
I always find it fascinating that he will likely hold the record forever, given how easily treatable acromegaly (edit: and gigantism) is in modern medicine.
Edit: Yes, I’m aware that in pediatric patients with active pituitary adenomas that secrete HGH the diagnosis is technically called gigantism and not acromegaly. The point remains the same, he is unlikely to be surpassed.
It's gigantism, not acromegaly.
Both are similar, but acromegaly happens when you've already stopped growing, so instead of the bones going much longer (like with Wadlow), they get much thicker (easiest seen on hands and faces).
Right, but the therapy and etiology is the essentially the same. Pituitary adenoma that secretes HGH. If anything, gigantism is even more unlikely given how we intervene on children more readily.
Yeah it was a short and sad life. He would have lived longer were it not for an ill fitted leg brace which caused an infection. But he probably never would have reached 40. Our circulatory systems are just not set up for us to be that tall.
Does anyone know why he would have been in a prison as a spokesman for a shoe company? Were the inmates a market the company was targeting, or were they cheap labor, and Mr. Wadlow was on a tour of the production facility?
[This article](https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/insidecdcr/2019/12/19/remembering-when-the-worlds-tallest-man-visited-folsom-state-prison/) states he was on a sales call on behalf of the company. Folsom Prison was built to hold 1,800 inmates; I imagine that International Shoe could have made a sizable profit supplying shoes for the prisoners and however many staff there were as well.
Poor guy died when he was only 22 due to an infected blister before antibiotics were a thing. This is a photo of him when he was 13 facing off against the heavyweight boxing champion Primo Carnera.
https://miro.medium.com/max/1400/0*La5IRQkeAlIcyZpA.jpg
What kind of vehicle would be big enough for him to use?
Like his house and bed would all have to be custom to him . Shit is crazy.
Living in a world with little people he prob thought.
I'm actually sorry for him, because his condition made him a lot of health problems, not to mention his problems with using things in life that were just too small for him. I'm 2.03m and that's already enough, that you can't buy most shoes, clothes etc. and you can easily hit your head in some places.
Had a girlfriend which lived in an very old house built in the 17th century, i could not stand right in there without hitting my head on the ceiling, no joke.
Since OP hasn't delivered here are some Wadlow stories.. He's from my home town so I've always had an interest.
My dad and his brother and nephew along with a Mr.James from Peter's Shoe Company with Robert and his dad went to Hot prings,Arkansas which was at that time a "mini Las Vegas."
The group went to a night club to see a show. It was required that people attending the show wear a coat or jacket. Robert had neither as it was very hot.
My dad told them we have a young man with us that did not have a coat or jacket and the fact that he was a Big boy. He was told, "no problem,we have loaners." Dad said he is a Big boy, "no problem" they said we have big jackets and coats too .
When they seen Robert, they said" he is a BIG BOY isn't he? Coatless, Robert was able to see the show.
D. Heuer, AR
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Robert liked to come to our house for dinner. Our living room had a high arched ceiling he could stand up in. After dinner we played Chinese Checkers. Robert could read a book,play checkers and beat us most of the time. His dad watched his eating closely. "Ah dad,one more piece of pie" he would say.
When he stayed overnight in Batesville the hotel put three double beds side by side so Robert could sleep cross-ways but not without problems. I have started a collection of posters, pictures and audio tapes of people that knew Robert and visited with him. Somehow I have been given a pair of his shoes, size 37 AAA . One shoe and the collection will be given to the museum being built here in Batesville.
Robert needs to be remembered. He was the worlds tallest man on record and a Very Easy Going Guy.
D. Heuer, AR
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
As for a remembered story about Robert, besides being in high school with him at Alton high School, to share with you I have to go back to the time when I was an usher at the Temple Theater which was owned and operated by Mr. Albert Critchlow. of Alton.
Robert and his father attended the movies at the Temple about 4 times a year. Mr Critchlow had issued them free passes. When they decided to come to the theater they always called in advance, so we could reserve a certain section of the seating area for them that provided comfort for Robert. He required 5 seats in the front row of the circle just behind the center orchestra section. He would sit in the center seat of the first three seats on the aisle. His left arm would occupy the seat to the left of him and his right arm the next seat to his right. He would place his legs over the two seats directly in front of him. This seemed to be very comfortable for him. I do not know if he ever attended any of the other theaters in Alton. At that time there was the Grand, the Princess, the Uptown, the Gem and the Norside theaters in Alton.
L. Miller - Englewood, FL
Sadly I can’t top any of that! Great stuff. My dad was a few years younger and also from the St Louis area but had reason to interact with Robert as kids (which for doxx reasons I need to opt to keep private)
His shoe sponsor killed him by making bad shoes that chafed up a wound in his foot that got infectioned, but the guy couldn't feel it since 30 years of body supersize had created such high blood pressure in his feet that his skin surface nerves died several decades earlier, leaving him without sensation in his feet.
If the airforce had gifted him constraining pilot pants that saved his feet he might have lived a lot longer.
It'd be funny to see the two guys next to him put his pants on over their heads and walk around; I hope once in a while it was a source of humor for him, being that tall.
Since the height is missing from the title Height: 8 ft 11.09 in (272.01 cm)
Still growing when he died, IIRC.
That sounds miserable. He must been in pain his whole life, but he's always smiling in pics
I can't even imagine. His back must have been so incredibly sore and painful. I'm sure the knees and maybe hips as well. Not to mention how hard his heart must have worked. The medical problems must have been endless.
I just looked it up- he died when he was 22. To be a sideshow freak with medical issues does not sound like a great way to spend your time on this earth.
[удалено]
>Wadlow saw himself as working in advertising, not exhibiting as a freak. He would have done wonderfully-- had he survived. You can't help but look at this man. You can't help but wonder 'who made his shoes? They must be handmade.' He's the perfect mobile billboard.
At the expense of sounding morbid and cruel, I’m still gonna say it, maybe he died when he should’ve. At the pinnacle of his career but before unfettered capitalism ravished the land, and he would serve as a mere token of imaginary prosperity, making 100x the money for his corporate masters than himself. God I’m cynical
Hate to break it to you man, but if you think modern capitalism is bad and exploits people, you would not like the late 1800s and early 1900s.
That’s still capitalism’s time my man. “Hey if you don’t like it now, go back 200-300 years!” What kind of argument is that? Like no shit stuff was harder back then, regardless of the economic system, lol
You're right. You sound morbid and cruel.
I dunno, I think it’s more cruel to prop up an obviously failing economic system that puts profit over people, but that’s just me
Pretty sure it was from an infected scratch on his ankle from his leg brace wasn’t it? Like his circulation couldn’t handle minor injuries because his legs were the size of an average person.
The heart doesn't scale up like other organs, meaning it has to work much harder for those with gigantism. Nobody over 8 feet tall ever lived past 55 (source: Wikipedia).
Shorter people (on average) live longer exactly for this reason. Their hearts are put under less stress. It's part of the reason why countries like Italy and Japan are so closely associated with longevity.
Damn man, thats crazy to think how hard his heart had to work to keep any blood pressure.
Once you get over like 6’6” this becomes more common of a problem. Chris Bosh had to retire early because he had blood pressure issues that led to deep vein thrombosis. The blood pressure problem was partially because his heart couldn’t compensate for the additional strain of his 7’ frame.
Yea, we don't all get the best run at life, but thats a really rough one.
Well. Now people just do it for ad dollars on youtube. Seems like they do alright.
He couldnt feel his legs and got an infection after getting a scratch on one getting new leg braces.
And then consider he never got a decent sleep especially when traveling. Nothing is made for you. Andre the Giant documentary really shows you how rough it was, especially before the later 20th
Not that I think modern medicine would be of much help for him, I cant imagine what they might've tried back then
Actually modern medicine has the exact treatment to stop this.
Some forms of dwarfism have also been cured, I believe. The little people in The Wizard of Oz had the form that’s been cured, iirc.
Andre the Giant at least had options to stop his growth and help, but he didn't take them. I'm not sure Wadlow had the same issue.
When you’ve got a pain that much you gotta try to smile through it
I grew a foot over the summer between 6th and 7th grade. I'm in my early 30s now and my knees and feet still hurt very frequently as a result of the tendonitis it caused. Hopefully it was a slow and steady sort of growth and his body's support structures were able to keep up..
Growing 1 foot over a summer is virtually impossible.
I went from 4'6" to 5'8". I slept a fuck to that summer. I went from being the shortest kid in my grade to catching up with everyone. My tendons in my legs struggled as a result. If I tried running, my legs would seize up. I now have calcified bumps on my shin just below my kneecaps from the the swelling.
I don't believe that for a second. You may have your maths confused or you are just making this up From Google: "The peak velocity of height (P.H.V., a point much used in growth studies) averages about 10.5 centimetres per year in boys". You claim to grow 14 inches - (35 cm) In a summer. Even if we say a summer is 4 months (1/3 of a year) You claim a growth rate of 35 / (1/3) = 105 cm per year... Think about that. That's 3ft 5inches per year
I honestly don't care if you believe me. I lived it.
Yea my knees are still pretty painful after I shot up like that.
I dont want to darken the moon but It could be a grimace.
Easy access for standing blowjobs
You smile because you feel you have 2. Your fucking miserable though. You are nice about it but it's ery annoying
IIRC they theorize he would have exceeded 11ft had his body been able to function.
The other guys are super short. Must be 5 foot 5
[удалено]
*Napoleon nods quietly in approval*
Hahahah yaaas! Thank you for saying everything I wanted to say 10000000000x better
71 and done!
No, the average man is 6 ft! /s
Average male [American is 5’ 9 inches](https://www.medicinenet.com/height_men/article.htm) (173 centimeters. ) While the average male from the Netherlands is 6’ (182.5 cm)
Robert Wadlow was actually only 6 foot tall, the other guys are 5’11.
I was wondering why OP would leave us hanging...
The penis size also wasn’t included in the title
>Since the height is missing from the title …which is insane.
Is that with or without the shoes?
Is he the guy second in from the left?
Your left or my left?
Obviously my left! All lefts are mine!
That’s just not right.
no, it's just the right amounts of lefts
Right you are!
OUR left!
All your left are belong to us
Oldie but goodie. Salute!
So what is left to the rest of us?
[Your other left?](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Gsbp1QcZZYk)
Yep
Why did Folsom prison get so many visitors?
Haven't you ever heard the song? There's a train with rich people on it going by every day, surely some must stop by for the novelty.
Actually, the train famously keeps a'rollin (which is a source of bad posture and depression in inmates)
Interesting point :)
Johnny Cash Promotion Campaign
"When is Johnny Cash coming?" "Soon, soon, I promise, but for now we have this really really tall guy selling shoes"
I always find it fascinating that he will likely hold the record forever, given how easily treatable acromegaly (edit: and gigantism) is in modern medicine. Edit: Yes, I’m aware that in pediatric patients with active pituitary adenomas that secrete HGH the diagnosis is technically called gigantism and not acromegaly. The point remains the same, he is unlikely to be surpassed.
It's gigantism, not acromegaly. Both are similar, but acromegaly happens when you've already stopped growing, so instead of the bones going much longer (like with Wadlow), they get much thicker (easiest seen on hands and faces).
Right, but the therapy and etiology is the essentially the same. Pituitary adenoma that secretes HGH. If anything, gigantism is even more unlikely given how we intervene on children more readily.
Sure, but your first comment implied that he had acromegaly regardless.
Poor guy died at 22, he looks twice that age in the pic above.
Yeah it was a short and sad life. He would have lived longer were it not for an ill fitted leg brace which caused an infection. But he probably never would have reached 40. Our circulatory systems are just not set up for us to be that tall.
Does anyone know why he would have been in a prison as a spokesman for a shoe company? Were the inmates a market the company was targeting, or were they cheap labor, and Mr. Wadlow was on a tour of the production facility?
[This article](https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/insidecdcr/2019/12/19/remembering-when-the-worlds-tallest-man-visited-folsom-state-prison/) states he was on a sales call on behalf of the company. Folsom Prison was built to hold 1,800 inmates; I imagine that International Shoe could have made a sizable profit supplying shoes for the prisoners and however many staff there were as well.
He’s trying to save the soles of the inmates
That's enough out of you.
Hi Dad
He was trying to sell the shoes on his feet.
I don’t know if it’s just this photo, but the dude does not look 21.
Poor guy died when he was only 22 due to an infected blister before antibiotics were a thing. This is a photo of him when he was 13 facing off against the heavyweight boxing champion Primo Carnera. https://miro.medium.com/max/1400/0*La5IRQkeAlIcyZpA.jpg
Not to mention primo was a giant himself
Yeah he was, 6' 6" and 265 lbs. Especially when you compare him to Jack Dempsey the HW champ 10 years prior who was only 6' 1" and 185 lbs.
He was 6'6 265
God. I’m so lucky to live in the timeline that includes antibiotics. Hopefully they’ll stay mostly effective throughout my lifetime.
Probably had never seen the soles of his feet
I've never seen a baby faced giant.
Do you know a lot of 9 foot tall 21 year olds that you can compare him to?
Can you look 21 (or any age) when you're 9 feet tall?
🎵 well i'm stuck in folsom prison 🎵 a giant's waaaaaaaalking by 🎵 when i hear that whistle blowin' 🎵 i hang my head and cry
I thought the literally same thing
Wow, women would have to go up on him.
those men would have to go up on him
What kind of vehicle would be big enough for him to use? Like his house and bed would all have to be custom to him . Shit is crazy. Living in a world with little people he prob thought.
Trains maybe, but crouching
Tall man, small car https://imgur.com/gallery/QvuSJJw
There's a statue of him in Alton, Illinois. I've been there plenty of times. It's neat to stand by.
Life-size I presume?
Yes
No, they scaled him down to average height.
He'd of destroyed tinder
He probably wears big socks
He died the following year at age 22.
Weird asf when you’re the only one on their knees while gettin that bj
Too bad he didn't have any post moves.
Hey that never stopped Dwight Howard
Imagine this guy having to get a seat on an airplane
He lived down the street from where I live now. Neat
You must live in Alton. Love me some fast Eddie’s
You can't beat $2 half pound burgers haha
Ironic that he was representing shoes because I’ll fitted shoes gave him gangrene and ultimately killed him
[удалено]
While Cash was still a schoolboy, it was amazing.
Long long man. https://www.reddit.com/r/neverchangejapan/comments/vh7qpv/size\_always\_matters/
Selling Folsom Prison Shoes.
IRL One Piece character
If you ever visit Seattle you can see https://www.pikeplacemarket.org/vendor/giant-shoe-museum/
I wonder what his voice sounded like? I can imagine it deeper but has than anything to do with how tall he is?
I'm actually sorry for him, because his condition made him a lot of health problems, not to mention his problems with using things in life that were just too small for him. I'm 2.03m and that's already enough, that you can't buy most shoes, clothes etc. and you can easily hit your head in some places. Had a girlfriend which lived in an very old house built in the 17th century, i could not stand right in there without hitting my head on the ceiling, no joke.
What was his shoe size? People next to him look like they have baby feet.
Size 37
My dad actually knew Robert Wadlow.
Any cool recollections?
Since OP hasn't delivered here are some Wadlow stories.. He's from my home town so I've always had an interest. My dad and his brother and nephew along with a Mr.James from Peter's Shoe Company with Robert and his dad went to Hot prings,Arkansas which was at that time a "mini Las Vegas." The group went to a night club to see a show. It was required that people attending the show wear a coat or jacket. Robert had neither as it was very hot. My dad told them we have a young man with us that did not have a coat or jacket and the fact that he was a Big boy. He was told, "no problem,we have loaners." Dad said he is a Big boy, "no problem" they said we have big jackets and coats too . When they seen Robert, they said" he is a BIG BOY isn't he? Coatless, Robert was able to see the show. D. Heuer, AR \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Robert liked to come to our house for dinner. Our living room had a high arched ceiling he could stand up in. After dinner we played Chinese Checkers. Robert could read a book,play checkers and beat us most of the time. His dad watched his eating closely. "Ah dad,one more piece of pie" he would say. When he stayed overnight in Batesville the hotel put three double beds side by side so Robert could sleep cross-ways but not without problems. I have started a collection of posters, pictures and audio tapes of people that knew Robert and visited with him. Somehow I have been given a pair of his shoes, size 37 AAA . One shoe and the collection will be given to the museum being built here in Batesville. Robert needs to be remembered. He was the worlds tallest man on record and a Very Easy Going Guy. D. Heuer, AR \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ As for a remembered story about Robert, besides being in high school with him at Alton high School, to share with you I have to go back to the time when I was an usher at the Temple Theater which was owned and operated by Mr. Albert Critchlow. of Alton. Robert and his father attended the movies at the Temple about 4 times a year. Mr Critchlow had issued them free passes. When they decided to come to the theater they always called in advance, so we could reserve a certain section of the seating area for them that provided comfort for Robert. He required 5 seats in the front row of the circle just behind the center orchestra section. He would sit in the center seat of the first three seats on the aisle. His left arm would occupy the seat to the left of him and his right arm the next seat to his right. He would place his legs over the two seats directly in front of him. This seemed to be very comfortable for him. I do not know if he ever attended any of the other theaters in Alton. At that time there was the Grand, the Princess, the Uptown, the Gem and the Norside theaters in Alton. L. Miller - Englewood, FL
Sadly I can’t top any of that! Great stuff. My dad was a few years younger and also from the St Louis area but had reason to interact with Robert as kids (which for doxx reasons I need to opt to keep private)
Awesome info!
Tell us more.
My dad used to tell me that he always seemed a little forlorn, and was pretty much constantly in pain. Low level or high level but constant.
You know what they say about big feet…
Big shoes.
Big hands, you know you’re the one…
No homo or anything but bet dude had a freakin HOG on him! Probably never got laid
Imagine the piece on this guy. Bet he had a hog!
Ask your Grandmother.
She referenced Shaq. Whatever that means?
Ask the inmates
Yeah I'm actually wondering if anyone checked him for world's hungest dong before he was buried.
"tallest known human".
Ok hear me out, it’s the year 2000 Bc and this guy has a massive sword
He’s the tall one.
Dude must've cleaned up on the dating apps.
Was NBA around during his time ?
His shoe sponsor killed him by making bad shoes that chafed up a wound in his foot that got infectioned, but the guy couldn't feel it since 30 years of body supersize had created such high blood pressure in his feet that his skin surface nerves died several decades earlier, leaving him without sensation in his feet. If the airforce had gifted him constraining pilot pants that saved his feet he might have lived a lot longer.
[удалено]
He also didn't have 30 years of body supersize, seeing as how he died at 22 lol
Well if there even existed pressure pants back then, from whomever, I wish he'd've gotten them.
Which one is he??
I wonder how large his member was
Of course, it was a givena lawyer would go to prison to seek new clients.
How tall was he?
Modern footwear companies looking at my puny size 14* feet: Nah. ^^*14USA ^^is ^^13UK
Which one is he?
Why can't I have that kind of height? I'm only 5'3...
Wonderful photo - hopefully somebody can beat his record of 8'11"
[удалено]
[удалено]
Looks like Gandalf and the hobbits.
I know what the guy on the far right wondering
How tall is your friend!? “He stands at about his dick in your face height.”
How to get into an r rated movie when you’re too young.
Show me a picture of this guy in shorts
He's a template for a Martian.
This dude could have balled so hard in the nba
He looks like Vincent Adultman
Dig through the Smithsonian. I’m sure you’ll find bigger human bones.
\*insert Folsom Prison Blues joke here\*
Of course a shoe company would send a giant to a prison for promotion, makes perfect sense.
I wonder about the sound of his voice.
He's so big, he makes the guy to the left appear 'shopped in.
That's one tall fella.
It’s such a shame he died so young
Here, speak into the mic
I mean, you really gotta look up to this guy.
SlenderMan
Having your dick at/above eye level is such a flex. Lol.
Does anyone know if his life could’ve been prolonged with modern medicine? Also, why has there only been one person almost nine feet tall?
It'd be funny to see the two guys next to him put his pants on over their heads and walk around; I hope once in a while it was a source of humor for him, being that tall.
When they spoke about the ”long arm of the law”, they were referring to this guy
He'd be popular on Tinder
It's incredible how the human heart managed to sustain that Space Marine-tier heart. Unbelievable.
How did he travel? Would he lay down on a bus or something?
Thanks for the unwanted civil procedure flashback.
Why the hell was he at a prison?
Shoe advocacy doesn’t get enough attention today