Guinness World Records 2004

HUMANS BODY EXTREMES Heaviest man The heaviest person in medical history was Jon Brower Minnoch (USA). He suffered from obesity as a child and, by 1963, when he was 22 years old and 6 ft. 1 in. (1.85 m) tall, he weighed 392 lb. (178 kg). Four years later, he weighed 700 lb. (317 kg), and by September, 1976, he weighed 975 lb. (442 kg). He was rushed to the hospital in 1978 with heart and respiratory failure, weighing an estimated 1400 lb. (635 kg). When he died in 1983 he was down to 798 lb. (362 kg). Heaviest woman Rosalie Bradford (USA) is claimed to have registered a peak weight of 1,190 lb. (540 kg) in January, 1987. In August of that year, she developed congestive heart failure and was rushed to the hospital. She was consequently put on a carefully controlled diet and by February, 1994 weighed 283 lb. (128 kg). Greatest weight differential between a married couple Weighing 1,400 lb. (635 kg), Jon Brower Minnoch (USA) married his 110 lb. (50-kg) wife Jeannette (USA) in March, 1978. Their weight difference was 1,290 lb. (585 kg)--the greatest for a married couple. Most variable stature At the age of 21 in 1920, Adam Rainer (Austria) measured 3 ft. 10.5 in. (1.18 m). He then had a rapid growth spurt and by 1931 had reached 7 ft. 1.75 in. (2.18 m). As a result, he became so weak that he was bedridden for the rest of his life. When he died in 1950, he measured 7 ft. 8 in. (2.34 m). He remains the only person to have been both a dwarf and a giant. Shortest man ever The shortest mature human of whom there is independent evidence was Gul Mohammed (India). On July 19, 1990, he was examined at Ram Manohar Hospital, New Delhi, India, and found to be 22.5 in. (57 cm) tall. Shortest woman The shortest ever female was Pauline Musters (Netherlands). Born on February 26, 1876, she measured 12 in. (30 cm) at birth. At nine years of age she was 21.5 in. (55 cm) tall and weighed only 3 lb. 5 oz. (1.5 kg). She died of pneumonia with meningitis on March 1, 1895 in New York City, USA, at the age of 19. A post-mortem examination showed her to be exactly 24 in. (61 cm)--there was some elongation after death. The shortest living woman is Madge Bester (South Africa), who is only 25.5 in. (65 cm) tall. She suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta (characterized by brittle bones and other deformities of the skeleton) and is confined to a wheelchair. Her mother Winnie is not much taller, measuring 27.5 in. (70 cm), and is also confined to a wheelchair. Tallest woman Zeng Jinlian (China) of Yujiang village in the Bright Moon Commune, Hunan Province, was 8 ft. 1.75 in. (2.48 m) when she died aged 17 years 232 days on February 13, 1982. The tallest living woman is Sandy Allen (USA, b. June 18, 1955), who when last measured was 7 ft. 7.25 in. (2.317 m) tall. She stood 6 ft. 3 in. (1.905 m) by the age of 10 and was 7 ft. 1 in. (2.16 m) tall by 16. Tallest man The tallest man in history for whom there is evidence is Robert Pershing Wadlow (USA, 1918-40) who, when last measured on June 27, 1940, was found to be 8 ft. 11.1 in. (2.72 m) tall. His amazing height was the result of an overactive pituitary gland, which oversupplied his body with growth hormone. Longest fingernails The combined measurement of the five nails on the left hand of Shridhar Chillal (India) was 20 ft. 2.25 in. (6.15 m) on July 8, 1998, when they were measured on the set of Guinness World Records: Primetime, Los Angeles, California, USA. His thumbnail was the longest, measuring 56 in. (1.42 m). The longest fingernails on a woman belong to Lee Redmond (USA). They measure a total length of 29 ft. 9 in. (6 m 62.94 cm). The longest nail is on her left thumb and measures 2 ft. 3 in. (68.58 cm). Largest ever feet Robert Wadlow (USA), the tallest man ever, wore US size 37AA shoes (UK size 36), equivalent toFolkard, Claire is the author of 'Guinness World Records 2004', published 2004 under ISBN 9780553587128 and ISBN 0553587129.