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the average human male measures about 5
feet and 9 inches tall it only takes a
few inches to stand out from the pack
with relatively few men crossing the
threshold above 6 feet let alone 7 feet
so imagine being sultan Kosan of turkey
the tallest living man who measures an
astounding 8 feet and 3 inches tall
sultan was born on December 10th 1982
but he didn't start his incredible
growth spurt until he was 10 years old
the rest of his family including his
parents and four siblings are all
average-sized Sultan's unique growth and
massive height is caused by a condition
known as pituitary gigantism which is
the result of an overproduction of
growth hormones when the pituitary gland
is damaged or otherwise affected it will
churn out growth chemicals at an
alarming rate this was the case for
Kosan and he started to notice
abnormalities like huge hands and feet
unfortunately Kosan size prevented him
from completing school he simply
couldn't fit into the spaces designated
for normal children however in his
remote village money was scarce and
Kosan began working as a farmer to
support his family he previously
described one of the advantages of being
tall as being able to help his mother
out with Jon such as changing a broken
lightbulb and hanging curtains
as for the disadvantages to his height
he complained about not being able to
find shoes or clothes that fit and
finding it extremely hard to fit into a
regular-sized car but Kosan glossed
right over another serious side effect
of the ailment while 80% of gigantism
can be cured with a simple surgery if it
goes untreated it leads to serious
health issues including muscular pains
and often premature death the average
lifespan of an individual with pituitary
gigantism is a full twenty years shorter
than the average human lifespan in this
case Cozens fame helped him overcome
this health adversity he became
extremely famous after being spotted in
Ankara Turkey and eventually got
recognition from the Guinness Book of
World Records as the tallest man in the
world from here he received
revolutionary Gamma Knife surgery on the
tumor affecting his pituitary gland
provided by the University of Virginia
in August 2010 which finally halted
sultans production of growth hormone and
stopped him from getting any taller
Sultan also holds the record for largest
hands-on the living person each one
measuring 11 point to 2 inches from the
wrist of a tip of a middle finger
he previously held the record for
largest feat on a living person with his
left foot measuring 1 foot 2 inches and
right foot measuring 1 foot 3 inches and
Kosan was never shy about what he really
wanted most in life during his first
ever visit to London in September 2009
Sultan expressed hope that his newfound
fame would change his life and help him
find a wife it's really difficult to
find
girlfriend are usually scared of me
hopefully now that I'm famous I'll be
able to meet lots of girls my dream is
to be married and yet again Cozens Fame
worked to his advantage in October 2013
he finally fulfilled his dream of
getting married Sultan and mauvais diba
who is nine years his junior and just
five feet nine inches tall met through a
mutual friend where they traveled from
her home of his sake in Syria to his
village today Koli in Turkey to meet him
they were married two months later the
couple enjoyed a full wedding party
after the ceremony with over 1,500
guests including a representative from
Guinness World Records and local
dignitaries after the wedding the happy
couple headed back to their specially
designed home and today coy where they
hope to bring up children in the future
it seems the coast has accomplished his
two biggest goals to receive life-saving
surgery and find a loving wife as for
his occupation Coast ins farming days
are behind him he has used his minor
celebrity to land a number of roles in
Hollywood movies in addition he has
spent much of his last few years touring
the Indian Ocean with the magic circus
of Samoa he continues to use his size to
his advantage and will likely tour for
much of his adult life the next tallest
living man is Moroccan born Brahim
Tequila who was a comparable eight feet
in 1 inch tall he's also the man who
robbed Kosan of his record for the
world's largest feat the 29 year old who
currently lives in Paris France has a
left foot measuring 1 foot 3 inches in
length while his right measures 1 foot 4
inches Rahim who grew up in a small
Moroccan village had a massive growth
spurt during his teens which saw him
grow 3 feet in just one year however no
one thought to investigate his unusual
size until he was 18 five years ago a
French doctor brought him to Paris for
treatment but first he decided to finish
his university studies in geography
he contacted Guinness World Records
himself to challenge for the record and
says he is proud to have it recognized
though daily life is not without its
problems
brahim cannot stand up straight in the
small flat he shares with his mother in
the Paris suburbs has difficulty getting
into a taxi or train and can never move
around without attracting attention he
nevertheless remains good-humoured about
his situation and is happy to pose for
pictures with members of the public and
politely answer questions about his
condition he hopes one day to have a
specially built car he could drive
himself but for now even getting a pair
of shoes stretches his budget he takes a
European size 58 which no shop has ever
stocked unlike Kosan brahim has still
not received his life-saving surgery and
continues to grow due to the same
pituitary disorder it is entirely
possible that brahim could overtake
Koston during his lifetime bail if he
doesn't receive the surgery soon he may
not have long to live both of these
individuals would dwarf the average
human but neither of them is even close
to the size of the tallest
man in recorded history that title
belongs to American Robert Wadlow also
known as the Alton giant and the giant
of Illinois Wadlow reached eight feet in
11.1 inches in height and weighed four
hundred thirty nine pounds at his death
at age 22 his great size and his
continued growth in adulthood were due
to hyperplasia of his pituitary gland
which results in an abnormally high
level of human growth hormone he showed
no indication of an end to his growth
even at the time of his death Wadlow was
born in Alton Illinois in February 22nd
1918 - Harold Franklin and Adam a wadhwa
and was the oldest of five children he
was taller than his father by the age of
eight and an elementary school they had
to make a special desk for him due to
his size by the time he had graduated
from alton high school in 1936 he was
eight foot four after graduating he
enrolled in Charlotte College with the
intention of studying law tragically
Wadlow passed away at the age of 22 this
is not uncommon for individuals with
gigantism especially before the advent
of modern medical technology early on
while those signs began to take its toll
he required leg braces to walk and had
little feeling in his legs and feet
despite these difficulties he never used
a wheelchair but much like Sultan Kosan
Wadlow realized that his height was also
a gift and a potential occupation wildoe
became a celebrity after his 1936 US
tour with a Ringling Brothers Circus he
appeared with Ringling Brothers at
Madison Square Garden and the Boston
Garden in the center ring never in the
sideshow during his appearances he was
dressed in his normal clothes and
refused the circus request to wear a top
hat and tails in 1938 he did a
promotional tour with the international
shoe company they provided him his shoes
free of charge examples of the shoe
still exist in several locations
throughout the US including Schneider
shoe store of Ludington and Manistee
Michigan and the Alton Museum of History
and art he continued participating in
tours and public appearances though only
in his normal street clothes while
though rationalized that he was working
in advertising not being exhibited as a
freak he possessed great physical
strength until the last year of his life
when his strength and his health in
general began to deteriorate rapidly Bob
Lowe was a member of the Order of
DeMolay the Masonic sponsored
Organization for young men he was also a
freemason in 1939 he petitioned Franklin
Lodge number 25 in Alton Illinois and by
late November of that year was raised to
the degree of Master Mason under the
jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of
Illinois af and AM unsurprisingly his
Freemason ring was the largest ever made
one year before his death wah blow past
John Rogan as the tallest person ever On
June 27 1940 18 days before his death he
was measured at 8 feet 11 inches by
doctors
Charles and Cyril McBride of Washington
University in st. Louis Missouri on July
4th 1940 during a professional
appearance at the Manistee National
Forest festival a faulty brace irritated
his ankle causing a blister and
subsequent infection doctors treated him
with a blood transfusion and emergency
surgery but his condition worsened due
to an autoimmune disorder and on July
15th 1947 days after contracting the
infection he died in his sleep at the
age of 22 his coffin measured 10 feet 9
inches long by 2 feet 8 inches wide by 2
feet 6 inches deep weighed 1,000 pounds
and was carried by 12 pallbearers and
eight assistants his body was buried at
Oakwood Cemetery in Upper Alton Illinois
compare this to Zen Jian lon
the tallest recorded woman in history
she suffered from spine curvature and
could not stand at full height when she
finally stretched out her spine she was
measured as the tallest recorded Chinese
person and world's tallest person
shortly before her death she's the only
woman verified to have reached 8 feet
tall Zhang LUN passed away when she was
only 17 years old she had complications
from both diabetes and scoliosis the sad
truth is that this is not uncommon for
those who suffer from gigantism though
they were not the largest in the world
many recognizable actors with gigantism
have passed away a tragically young ages
Andre the Giant the 7-foot four wrestler
and actor and most famous for his role
in the Princess Bride died from heart
failure at age 46 matthew mcgrory the
seven foot six actor famous for his role
in big fish died from heart failure at
age 32 aside from the deadliness of this
disease it's a huge nuisance to be above
a certain height as you might imagine
the proliferation of big and tall stores
in major cities was a huge gift to those
who are above average height most
clothes shoes cars and appliances are
not likely to fit an individual who is
larger than six feet and five inches
tall in 1911 there were no stores that
catered to the needs of the big and tall
men and businesses began to grow to
serve the community the first shop was
Frank's in New Brunswick New Jersey
larger men from throughout the area
would arrive at Frank's shop eager to
get their bigger needs addressed the
tailor shop continued through the 1940s
after returning from World War two
Frank's two sons hi and Alex open up
Frank's Army supply along with their
brother Marty in 1961 continuing the
tradition established by their father
Frank the brothers decided to focus on
the clothing needs of the big and tall
men and they opened the first Frank's
big and tall now big and tall stores are
relatively common in developed countries
but many developing countries have
neither access to oversized clothes or
the medical procedures that will cure
patients with some form of gigantism
because of this it's important to raise
awareness and implement this relatively
simple surgery in the communities that
need it most
as for Sultan Kosan he is
the largest living human and seems like
he's in good health he's proven to be a
good role model for people with
gigantism all over the world
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