The Dutch are the tallest. Dutch men are the tallest in the world

There is a certain connection between the character of the Dutchman and the landscape of his country. The terrain here is so flat that on the horizon line you can even make out pied cows grazing peacefully among the tall grasses. This is where the Dutch have a genuine passion for vast expanses and abundance of light. They cannot imagine their existence without a sense of freedom, freedom, and vast space around them. Few of them would like life in the forest. By the way, one of the most famous Dutch novelists sent them on a trip to Switzerland for their parents’ golden wedding anniversary. How upset he was to learn that after just a few days they returned home! His mother was very disappointed in her and her husband's first visit to the country of William Tell. As she explained, she couldn’t see anything from the windows of the hotel room; everything was obscured by the mountains rising around her.

In Holland the landscape is calm and monotonous. Only occasionally is its monotony broken by trees lined up like soldiers on a parade ground or forming symmetrical figures. And the ocean, which threatens Holland with flooding, is caught by the canals that cut the country up and down and carries its waters along their arrow-straight channels. To the same extent as their love of space, local residents are characterized by self-control and moderation. “Tall trees bend the wind more strongly,” the Dutch say edifyingly. When talking about excesses, they use the word “ overvloed"("flooding") - as if we are talking about water breaking a dam. Spendthrift people here do not spend money, but “spend it”.

Holland has a lot of light, but few bright colors - only shades of green, gray and brown. The same color scheme reigns in cities, where most buildings are made of brown brick, and deputies of municipal assemblies decide that citizens are obliged to paint the entrance doors of their own houses in the same notorious green color. When Van Gogh, having left his father's land, settled in the south of France, where the colors are brighter and the terrain is more relief, he, abandoning the cozy brown tones of The Potato Eaters, became addicted to brighter colors - and lost his mind.

Sitting in their cozy and neat living rooms, without a single spot or speck of dust, the Dutch will probably say that they are rightfully called one of the cleanest nations in the world. Perhaps they will also mention their thriftiness, prudence in commercial affairs, their amazing ability for languages, their ability (and in this, in their opinion, they have no equal) to get along with each other and with foreigners, as well as their incomparable charm. But they will never, unless forced, admit publicly that they are somehow superior to other peoples.

What the Dutch pride themselves on most is their tolerance and agreeableness. These qualities, coupled with the well-known flexibility of moral principles, are very useful in business. The structure of their benevolence is based not on the foundation of ideals of philanthropy, but on solid commercial calculation. And the walls of this building are so thick that behind them you cannot see such little things that do not agree with each other, such as the distrust of the Moroccans hidden in the depths of the soul, the aversion to the smells of non-Dutch dishes coming from the ground floor, or the fact that on St. Nicholas Day many white people painted themselves black paint, they depict black slaves in a funny way. Once you have brought these kinds of contradictions to light, point them out, and you will seriously offend, no, offend a resident of the Netherlands.

In the minds of most peoples, the Dutch are a united and active nation, just like the Germans, only much less dangerous. Should we be afraid of these rosy-cheeked farmers who live among windmills, with clogs lying at the bottom of their wardrobes, tulips blooming in the garden, and piles of cheeses stacked in the pantry?

At the same time, the Dutch also have a reputation for being headstrong, stubborn and incorrigibly rude. The Belgians, in addition, complain that their Dutch neighbors resort to all sorts of tricks in their business. However, other peoples have a different point of view: the Dutch, in their opinion, are too straightforward. Their frankness completely confuses more reserved nations, say, the Japanese. The latter find that of those with whom they have to do business in Europe, the Dutch are the most unceremonious and rude people. But their business acumen delights the residents of the Land of the Rising Sun. “Where the Dutchman has passed, not a single blade of grass remains,” is their saying.

The British look at the Dutch with restrained approval, since they are more like the sacred personage of a resident of Britain in their character than other Europeans. Such friendship did not always reign between these peoples. In the 17th century, these two maritime powers were ready to gnaw at each other's throats. In one English pamphlet there are such poisonous lines: “The Dutchman is a fat, lustful, two-legged cheese eater. A creature so addicted to eating oil, grease and sliding on ice (skating) that he is known throughout the world as a “slippery fellow.” This is where the English language has so many derogatory names based on the word "Dutch", including: "Dutch courage" (bravery under the influence of wine fumes), "Dutch consolation" ("it could be worse") and " Dutch gold" (copper foil). Even now, the old enmity is still alive among the British (especially customs officers), who see the Dutch as drug-addled distributors of pornography. But, in general, every Dutch family now watches BBC programs on satellite television, and all Dutch people speak English fluently - without wrinkling their foreheads with tension and without making their interlocutor cringe from blunders and harsh pronunciation.

To be an ideal in the eyes of Europeans is the cherished desire of the Dutch. No wonder they so They borrowed so diligently and so much from other peoples that they almost lost their own cultural identity. However, there is nothing bad here, since this is a natural result of the compliance and tolerance of the Dutch. Ultimately, this is what happens: almost all nations see familiar features in the Dutch. And, therefore, everyone likes the Dutch.

Now Holland resembles the smallest and most inconspicuous boy in the class, who does not cause much trouble either to his classmates or to the school administration. However, as soon as the child does something out of the ordinary or expresses his own opinion on any matter, he will certainly be noticed immediately. And with a successful combination of circumstances, he will even (which doesn’t happen in this world!) be chosen as the head of the class, because he, having experienced all the bitterness of insults and humiliation in his own skin, will cope better than others with this role. And certainly better than those who are famous for their pugnacious disposition.

The Dutch, although their country has been adjacent to the British Isles for many centuries, have an ambivalent attitude towards the British. They are amazed that these rather puny islanders, who are speechless when you talk to them about sex, somehow manage to create such beautiful books and - in their own amateur way - manage some of the most famous banks in the world (be patient they are ruins, the Dutch would willingly buy them all at bargain prices). Believing that the British are inclined to country life and at the same time dress too elegantly, they simultaneously admire English underwear and cannot understand how such a reserved nation manages to produce such elegant and practical things. In some circles, English style is revered as the height of chic. Local rich people and those who want to join their ranks sport striped tweed suits or shiny jackets. However, often they, like the English who settled in Holland, are almost missing something.

The Dutch, like most of their European neighbors, are extremely eager for the attributes of American culture, although they call its creators empty-headed ignoramuses. They especially like open-air cinemas: they do not restrict their freedom, and nothing prevents them from admiring the expanse that opens up to their eyes.

France and Italy are wonderful places to spend a holiday, but the Dutch look very disapprovingly at the inhabitants there. The French are too frivolous, and therefore are not able to win over for a long time the people, imbued to the marrow of their bones with the spirit of Calvin. And in addition, these, according to the Dutch, obstructionists do not have a drop of tolerance, they are completely incapable of conducting a reasonable dialogue. It's hard not to look at a country where farmers are allowed to dump turnips on highways with some skepticism.

Straightforwardness, according to the Dutch, is one of the virtues. However, not when people give vent to their feelings too much. This already smacks of a loss of self-control. This is why the Italians (like most Mediterranean peoples) fell into the category of “less passable, but still not like us.” In Europe, the Dutch only receive admiring reviews from the Swiss. In Switzerland, cleanliness reigns everywhere, Swiss banks cannot be robbed, and the secret of personal deposits rests behind seven seals.

The patience of the Dutch is not unlimited. And they begin to lose it on the border with Germany. Perhaps only the Germans are able to bring them out of their usual blissfully peaceful state. The Dutch consider the Boches to be arrogant, noisy, unyielding and intolerant - the exact opposite of themselves. They look warily at people who are accustomed to living in the forest. However, the Dutch, as a rule, do not even try to somehow explain their dislike. They don't tolerate Hans - and that's all for long. God forbid you tell a Dutchman (or a Dutchwoman) that their language is similar to German. It is unlikely that you will endear yourself to your interlocutors. And if you notice that the Dutch and Germans have a lot in common, then most likely you will simply be kicked out of the house.

If a German asks for directions in a Dutch city, a local resident will certainly point him towards either the Dutch-German border or the nearest international airport. As soon as a German sticks his nose out into the street, the Dutch, bursting with laughter, begin to shout: “Where is my bicycle?” This joke is an echo of the Second World War that has survived to this day (then the Germans confiscated all bicycles from the population). The Dutch of all ages are releasing her, even those whose parents were not even there during the occupation. You will go to any lengths to hurt the Boches.

Their southern neighbor, Belgium, also causes a lot of trouble for the Dutch. Although the language of the Flemish part of Belgium is practically the same as Dutch (no one speaks Dutch except the Boers in South Africa and the inhabitants of several former colonies scattered around the world), this does not inspire the Dutch to love their cousins. No, the Dutch consider the Belgians to be stomach-churningly stupid people and only fit to serve as a target for ridicule:

Question: What is written on the bottom of a Belgian milk bottle?
Answer: Open from the other side.

Often these jokes are somewhat surreal in nature:

Question: What does the sign on the bottom of a swimming pool in Belgium say?
Answer: Smoking is prohibited.

Question: Why are glasses square in Belgium?
Answer: Yes, because they do not leave round marks on the table.

Within the Netherlands itself, the reputation of fools was assigned to the inhabitants of the southern province of Limburg (the main city of Maastricht). Hence the following joke:

Question: What happens when someone from Maastricht moves to Belgium?
Answer: Both the Dutch and the Belgians have an increase in their average IQ scores.

What are the features of the Dutch national character? Of course, this is primarily the well-known Dutch tolerance. Not only in relation to non-traditional sexual orientation and one of the most ancient professions (remember the red light district), but in general to everything strange and unusual. For example, the Dutch will not at all judge a guest who comes to a social reception in old jeans and a frayed sweater. And at the same time, they will calmly treat a loader in a jacket and tie. They won’t even blink an eyelid when they see a half-naked passerby in winter. Without a shadow of amazement they will look at a man in a woman’s headscarf and with pigtails. They will smile calmly at a person loudly singing opera arias as they walk. They were probably just used to wonders and surprises. To understand this, just take a walk around Amsterdam at night - you will see so many interesting, extraordinary people that you will lose the ability to be surprised.

The Dutch, who are not surprised by anything, are not alien to curiosity, bordering on tactlessness. This is not immediately obvious, since the people of the country are extremely polite and accommodating. They will never ask questions about salary, religion or political preferences. But they can easily ask a woman they don’t know how old she is, if she is married, if she has children. (It should be noted that they do not consider the absence of a husband and children to be a disadvantage at all). The Dutch also often strive to get to the heart of things, asking: why do you think this way, why do you act this way and not otherwise? However, they rarely give unsolicited advice.

The Dutch are hardworking, conscientious and obliging people. At work - even a not very beloved one - they give their best not to please their superiors, but out of a sense of duty and internal discipline. And they almost always keep their promises. If for some reason they let you down, they apologize and, if possible, compensate for the damage or inconvenience caused. The Dutch, without shame or complexes, admit that they do not know something - even if it concerns historical, geographical or cultural facts that everyone is supposed to know. They can also calmly admit that they don’t read books or go to museums. They know that the interlocutor will not look at them with contempt and will not even think badly of them.

The Dutch value honesty above all else. If a child has committed a serious offense, for example, stealing money from his parents, they often tell him: “We can forgive you for the theft. But never a lie." If the Dutch don't like something, they announce it directly. They easily criticize their interlocutor without being embarrassed by the presence of other people. And if a discussion starts in the company, they always take part in it. And this is not for the sake of standing out. It is simply important for them that others know their opinion.

In general, we can say that the inhabitants of the country are straightforward, open people. But, unfortunately, sometimes they are too open. For example, they will frankly report to their boss that a colleague went home too early. Or he said or did something wrong. And that same colleague won’t even be offended by this. Of course, this does not happen in all teams, but this is the general trend.

Looking at the balanced, helpful and always smiling local residents, it is difficult to imagine that they can shout, pound the table with their fists, or slam the door. It seems impossible to piss them off – at least not in a business setting. However, this is only an appearance: the Dutch quarrel with their colleagues and neighbors - but only differently than our compatriots. They express their indignation and dissatisfaction peacefully and politely - from the outside it seems that people are having a normal conversation. They also calmly make peace: they discuss who was right and wrong about what. They consider reconciliation after a quarrel necessary, even if the main conflict remains unresolved.

The Dutch are supporters not only of unconditional honesty, but also of complete justice. Nobody gives bribes to anyone. Try to suggest, they simply won’t understand you. Of course, corruption scandals happen, but rules always mean exceptions. The Dutch are law-abiding people and demand the same from others. Any privileges are excluded. Thus, when entering an elite school or competing for a prestigious position, everyone has equal chances: the son of a minister, for example, will not receive the slightest advantage. This does not apply only to the royal family - all its members are well settled. And no one blames them for this. The royal house is a symbol of the country and lives by its own ‘symbolic’ laws, so a lot is forgiven to them.

It seems the story is almost finished. Everything I have said so far corresponds to both generally accepted views and my own observations. But the reader may ask: what about the famous Dutch stinginess? Even the residents of the country consider themselves exaggeratedly thrifty and enjoy telling the following anecdote: “Do you know how wire appeared? Two Dutchmen found a ten-cent piece and each took it towards him.” However, I personally do not consider the Dutch to be stingy and I do not notice that they skimp on themselves and their loved ones. The modesty of their feasts is explained, in my opinion, only by moderate needs and a reasonable attitude towards food. It should be added that in financial matters the Dutch are extremely prudent and careful, so they do not count on “maybe” and insure themselves for almost all eventualities.

I also do not agree with the popular opinion that the Dutch are unemotional and dry. For example, they never cry in public, except at funerals. No, that’s not true, even if they are more reserved than, for example, the Italians. They also say that the Dutch do not like to gossip. It’s not true – they love it, although they don’t abuse it. In general, the inhabitants of the orange kingdom are normal, nice people, but in some ways they are special and unique. I would say: great guys. I like them.

Now about national cuisine

The first and most famous is Dutch cheese. As of 2004, the Netherlands ranks 3rd in cow cheese exports. Back in the Middle Ages, their neighbors, the Germans and Belgians, dubbed the Dutch Jan Kaas - Ivan the Cheese. It turns out that cheese can even give a name to a city: they say that the city of Gouda is named after the cheese and not vice versa!

Fryske Sukerbole - Frisian sugar bread - the softest butter bread with the aroma of cinnamon, ginger and delicate pieces of sugar. I use ginger syrup when making this bread.

Snert - what do you think this is? This is Dutch pea soup. Soup! Old-fashioned, rustic - as they write about it, soup, the quality of which is determined not only by taste or aroma, but also by how well a spoon costs in the soup))

In the Netherlands, herring is respected, and even more so is the salted fish Haring. Haring - Hollandse Nieuwe - "Dutch new" - is a young Haring that has a fat content of at least 16%. It usually reaches this fat content by mid-May and then the season begins. The season opens with a big holiday - Vlaggetjesdag, when fishermen sail out on their ships for the first haring. The fish is cleaned and salted in a special way immediately on the ship. Traditionally, haring is eaten in this way - the fish is taken by the tail, lifted up and placed in the mouth whole.

What else can I tell you? The Netherlands has a unique brewing culture; each village has its own variety and recipe.

One of the most striking features of Holland is its love of tulips! The Dutch passion for tulips and floriculture in general has become a legend in the modern world. You can read an interesting article about tulip mania and what one small tulip bulb can do

Today the Netherlands can rightfully be called the capital of European floriculture; the country has many plantations, large and small, many national holidays, including those dedicated to tulips, for example the Tulpendag Free Tulip Day holiday and many others!

Hello, dear friends, site readers! Vadim Dmitriev is in touch again. It's no secret that the Dutch are now considered the tallest people in the world, but few people wonder why this nation is tall. Today I bring to your attention an article by a girl named Maria Worrell. She moved to Holland from the USA and wrote on her blog about why the Dutch are so tall. I found her article and translated it from English to publish here. The story contains very interesting observations, you should like it.

I had a conversation on Twitter with several people about why Dutch people are the tallest in the world. My friend is 195 cm tall and the people around him are tall. Even the women here are tall and proud of it. Later, I had a conversation with my friend Amber, who is working on a project related to the availability of local food. All this got me thinking.

My short stature gives me some difficulties here. Shelves and racks are high, toilet seats are high, and so on. Much has been written about why Dutch people are so tall and here are the arguments I've come across:

• Genetics
• Abundant consumption of dairy products containing calcium. The Dutch consume tons of milk and dairy products. You can easily see people walking down the street with cartons of milk.
• Healthy lifestyle. They walk a lot. This likely reduces cholesterol levels from dairy products and improves their health. Most people ride bicycles regardless of height, weight and age. It's also surprising how active the elderly people are here. If they don't ride bicycles, they walk or ride in wheelchairs, but they certainly don't sit at home waiting to die.
• The Dutch eat in cafes and restaurants less often than Americans. It's quite expensive here. It is preferable to have a snack with homemade food from a bag taken with you. Many times I have seen people on bicycles taking out food wrapped in foil to snack on. Apples are very popular. At the same time, they love diners where everything except the ice cream is well-done... sometimes twice.
• Affordable medical care. Every person should buy a medical insurance policy and use it when necessary. If you cannot afford it, you receive an allowance to pay for medical care. And it's not just for the poor. Even people earning 30 thousand euros a year receive a small benefit. I come here, but I receive my allowance. Easy access to health care likely has an impact on their health and height.

Since moving to Holland, there is one thing that has bothered me the most - the cost of eating out. They are quite big. Weekly markets near the city are helpful, where you can buy cheap and fresh products. I buy a lot of fruits and vegetables for less than 20 euros. They cost much more at the grocery store or farmer's market in the US.

Let's take a recent food outing as an example. I went to a small market near my house, where the prices are a little higher, but it's still cheap. Here's what I bought for 19 euros (please note that I took several expensive products that I don't eat regularly - strawberries, mangoes, avocados): 1 kg plums, 3 grapefruits, 4 oranges, 8 tangerines, 5 large apples, 3 avocado, bunch of basil, bunch of mint, bunch of parsley, bunch of green onions, green salad, 2 large heads of broccoli, sweet peas, 250 grams of mushrooms, 2 bags of strawberries, red bell pepper (about 10 pieces), 2 chili peppers, 1 large cucumber , 1 zucchini, 4 lemons, 3 limes.

True, none of this is positioned as “organic”; some products were from local producers, but they are available to the population. I don't know what food prices are like in America these days, but I don't remember being able to buy that much food for less than 25 bucks. For this money, I could, of course, fill the refrigerator with fast food or discounted, rotten fruit, but definitely not with fresh fruits and vegetables. Everything here is fresh and of pretty good quality. The Dutch are big on freshness when it comes to their food.

Still, I miss America with its abundance of take-out restaurants, especially now that I am a student again. After all, there you can find not only establishments with fatty, disgusting dishes, but also really healthy food, if you set your mind to it. And in Holland you only have to choose from McDonald's, KFC or fast food restaurants, because all healthy food restaurants are incredibly expensive and require more than 12 euros per dish. But in general, the Dutch and Europeans have done a better job than Americans of making sure they have local, cheap sources of healthy food within reach.

Best regards, Vadim Dmitriev

The Netherlands means “lower lands,” but now this European kingdom is increasingly called by another name: the Land of Giants and Giants. There is nothing strange about this and it is not an exaggeration, because the average height of a Dutch woman is 1.71 meters, and a Dutch man is 1.85 meters.

The reason for such superiority in height over residents of other countries remained a mystery until recently. Scientists did not know why the Dutch became the tallest people on the planet. Although, just a couple of centuries ago, the subjects of this kingdom in the north of continental Europe were considered among the most... low.

How could such a significant metamorphosis occur in just two hundred years, a very short period by evolutionary standards? The most common explanation is increased nutrition and a high-calorie diet, in which meat and dairy products play an important role.

However, scientists are now confident that it is not just about nutrition and diet. Many other European countries have also made great strides in improving the well-being of their people, but this has not meant that they have grown at the same astronomical rate as the Dutch. The average Dutchman, according to the statistical department of the Dutch army, has gained a very impressive 20 centimeters over the past 150 years, i.e. became a head taller than his ancestors who lived in the mid-19th century. Over the same century and a half, the average American, who 15 years ago had the status of the tallest person on the planet, became only 6 centimeters taller, although he also did not starve and ate a lot of meat.

Scientists from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, led by population health specialist Gert Stulp, decided to solve the mystery of such a rapid growth of the Dutch. They checked the statistics of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (the so-called LifeLines), a huge database containing the most detailed information on more than 94,500 Dutch people who lived in the years 1935-67.

British scientists drew attention to an interesting pattern - the height of fathers with many children, who had on average 0.24 children more than the least fertile Dutch, was 7 centimeters higher than the height of the average Dutch. The height of the least fertile parents was 14 cm below average. In addition, tall and stately men of Dutch blood are more likely to get divorced and start new families with more children.

The researchers explained this pattern as evolution at work. It turns out that tall men find it much easier to find a partner than short men, and short women more often choose men who are above average height as their life partners. Thus, tall men have a greater chance of passing on their gene pool to subsequent generations.

The same pattern is observed among Dutch women, although in a less pronounced form compared to men.

British scientists did not conduct research at the gene level. They concluded from their observations that apparently, over time, more and more Dutch people acquired genes for tallness.

“Natural selection, in addition to a good environment, may explain why the Dutch are so tall,” says the research paper published in the Royal Society journal Proceedings B.

“Height is a very heritable trait,” explains Gert Stulp. “Tall parents give birth to taller children. Since tall people in the next generation have more children who are also taller, then the average height of this generation, other things being equal, also increases.”

The tallest people in Africa share the championship with the Americans and the Dutch. This representatives of the Nuer people from Eastern Sudan - (average height of men 184 cm).

Tall groups (170 centimeters and above) also live on the east coast of North America and in Argentina. In Europe, tall people tend to live in the north of the continent. In addition to the Dutch, these are Norwegians, Swedes, Danes, and Scots. For a long time, the record among Europeans was held by Montenegrins: the average height of men in the country is 177 centimeters, and in the city of Trebinje - 183 centimeters.

In 1960-1970, the average height of Soviet men was 168 cm, women - 157 cm. In Russia in the early 90s, the average height of men was 176 cm, women - 164 cm.

In the world, the average height of an adult man is currently 165 centimeters, women - 154 centimeters. The difference in height between men and women among different nations ranges from 8-12 centimeters.

The shortest people on Earth are the Mbuti pygmy tribe. The average height of men is less than 140 centimeters, women - 120-130 centimeters. They live in Equatorial Africa in the Congo River basin, in the least accessible wooded areas. Pygmies - “people with a fist”, this is how this word is translated. Very small people can be found in many places near the equator. These are the Aeta tribes living in the Philippines, the Semang of the Malacca Peninsula. Short stature is also typical for the population of the far north of Europe, Asia and America (Lapps, Mansi, Khanty, Eskimos).