It’s been pretty hard to miss. The new campaign for ‘Bloke Coke’, Coke Zero. It’s everywhere. Some sad looking bloke walking around saying offensive things, with a sense of purpose about walking somewhere. But where is he going with his gang of similarly fired up middle of the road individuals with absolutely no sense of personality?

In one version they even have a go at us tall people, they use the line “Gigs without tall people” The cheek of it. I have a better idea, how about gigs without your poor chemicalized coke (which doesn’t even have sugar, whats the point of that, I think most blokes would prefer a beer or a water, wake up Coca Cola!)

This is how it was reported on the Brand Republic website

LONDON - Coca-Cola has aroused the wrath of mental-health campaigners, women and tall people with its new campaign for ‘Bloke Coke’, Coke Zero.
The soft-drinks giant has already pledged to drop an execution that features the strapline “Blind dates without the psychos” after receiving complaints from mental health charities, including Scottish anti-stigma campaign See Me.

A spokeswoman for Coca-Cola said: “Mental health is a sensitive issue and we appreciate that this ad may offend some people.”

In total, the Advertising Standards Authority has received 14 complaints about the campaign, created by VCCP. One execution using the line “Gigs without tall people” was slammed for encouraging verbal and physical abuse of tall people. Another, with the strap “Girlfriends without a five-year plan”, sparked complaints that it was offensive because it implied that all women want to do is settle down.

The ASA is considering investigating the complaints.

If you would like to complain about the advert click here

I have been searching the internet to bring you the best tall forums and communities on the web. I will keep updated this post as and when I find more.

Tall Persons Club GB
“This BBS is a Tall Persons Club members’ facility where only club members can post messages but anyone can read them. ”

Tallpeople.org
“Welcome to TallPeople.org. We are a Community for Tall People where tall men and tall women connect.”

We’re Tall People.
“Are you tired of hotel shower heads aimed at your belly button? Are you sick of everyone complementing you on your hot new capri pants that weren’t really supposed to be capri pants? Are you amazed at the cars some people drive, the bus seats you’re supposed to fit into? Do you feel funny in bathroom stalls because when you stand up, everyone can see your head? And finally, are you sick and tired of everyone asking you if you play basketball? Then this is the place for you! Way to be tall!”

Tall Magazine
“because life may be short, but we’re not”

Tall Talk.com
“Tall Talk is a fun place to meet other tall people online.”

Published: 1st February 2006 12:40 CET

Tall men are more likely to receive a longer education than short men, according to Swedish research covering almost a million men.

One reason could be discrimination against short students, says the author of the report, which has appeared in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

The study examined the relationship between the height of over 950,000 Swedish men born between 1950 and 1975 and the level of education they reached in the 27 years after they turned 18.

43% of the men who were taller than 194 centimetres had at least one year of college education - compared to only 22% of the men who were shorter than 165 centimetres.

“It’s possible that there is some sort of stigma or discrimination in society,” said Finn Rasmussen at the Karolinska Institute’s Department of Public Health Sciences.

“There is discrimination against people with different ethnic backgrounds, so why not against short people?” he told The Local.

The men’s height and IQ were measured when they joined Sweden’s military service system as conscripts. Rasmussen and his colleagues followed the men’s social and educational development through their personal numbers.

“This is a very large study conducted over a long period of time. After adjusting for IQ and socio-economic group, the relationship is still very strong,” he said.

Rasmussen, who as a 178cm tall associate professor is in the minority for educational attainment in his height group, pointed out that historically there have been very strong differences in height between socio-economic groups.

“Poor people have tended to be shorter, rich people have tended to be taller. And over time there is genetic selection as tall people marry tall people and have tall children,” he said.

Such a vast quantity of data is only available for the male section of the Swedish population and Rasmussen declined to speculate on whether the same pattern would be expected among women.

However, adjustments were also made to account for the fact that people are generally getting taller and enjoying longer periods of education.

“The youngest group was only born in 1975, so this is still current. The pattern does not seem to be changing,” said Rasmussen.

Let me tell you at 6ft 6, it’s hard to find a proper shirt to fit.

This is the problem:

You can buy a shirt for fat people, it fits sort of. But the sleeves are too short and the body is too loose. I have just discovered the joys of tailored shirts that are made to measure. The relief of wearing a shirt that is not too baggy and actually long enough in the sleeves is a great feeling.

If you would like to try this out may I suggest you start with Charles Tyrwhitt

(if you know of any other great shirt makers that cater for tall people, please comment)

A study conducted by the University of Bonn and the Berlin based German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) and Institute for the Study of Labour (IZA) has revealed that tall people were more prepared to take risks than their shorter counterparts.

This is quite an interesting study. The survey participants were asked to rate their willingness to take risks on a scale from zero (not willing to take any risks) to 10 (very willing to take risks).

They were then asked to imagine that they had just won 100,000 euros in a lottery. They could invest part of those winnings in a bank with a 50% chance they would double the amount invested within two years. But the risk of losing half of the money was also 50%.

Researchers found peoples’ willingness to take risk was most significantly associated with four factors: age, sex, height, and parental education.

Researchers said that willingness to take risks depended on body height: for every centimetre the amount invested rose by 200.

A common problem for tall people is finding beds long enough. Is your bed long enough for you? The standard double bed is 6ft 3in long. Yet the Sleep Council says you need a bed at least 8″ longer than you are tall!

I found this fantastic looking company today The Big Bed Company

They have beds 6ft 6, 6ft 9, 7ft and 7ft 3 long. What a brilliant idea. Sadly I don’t think I can afford a new bed at the moment. But would like to hear from ayone that has bought a bed from them?

Clothes shopping for tall people. What a joke.

Shopping for nice (semi) fashionable clothes when you are a man or women of height, is not easy.

Go in any high street store and you will see, we are not catered for in anyway. Yet there are loads of us. I can only really speak for men (being a man) but I’m sick of it. As far as clothing designers go, we don’t exist.

If you know different, please post any example of any shop that caters for tall clothing…

From the Shropshire Star 18th June 2005, have a look at it here

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott is facing a tall order from a Shropshire MP who thinks he is head and shoulders above the rest of the people’s representatives.

Daniel Kawczynski - the tallest member of Parliament in history at a lofty 6ft 8.5ins - is spearheading a campaign to increase the national standard height of doors.

As current legislation stipulates the size of doors must be 6ft 8ins, he is sick and tired of craning his neck to get through entrances.

So he has written a letter to Mr Prescott at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, asking him whether he will consider lobbying the construction industry to review the current regulation.

Mr Kawczynski wants the standard height of doors increased a few inches to seven feet.

He said it was a growing problem for tall residents because people’s heights increase every generation.

“I am not doing this for myself - there are a lot of tall people in the UK,” he said.

Mr Kawczynski was elected to the Shrewsbury and Atcham seat in the May 5 General Election. Last month he put in an application to the Guinness record keepers in a bid to be named tallest man to enter the House of Commons.

Can tall people escape a car crash unhurt? probably not because of a lack of thinking for the tall minority by the undersized majority.

Anyone is likely to be hurt in a car crash. But tall people are more likely to be injured due to poor ergonomics. If you don’t believe me have a look at this.

people over 6’ are 27% more likely to be injured in a car crash than someone shorter.

Tall people! time to take action write to your MP here

So how tall is the tallest person ever to go into space? Apparently the maximum height for US Space Shuttle crew is 6ft 4 inches tall.

But I can’s seem to find the answer to how tall the tallest astronaunt is (or was).

I did however find an interesting article on the NASA website that says: “Did you know that astronauts are up to 2 inches taller while they’re in space?”

This has got me thinking, if 6ft 4 is the limit maybe there are lots of other jobs that tall people are prevented from doing, if you know of any - please comment.

An interesting article on Europatreffen in Edinburgh this week:

From The Scotsman

Invasion of the tall people
JESSICA KIDDLE

‘IT’S JUST so nice to be able to have a conversation with people and look them in the eye,” says Jackie Timbs, one of the voluntary organisers of Europatreffen - the annual get-together for tall people from around the world.

At 6ft tall she is one of the shortest members of the group but ordinarily she looms over her peers. “It makes a refreshing change being able to hear easily as well, because usually I have to bend down, as sound doesn’t travel up very well. For this week, at least, I can stand tall.”

Stooping down to speak to people, ducking to get through doorways, and cramming into planes, cars and buses is something that those attending this week-long event are only too familiar with. Now in its 38th year Europatreffen - which, literally translated, means “Europe meeting” - was started in Germany and has since been held in many European cities including Basel in Switzerland and Copenhagen.

This year it was the turn of the Tall Persons Club (TPC) for Great Britain and Ireland to host and organise the event in Edinburgh and Timbs was only too happy to help. This week she has taken a team of 270 other tall people, from countries such as America, Germany and Poland, on an exploration of the capital that has included the Castle, Holyrood Palace and a city Ghost Tour. On Saturday the week will culminate with a black-tie tall ball at the Corn Exchange.

“I am proud of my height,” says Timbs, 45. “But I really enjoy these events as a way of meeting new people and feeling short for once. Six years ago when I got divorced I decided to join the TPC as a way of improving my social life. It is somewhere that I didn’t mind going on my own and I have met lots of friends through it. Now I can go anywhere in the UK and look up another member of the club.”

Jim Briggs, 51, a regular at the TPC’s monthly events in London, agrees. Five years ago, Briggs - like Timbs - was newly divorced and looking for a way to kick-start his social life again after 25 years of marriage. At 6ft 9in Briggs can only be described as a gentle giant and his voice booms out as he speaks about the club. “It really changed my life,” he says. ” Now my entire social life is based around people I have met through the club.”

The TPC for Great Britain and Ireland has been running for 14 years, but the need for solidarity amongst tall people goes back farther than that. Sir Walter Scott referred to a Six Foot High Club in Edinburgh in his memoirs of 1829, although it is no longer operational. Despite the presence of a tall scene in the city 175 years ago, however, there is no Scottish office for the TPC and from a total of 1,000 members there are about only 20 Scots, a figure the club would like to change.

As a city Edinburgh fails to cater for its tall inhabitants and visitors, according to TPC members. “Edinburgh is no better or worse than the rest of the UK which, as a whole, does not cater for tall people,” laments Timbs. “Public transport is a problem - buses and coaches are typically cramped for someone like me, there is very little leg room on planes; in restaurants tables are usually too low and hotel beds are usually too short. There are always ways around this - such as making sure the place where you are staying has an open-ended bed so there is room for your feet to stick out; and not fully booking the buses so there is room for people to move around in.”

In 2002 Europatreffen guests stayed at the DGI-Byen Hotel in Copenhagen which had invested in extra-long beds, but, on the whole, the tall contingent are not catered for by the tourist industry - or by any other industry, for that matter.

It is this heightism that TPCs worldwide seek to change. They have had small victories. In Holland the TPC managed to get the country’s planning laws changed and increase the statutory height of doorways to 7ft 6in in all new buildings. Members of the TPC in Holland can also get preferential booking flights with KLM who let them reserve seats with more leg room.

In the UK, members of the TPC receive a discount at tall clothing shops such as Long Tall Sally. They have even found kilt hire shops in the capital that can cater for their larger frames for the ball on Saturday - although finding socks long enough has been problematic. The club are also trying to get recognition with the airlines.

“We are doing battle with the airlines in this country at the moment,” says Timbs. “They have implemented a charge to pre-book seats which could be considered heightist.”

In the UK, membership of the TPC is £25. There is no minimum height requirement, but female members are typically 6ft 1in. As well as organising events, the TPC produces a quarterly magazine.It also publishes a directory of suppliers and retailers that cater for tall people.

“When you go away on holiday you have to put up with things being too small for you but in your own home it is different, so the TPC directory is a great resource to call upon. As a result it has been relatively easy for me to get a taller than normal sink fitted in my new bathroom,” says Timbs. “Friends of mine have extended all the internal door frames in their house and most club members have had seven-foot beds made.”

Finding a pair of trousers long enough for 36in legs can be difficult and shoes in even a size nine are found only at a selected shops. Timbs says the situation is improving for women, but Briggs gets all his clothes from abroad. “It is getting better in the UK but America and Germany are much better places for tall persons’ clothing, so I cheat and do all my shopping when I am on holiday,” says Briggs.

Retailers may be catching onto the potential of the tall pound, but society can be less accepting. Whilst many members embrace their height, others are embarrassed by it. One member in his twenties, writing anonymously in an article on the TPC website, said that when he was growing up he felt “shy, clumsy and socially inept” in company because of his height, and Briggs recalls getting bullied in his youth because of his height.

The findings of auxologists (those who study human growth) suggest that society will be forced to become more accepting of tall people as they become the majority. In 1996 an article published in Time magazine showed that in the last 150 years the height of the average European has increased by 20cm (7.87in). With factors such as a better diet cited as the catalyst for the nation’s growth spurt, a study by the Institute of Child Health in London in 2002 found that 18-year-old boys now measure an average of 5ft 10in (178.3cm).

According to recent studies, this is no bad thing. Women typically look for signs of strength in a potential partner and a report conducted by the Open University in 2002 showed that tall men have more sex than shorter men; and in 2000 The National Child Development Study found tall salesmen earn 25 per cent more than their shorter colleagues.

Despite this, many new members to the TPC come to their first meeting feeling their height is anything but a positive attribute. “You do get people, particularly women, who come along to a tall persons evening hunched over and obviously self-conscious about their height. But everyone is so welcoming and positive about who and what they are in the club that by the end of the evening they are much more confident and are standing up tall,” says Briggs. “I am completely comfortable with my height now and I actually enjoy it. The club is such a supportive and positive organisation to belong to that most of our members end up feeling like that.”

The “like-me” factor seems to be the strongest appeal of the club, but TPCs throughout the world are also showing great potential as dating agencies. Although most clubs are keen to downplay their matchmaking role, anecdotal evidence suggests that many tall people have met their partners at events such as Europatreffen. At least one couple met through the UK club and are now married, and Briggs himself has enjoyed a relationship with a woman he met at one of the social events.

Whilst up to a point height is an advantage on the dating scene, the National Child Development Study found that by the age of 33 tall people are less likely to be married than their shorter counterparts. Although tall men are regarded as strong, healthy mates by women, exceptionally tall people do not perhaps fit into society’s narrow definition of beauty. For women it can be especially difficult. As Kae Einfeldt, founder of California’s Tip Toppers Club, remarked in an article in the LA Times in 1938: “Do you suppose I very often have the pleasure of dancing with a man cheek to cheek? Oh no! It’s cheek to chin. My chin… his cheek.”

Whether it’s the opportunity to make new friends or the chance of romance that appeals to members, those attending Europatreffen certainly agree that it is an enjoyable club to be part of. “We are not marking ourselves out as different or looking for attention,” say Briggs. “While we must be a pretty noticeable group en masse to everyone else at events like these, I forget about our height and just think of it as a having fun on holiday with new friends.”

8.15am Catch the train to work. I usually try and get a seat with a seat facing me. If I sit in a row behind a row, my legs do not fit in the space provided. The two seats facing is a better option, but if someone is directly in front of me, my knees will be touching theirs - So generally I stand.

I then get the tube, which is actually not that bad for tall people (as long as you remember to duck through the door) Buses on the other hand I avoid. Very poor leg room and usually not enough room to stand up in.

The average height for a man in the UK is 5ft 9.

The average height for a woman in the UK is 5ft 4.

So you could say any height above these could be considered tall.

Stastically speaking you are considered tall if you are a woman over 5ft 10 and a man over 6ft. As the heights get taller you belong to a smaller group of people. For example there are alot less people 6ft 6 than there are 6ft 4 and far fewer still over 7ft.

I found some interesting US figures on being tall here.

It appears that from about 6ft 4 upwards tall people are statistically ignored.

“When allocating space for car, bus, train and plane passengers, and considering life-jackets or other emergency equipment, people over 6ft4 are ignored completely.”

The Daily Telegraph reported last year: ‘New guidelines by MI5, the security service, state that men seeking work as field agents should not be taller than 5ft 11in so that they can “blend in to the background” more easily. A similar height limit will apply to women, who must be 5ft 8in or less.’ A Whitehall official defended the policy. “They do have tall people in the building, but it would be ridiculous to send a surveillance officer into a dangerous situation who stood out like a sore thumb.”

Ironically most of those who have played James Bond would have been ruled out. Sean Connery is 6ft 1in, George Lazenby is 6ft 2in and Roger Moore is 6ft. Timothy Dalton is 6ft 2in, while Pierce Brosnan is 6ft.