Changes over time in average height are an interesting example of nature and nurture of obvious possible relevance to speculations over the genetic and environmental manipulation of IQ.
I object to the chart’s measurements in the strongest terms I can muster.
We are not a metric country. We were not blackmailed into accepting it like the UK was (adoption was a precondition for entrance into the Common Market), nor was it imposed on us by French bayonets (every country conquered by Revolutionary France or Napoleon). Don’t contribute to the rot!
It is still true that there are two types of countries: those that use the metric system, and those that have landed men on the moon!
This is the most ignorance I’ve seen on SubStack so far. Rejecting objective means of measuring, and one that is wholly more convenient and safe when used in applied science, is absurd. This is the ugly reality of Nationalism. Rejecting better methods and practices because they are considered non-native. Congratulations on winning the internet cretin of the day.
Dude. In the weird circles I’ve stumbled across on the Internet, I assume everything is literal. And it’s nowhere near the worst emphatic bad take I’ve seen.
This doesn't bode well for our ability to maintain our technology, much less improve it. This is why comedy is dying in this country. Hard to beat the reality of failure of the educational system to generate laughs.
It’s a Washington Post chart. Do you expect Steve to redo it because you don’t like metric? (I guess you didn’t major in Physics because that’s what they use). Be reasonable, dude.
There is something to this. My oldest went to a Republican dominated private school from K-8. We switched him to a very liberal private high school (for various reasons). One of the first things he noticed was how much smaller the girls were. Very few of the boys had a beefy, muscular look either. I went to a few school events over the years (not many) and saw how meat avoidance was definitely a "thing". It blows me away that liberals will allow their political views to affect their offspring in an adverse way.
They’ve become TexMexicans and not enough Northern European immigrants. The current situation of conservative migrants from more liberal parts of the country might actually impact the current means when it comes to height in future generations.
The first thing I thought as I read this was "Hispanics. White or brown by convenience". The people who gather these statistics can't seem to come up with a consistent answer. Of course the question is complicated by intermarriage. But why then does a very light-skinned descendant of Africans and Europeans get counted as black when all but the nearly 100% native derived Mexicans get counted as white?
I've never noticed that Texans were particularly tall.
The last generation of cowboys that I ever saw, were characteristically very lean. I'm pretty sure there have been few chubby cowboys of any ethnicity.
Leanness can make you look leggier perhaps. And boots have a heel.
Sam Houston was evidently taller than average.
Big Tex was the tallest Texan of all but sadly burned down some years ago.
I am a native Texan in Dallas and come from a long line of Texas ranchers cowboys etc (mixed with Swiss farmers from Illinois 2 gen back). all the men in my family are 5’10”-6’2”. I have noticed all of my brothers friends (who mostly come from deep Fort Worth families and involve themselves in ranch work and roping etc as a leisurely past time now) are all around 6’. My father hails from Memphis TN and a line of merchants. they are consistently slightly shorter than the men from my Texas/ranching side
Someone should tell the Washington Post that Montana, Wyoming, Utah, the Dakotas and most of Nebraska are not in the Midwest. They are west of the 100th meridian and are the Plains states sliding into the Intermountain West.
The working cowboys I know are lean and tall, wiry more than muscular. They can shovel down a 6,000-calorie breakfast of steak, ham, bacon, sausage, eggs, hashbrowns, buttermilk biscuits with jam, flapjacks with butter and maple syrup, a slice of cobbler with cream, orange juice and coffee and burn it all off by lunchtime, which they may not be able to stop for. They work hard, long hours.
I don't know what the ethnic background of the White cowboys are, probably German, British and Scandinavian, maybe some Dutch. The Amerindians are northern Cheyenne and Crow, both tall tribes.
Here's an interesting research paper that says the tallest people in the world were Amerindians of the Great Plains states in the 19th century:
I think the diet/ environmental factors are the most compelling but the shifting demographics of the state's white population are worth considering as well:
The original white settlers in Texas were predominately southerners with some significant German, Czech immigrant populations as well. The State's major influx of domestic migration came in the decades after the Civil War with again predominately southerners leaving the burned out portions of The South for relatively untouched, unsettled Texas. From the 1880's to the 1960's the increase in the state's white population was overwhelming driven by natural increase vs. domestic migration. The State's white population by the mid-20th century was overwhelmingly highly homogenized Northern European.
Since the 1960's, the consistently high rate of domestic migration has reduced the ethnic distinctiveness of the white population relative to the average in the United States.
I think you are likely correct that some Hispanics are being captured as non-Hispanic whites in the data. At least prior to the Great Awokening Texas Hispanics were more likely to identify as White Hispanics than Hispanics in other states. My Mexican-American friends love to tell me about their nieces who were born with green/blue eyes.
From: Wikipedia: "The Hispanics in Texas are more likely than in some other states (such as California) to identify as white; according to the 2010 U.S. census, Texas is home to 6,304,207 White Hispanics and 2,594,206 Hispanics of "some other race""
The data is of little value. At a glance you can tell that White-Hispanics are in the data. The southwestern states' "Whites" just happen to be the shortest in the USA?
This sounds like a corollary to Sailer's Law of Closeness to the Canadian Border.
Tall In The Saddle is really good, especially when you consider it's not directed by John Ford!
Also, more pop culture evidence for your thesis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0woy8L3F5s
I object to the chart’s measurements in the strongest terms I can muster.
We are not a metric country. We were not blackmailed into accepting it like the UK was (adoption was a precondition for entrance into the Common Market), nor was it imposed on us by French bayonets (every country conquered by Revolutionary France or Napoleon). Don’t contribute to the rot!
It is still true that there are two types of countries: those that use the metric system, and those that have landed men on the moon!
Good piece otherwise.
This is the most ignorance I’ve seen on SubStack so far. Rejecting objective means of measuring, and one that is wholly more convenient and safe when used in applied science, is absurd. This is the ugly reality of Nationalism. Rejecting better methods and practices because they are considered non-native. Congratulations on winning the internet cretin of the day.
Sarcasm and parody transmit unreliably over the internet.
Dude. In the weird circles I’ve stumbled across on the Internet, I assume everything is literal. And it’s nowhere near the worst emphatic bad take I’ve seen.
If it is sarcasm, then I’ll just leave this…
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/mars-climate-orbiter-team-finds-likely-cause-of-loss
This doesn't bode well for our ability to maintain our technology, much less improve it. This is why comedy is dying in this country. Hard to beat the reality of failure of the educational system to generate laughs.
There is strong competition for this daily award. Steve is clearly lagging behind the Cretins of the shriveling MSM. IMHO.
It’s a Washington Post chart. Do you expect Steve to redo it because you don’t like metric? (I guess you didn’t major in Physics because that’s what they use). Be reasonable, dude.
Shows how ignorant I am, didn't even know about the LIberian space program.
What percentage of adult white Texans are natives?
Good point. Lot of transplants
There is something to this. My oldest went to a Republican dominated private school from K-8. We switched him to a very liberal private high school (for various reasons). One of the first things he noticed was how much smaller the girls were. Very few of the boys had a beefy, muscular look either. I went to a few school events over the years (not many) and saw how meat avoidance was definitely a "thing". It blows me away that liberals will allow their political views to affect their offspring in an adverse way.
My son is 6'2 btw. We eat meat in this house :)
Our ancestors' brains did not start growing until they adopted a meat-heavy diet. Doesn't take much cunning or planning to catch a banana.
So your daughters are all gangly and or fridge shaped manly looking things? Good job, mama!
They’ve become TexMexicans and not enough Northern European immigrants. The current situation of conservative migrants from more liberal parts of the country might actually impact the current means when it comes to height in future generations.
The first thing I thought as I read this was "Hispanics. White or brown by convenience". The people who gather these statistics can't seem to come up with a consistent answer. Of course the question is complicated by intermarriage. But why then does a very light-skinned descendant of Africans and Europeans get counted as black when all but the nearly 100% native derived Mexicans get counted as white?
I've never noticed that Texans were particularly tall.
The last generation of cowboys that I ever saw, were characteristically very lean. I'm pretty sure there have been few chubby cowboys of any ethnicity.
Leanness can make you look leggier perhaps. And boots have a heel.
Sam Houston was evidently taller than average.
Big Tex was the tallest Texan of all but sadly burned down some years ago.
If 6 feet is the magic number in dating profiles, what is the metric equivalent?
180cm is a round number and fairly close - but probably unrealistic in most of the world.
I am a native Texan in Dallas and come from a long line of Texas ranchers cowboys etc (mixed with Swiss farmers from Illinois 2 gen back). all the men in my family are 5’10”-6’2”. I have noticed all of my brothers friends (who mostly come from deep Fort Worth families and involve themselves in ranch work and roping etc as a leisurely past time now) are all around 6’. My father hails from Memphis TN and a line of merchants. they are consistently slightly shorter than the men from my Texas/ranching side
Probably lots of intermarriage with shorter Hispanic immigrants as well.
Someone should tell the Washington Post that Montana, Wyoming, Utah, the Dakotas and most of Nebraska are not in the Midwest. They are west of the 100th meridian and are the Plains states sliding into the Intermountain West.
The working cowboys I know are lean and tall, wiry more than muscular. They can shovel down a 6,000-calorie breakfast of steak, ham, bacon, sausage, eggs, hashbrowns, buttermilk biscuits with jam, flapjacks with butter and maple syrup, a slice of cobbler with cream, orange juice and coffee and burn it all off by lunchtime, which they may not be able to stop for. They work hard, long hours.
I don't know what the ethnic background of the White cowboys are, probably German, British and Scandinavian, maybe some Dutch. The Amerindians are northern Cheyenne and Crow, both tall tribes.
Here's an interesting research paper that says the tallest people in the world were Amerindians of the Great Plains states in the 19th century:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2677910
PS: I wasn't going to add this to my comment, but why not, the song "At the 100th Meridian" by The Tragically Hip --
https://youtu.be/BCFo0a8V-Ag?si=0ZD1gfFsk4MKoEOe
There does seem to be a trend towards short people in that area. Could well be influx of Hispanics.
I think the diet/ environmental factors are the most compelling but the shifting demographics of the state's white population are worth considering as well:
The original white settlers in Texas were predominately southerners with some significant German, Czech immigrant populations as well. The State's major influx of domestic migration came in the decades after the Civil War with again predominately southerners leaving the burned out portions of The South for relatively untouched, unsettled Texas. From the 1880's to the 1960's the increase in the state's white population was overwhelming driven by natural increase vs. domestic migration. The State's white population by the mid-20th century was overwhelmingly highly homogenized Northern European.
Since the 1960's, the consistently high rate of domestic migration has reduced the ethnic distinctiveness of the white population relative to the average in the United States.
I think you are likely correct that some Hispanics are being captured as non-Hispanic whites in the data. At least prior to the Great Awokening Texas Hispanics were more likely to identify as White Hispanics than Hispanics in other states. My Mexican-American friends love to tell me about their nieces who were born with green/blue eyes.
From: Wikipedia: "The Hispanics in Texas are more likely than in some other states (such as California) to identify as white; according to the 2010 U.S. census, Texas is home to 6,304,207 White Hispanics and 2,594,206 Hispanics of "some other race""
The data is of little value. At a glance you can tell that White-Hispanics are in the data. The southwestern states' "Whites" just happen to be the shortest in the USA?
This sounds like a corollary to Sailer's Law of Closeness to the Canadian Border.