The man with the tallest recorded height in the world turned 41 on December 10, and to celebrate his birthday, the Guinness World Records (GWR) shared an old video of him meeting the world’s shortest man in London. Sultan Kosen of Turkey measures 8 feet, 3 inches tall. He became the world’s tallest living man in 2009. Chandra Bahadur Dangi of Nepal, on the other hand, measures 251 centimetres and weighs just 32 pounds. The duo met at an event in London in 2014 for a unique photo op.
Sharing the video on Instagram, GWR wished Mr Kosen a very happy birthday. “A very happy birthday to tallest living man @sultankosen47,” the organisation wrote in the caption. “In 2014, Sultan (251 cm/8 ft 2.8 in) met the shortest man ever, Chandra Dangi on Guinness World Records Day. They were joined by GWR’s Editor-in-Chief, Craig Glenday,” it added.
Watch the video below:
In the clip, Mr Kosen and Mr Dangi are seen posing for pictures and stretching for an awkward handshake.
According to GWR, Mr Kosen is a part-time farmer. He is tall enough to reach a basketball hoop without jumping. He became the world’s tallest living man in 2009, overtaking China’s Xi Shun, who stood a mere 7 feet 9 inches. He also holds the record for the largest hand on a living person. His hand measures 11.2 inches from the wrist to the tip of his middle finger. Mr Kosen’s height is a result of a condition known as pituitary gigantism.
Mr Dangi is the shortest adult human ever verified by the Guinness World Records. He died in 2015, aged 75. He was a primordial dwarf, a condition that rarely sees people survive past 30. He had spent his entire life in the remote Nepalese mountain village of Rhimkholi.
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“To be able to finally meet Chandra after all this time is amazing,” Mr Kosen said at the 2014 event, as per CNN. “Even though he is short and I am tall, we have had similar struggles throughout our lives, and when I look into Chandra’s eyes, I can see he’s a good man,” he added.
Mr Dangi, meanwhile, said that he was “very pleased to see the tallest man in the world”. “I was curious to meet my extreme opposite. I’m so pleased to be a Guinness record holder. Thanks to this I have visited many countries and met many people. I really love it,” he said.
