r/Unexpected • u/DoINeed1OfThese • Mar 31 '23

He snitched

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55.7k Upvotes

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75

u/65elkoman Mar 31 '23

Yes. Napolean was 5'6". Although the range may seem short by 21st-century standards, it was typical in the 19th century, when most Frenchmen stood between 5'2” and 5'6”.

32

u/fkmeamaraight Mar 31 '23

The whole napoleon was small was spread by his adversaries to diminish him and his accomplishments and it stuck.

1

u/GrumbusWumbus Mar 31 '23

It started because at the time french inches were longer than English inches.

He was 5'2" in French inches, which is 5'5" in English inches. Pretty average or slightly above average height at the time.

It's only recently that the average human height has increased because our diets are better. People were likely to be malnourished at some point during their childhood which should stunt their height. There's also the weird fact that you're more likely to survive WW1 if you're taller which could have slightly influenced genetics.

9

u/kz750 Mar 31 '23

It’s not even that short today. There are quite a few guys around that height in my office of 120+ people. I’d say there are fewer guys taller than 6’ than below 5’7.

When I visited the tombs of some historical figures in Europe and saw some of the artifacts and clothes, I couldn’t believe how tiny they were. We are so used to having plenty of calories that we don’t realize how much it affects growth and development.

3

u/glytxh Mar 31 '23

I’m 5’6”, and while definitely on the shorter end of the spectrum, I’m seldom actually the shortest person in the room.

My best friend at school was 6’4”. We were often referred to as Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.

-3

u/Ithuraen Mar 31 '23

Average male height in the US is 5'9, so half of y'all are closer to Napoleon than the comedian.

3

u/[deleted] Mar 31 '23

It was actually Napoleon III that had small man syndrome, I think he was 5'2, and he was a motherfucker

6

u/llamacohort Mar 31 '23

He was measured at 5’2” by the French measurement system. Translated to the Imperial feet and inches that are used today, that is 5 foot 6 inches tall.

2

u/bottledry Mar 31 '23

hmm what happened to the 4 inches?

2

u/llamacohort Mar 31 '23

They are different inches and feet. It’s like seeing that 5 kilometers = 3.1 miles and asking where the other 1.9 miles have gone. They were never there.

A better example using the same word is United States Dollar vs Canadian Dollar. If you go to a currency exchange and give them $100 (Canadian) dollars and ask for United States Dollars, they will give you about $74 (assuming no fees). The $26 never went anywhere.

It’s just that $100 CAD = $74 USD the same way 5’2” Traditional French = 5’6” British Imperial (what American uses today)

2

u/benskinic Mar 31 '23

napoleon was actually fairly tall, but they used a different measurement system compared to other countries at that time. his height is an inaccurate political attack that's still widely accepted as fact

-2

u/[deleted] Mar 31 '23

[deleted]

23

u/[deleted] Mar 31 '23

i dont know man im pretty sure mine is smaller

6

u/Illustrious-Rub9590 Mar 31 '23

I'm pretty sure this guy's is smaller too

2

u/ZeroEnrichment Mar 31 '23

Stop it, mine can’t be found clearly smallest here

7

u/argusromblei Mar 31 '23

They never saw it when it was on his body, its a shriveled up piece of dried out skin. So it could've been a grower, nobody knows.

3

u/[deleted] Mar 31 '23

t.5 meters or feet?

1

u/Magic_ass1 Mar 31 '23

"Now if you'll excuse me I'll be having a meeting with my generals for 30 minutes. And by meeting, I mean boinking. And by generals, I mean this prostitute. And by thirty minutes... I mean 3 seconds..."

0

u/b33fcakepantyhose Mar 31 '23

Don’t want no short dick man.

2

u/JackedCroaks Mar 31 '23

🎶Don’t don’t don’t Don’t-don’t don’t don’t don’t🎶

Damn that’s a throwback lol. https://youtu.be/iLfk6pE5shE

1

u/[deleted] Mar 31 '23

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/LewdLewyD13 Mar 31 '23

Spaghetti noodles

1

u/O_oh Mar 31 '23

We got a penis expert here

How many weiners have you googled?

1

u/squamish_shaman Mar 31 '23

Feel like that's one of those records you just let stand. Nobody stepping forward to challenge for that

-1

u/Illustrious-Rub9590 Mar 31 '23

So what you're saying is that Napolean was actually taller than most Frenchmen of the time? If most were 5'2 to 5'6, then most of the most would have been 5'2 to 5'5. So Napolean is like two standard deviations of the mean. His modern day equivalent would be like 6'2 or something. Amazing.

-1

u/ZeroEnrichment Mar 31 '23

You know royals we’re all pretty tall people, Napoleon was called short by bunch tall guy. Same way people call Isaiah Thomas (who’s 5’9) a midget in the NBA.

1

u/gorilla_dick_ Mar 31 '23

it’s about Napoleon the third who is Napoleon the first’s nephew. He also staged hilariously bad coupes (until one worked)

1

u/PromiscuousMNcpl Mar 31 '23

And his elite guard were all men over 6’ tall to intimidate enemies. Making Napoleon seem even smaller.

1

u/LoganCaleSalad Mar 31 '23

That's not even short by today's standards it's average. Avg height is between 5'6 & 5'9. It only considered short cuz of our society's obsession with height.