World's Tallest Man Married in China

The world's tallest man, a seven-foot nine-inch man from China, was married yesterday in a traditional Mongolian ceremony. Yahoo News Reuters excerpt:

ERDOS, China (Reuters) - The world's tallest man married a woman two-thirds his size and almost half his age on Thursday in a traditional Mongolian ceremony sponsored by at least 15 companies hoping to cash in on his fame.

Bao Xishun, 56, a 2.36-metre (7-ft, 9-inch) herdsman from China's vast Inner Mongolia region, was carried to his wedding on the back of a mobile yurt pulled by camels at the Genghis Khan Holiday Resort on the grasslands near Erdos city.

Are you shitting me? The Genghis Khan Holiday Resort? And what holidays could they possibly celebrate? Caravan Slaughter Day? Village Burning Week? Still, it could have been worse. Bao could have hailed from the Kazakhstan region and might have had his ceremony at the Attila the Hun Sports Multiplex Casino and Hotel, but only if the affair did not bump up against Captive Enslavement Month.

Hundreds of people, some travelling for hours, turned up to see Bao wed saleswoman Xia Shujuan, a mere 1.68 metres (5 ft 6 inches) tall and just 29 years old.

Bao was confirmed as the world's tallest living man by Guinness World Records last year. He overtook the previous holder, Radhouane Charbib of Tunisia, by just 2 mm.

After a career in the army, where he was recruited for a basketball team, he returned to Inner Mongolia. He now herds livestock and hires himself out for publicity stunts.

In December, Bao saved the lives of two dolphins by reaching deep into their stomachs with his 1.06-metre long arm to pull out pieces of plastic, according to Chinese media.

All kidding aside, I get a lot of this stuff since I am six-foot-six, and most of the women with whom I have been involved have been about a foot shorter than I am. People often ask how I can date such short women, and the answer is that they look shorter than they are simply because I am taller than most men. These women are much closer to the average height than I am, but the contrast is often too much for people to handle without feeling like they must make idiotic comments that they think are wildly original. On occasion I have dated women in the five-ten to six-foot range, but the simple truth is that if height was the only consideration then I'd be waiting a long(er) time between dates.

So good luck to Bao and Xia! And may the snarky comments be few and far between for you.

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