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"He thinks we shall eventually become a nation of giants."

Hard science was not evident anywhere in this odd January 5, 1890 Brooklyn Daily Eagle article which suggested that men were willing themselves to be taller. Or maybe this was supposed to be funny? I don’t think so. An excerpt from the article, which originally appeared in the Chicago Times:

“Mr. Edward Atkinson, of Boston, finds time while conducting an extensive business to collect information on a great variety of subjects. He has lately ascertained, by means of circulars addressed to leading tailors, the makers of ready made clothing and the manufacturers of underclothes, that the men of this country are growing taller decade by decade. He thinks we shall eventually become a nation of giants. As yet he has elaborated no theory to account for this steady increase in height. Some physiologists, however, have suggested that it is due to the large consumption of meat in this country. The state that people who, like the Chinese and Hindus, subsist almost entirely on grain and fruit, are invariably short in stature, while flesh consumers, like the North American Indians, are generally quite tall.

"The man who invests $3 in tickets for the purpose of taking his best girl to the theater finds that he can see nothing on the stage unless he happens to be very tall."

It is likely that diet may have something to do in influencing the height men may attain. But it is obvious that there are other causes that exert a much greater influence. There are a great many inducements held out in this country for men to become tall. Nearly every boy desires to gain admission to the military or naval academy, and each learns as soon as he can read that it is necessary to reach a certain standard of height in order to be eligible. Men must also stand a certain number of feet and inches in their stockings before they can attain positions on the police force in most cities. As premiums are offered for becoming tall, it is by no means wonderful that men and boys should seek to add to their figure by taking thought or taking anything that will produce the desired result.

The introduction of the three story roof bonnet has been a most important agent in enlongating the spinal column of men. The man who invests $3 in tickets for the purpose of taking his best girl to the theater finds that he can see nothing on the stage unless he happens to be very tall. As a consequence men who attend theaters and operas make use of every means that will enable them to become tall. In some fashionable churches the male worshiper of medium height has no opportunity to see the minister or the pretty soprano singer. The Tower of Babel bonnets, surrounded by fowls of the air and lilies of the field, entirely obstruct his view.

"The street car also exerts great influence in causing men to become tall."

The street car also exerts great influence in causing men to become tall. They generally give the seats to the women and are obliged to stand during the entire trip. As soon as a boy is 12 years old his endeavors to reach the strap attached to the top rail commence. He perseveres in this attempt until he succeeds in accomplishing the difficult feat. He learns to stretch his body out in the same way that an earthworm does to reach a certain place. After he has availed himself of all his powers of self elongation, certain agencies that are not voluntary are brought to work on his body. Side pressure is made to bear on it as if it is on a bar of iron that is to be drawn out into wire. It also receives numerous blows every time the car wheels pass over an obstruction, and these produce the same effect of the body that the blow of a hammer do a piece of soft iron.”