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World's smallest man, He Pingping, dies at 21
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(AFP)
He Pingping stood just over two feet five inches tall
He Pingping, the world's smallest man who stood just over two feet five inches tall, has died at the age of 21.
Mr He, who was 29 inches tall (74.61cm), suffered chest pains while taking part in a television show in Rome. He was taken to hospital but died on Saturday from what is believed to be heart complications.
Born in the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia, Mr He had a form of primordial dwarfism. His father He Yun had reportedly said that when Mr He was born he was small enough to fit into his parent's hands.
Mr He was officially recognised as the world's smallest man by the Guinness World Records in 2008.
Craig Glenday, editor-in-chief of the London-based Guinness World Records, recalled measuring Mr He in Inner Mongolia in 2008.
"For such a small man, he made a huge impact around the world," Mr Glenday said.
"From the moment I laid on eyes on him, I knew he was someone special - he had such a cheeky smile and mischievous personality, you couldn't help but be charmed by him.
"He brightened up the lives of everyone he met, and was an inspiration to anyone considered different or unusual."
Mr He regularly travelled around the world to promote the Guinness World Records with other record holders.
In September, 2008, Mr He visited London where he was photographed alongside Svetlana Pankratova, the woman with the longest legs for the launch of the 2009 Guinness World Records book. Earlier this year he travelled to Istanbul to launch of the Guinness World Records live roadshow, where he posed alongside the world's tallest man, Sultan Kösen, who stands at 8 ft 1 in (246.5 cm).
His trip to Italy this month was to film an appearance on the records show Lo Show Dei Record. He reportedly began to feel ill two weeks ago when he was taken to hospital by production staff, however Mr He passed away on Saturday.
Guinness World Records said it would announce Mr He's successor as the world's shortest man in due course.
Khagendra Thapa Magar, 18, from Nepal, who is reportedly 20 inches (51cm) high, declared in February that he is the rightful holder of the title.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article7063488.ece
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFEFP5x2Gy0"]YouTube- World's shortest man dies aged 21[/ame]
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Recommend? (1)
(AFP)
He Pingping stood just over two feet five inches tall
He Pingping, the world's smallest man who stood just over two feet five inches tall, has died at the age of 21.
Mr He, who was 29 inches tall (74.61cm), suffered chest pains while taking part in a television show in Rome. He was taken to hospital but died on Saturday from what is believed to be heart complications.
Born in the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia, Mr He had a form of primordial dwarfism. His father He Yun had reportedly said that when Mr He was born he was small enough to fit into his parent's hands.
Mr He was officially recognised as the world's smallest man by the Guinness World Records in 2008.
Craig Glenday, editor-in-chief of the London-based Guinness World Records, recalled measuring Mr He in Inner Mongolia in 2008.
"For such a small man, he made a huge impact around the world," Mr Glenday said.
"From the moment I laid on eyes on him, I knew he was someone special - he had such a cheeky smile and mischievous personality, you couldn't help but be charmed by him.
"He brightened up the lives of everyone he met, and was an inspiration to anyone considered different or unusual."
Mr He regularly travelled around the world to promote the Guinness World Records with other record holders.
In September, 2008, Mr He visited London where he was photographed alongside Svetlana Pankratova, the woman with the longest legs for the launch of the 2009 Guinness World Records book. Earlier this year he travelled to Istanbul to launch of the Guinness World Records live roadshow, where he posed alongside the world's tallest man, Sultan Kösen, who stands at 8 ft 1 in (246.5 cm).
His trip to Italy this month was to film an appearance on the records show Lo Show Dei Record. He reportedly began to feel ill two weeks ago when he was taken to hospital by production staff, however Mr He passed away on Saturday.
Guinness World Records said it would announce Mr He's successor as the world's shortest man in due course.
Khagendra Thapa Magar, 18, from Nepal, who is reportedly 20 inches (51cm) high, declared in February that he is the rightful holder of the title.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article7063488.ece
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFEFP5x2Gy0"]YouTube- World's shortest man dies aged 21[/ame]
TV Review - The World's Smallest Man and Me, Channel 4, Tuesday, 20 May, 10pm
By Mof Gimmerson May 21, 2008
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Last night I sat down to watch The World's Smallest Man and Me (Channel 4, Tuesday, 20 May, 10pm), well aware that there had been quite a stink surrounding it. I read of Mark Dolan's continual reference to his own height and generally sniggering at the freak show. Well, I couldn't avoid a viewing could I? I had to see if it was as bad as everyone had been saying. What struck me most about the show was... well... how pointless it all felt.
When I watch just about any programme, I want those involved to ask the tough questions and to get under the skin of the subject. Mark Dolan flitted between taaaalking veeery sloooowly to foreign people and making points your average viewer had already weighed up.
When faced with Khagendra Thapa Magar, a very small man indeed (little more that 2ft of him) Mark Dolan was content to summarise with 'well, he seems happy enough'. There was no asking him if he enjoys the attention and fuss made over him. There was no questioning those that surround Khagendra Thapa Magar and their intentions. Again, he's simply happy to assume that there's a fuss imminent. I would have hoped that he'd ask those managing whether they feel like they are being exploitative.
After Magar, we met Yu-Chih, another claimant for the title of the world's smallest man. Yu-Chih was an engaging man... an anthropologist and novelist. He was evidently a smart man with a lot to say. What did Mark Dolan choose as his line of questioning? That Yu-Chih got caught on a webcam having a wank once. What did this teach Mr Dolan? That, even though Yu-Chih is small, he's just a normal person underneath it all. This blindingly obvious revelation seemed to thrill Dolan to the point of Tim Nice-But-Dim snorting. I imagine, after this second round of useless tosh, there was a spike of electricity use at the national grid as the whole of Britain went to make a brew, quite possibly staring at a tea-bag and wondering how something so inanimate could be so much smarter than the host of Balls of Steel.
The third man featured, He Ping Ping, brings trouble. Thank god. Permission to film and generally be in his presence, hadn't been granted, and a verbal scuffle ensued. However, £400 later and all was well. With that cash went any hope of some decent television. When Dolan finally got the balls to start asking some decent questions, he ended up chickening out and resorting to "why are you so small?" So dim was the question, Dolan even said "did I really say that?" in his overdub. He Ping Ping made the sharpest comment of the whole show by pointing at Dolan and quipping "I don't like his head".
The show was so paper-thin and devoid of any real oomph that it felt like it should have been shunted off to E4 or something. For a channel that brought us Jon Ronson's sublime Reverend Death, with its peeling away of the layers and difficult moments, this seemed entirely pointless.
What is worse than a man asking stupid questions and going bothering people with them? Well, it's watching a man talking to adults with disabilities like they're toddlers. As none of our featured 'smallest men' spoke a word of English, all they will have heard is a very patronising voice indeed. If someone had invented subtitles for thoughts, I'm almost certain that we would have been reading the words "Who is this blithering idiot? Why does he keep talking to me like I'm stupid? There's nothing wrong with my brain y'know?" By the same token, reading Dolan's thoughts would have read "How quaint this all is!"
So, in this incredibly un-illuminating show, what did we learn? Well, in Dolan's round-up, he says that, basically, there's money to be made in this 'smallest man' lark. Also, that we don't really know who the world's smallest man is (which was the entire point of the show) and, get this, we learned that getting a man with brittle bones and straightening their legs, and thus breaking the bones, to simply measure them "would be wrong". He actually said that. So, if you were thinking of going out today and trying to straighten a paraplegic person's back, just to see how tall they'd be when straightened out, don't. No, no, don't thank me, I got it off Mark 'Brains' Dolan.
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[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dJCfzyxTEY&feature=fvw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dJCfzyxTEY&feature=fvw[/ame]
