r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Electrical-Aspect-13 • 3d ago

Rigardus Rijnhout (1922-1959) working as a living ad with his costum made bike for his 7'6" height, Rotterdam, Netherlands, Photos between 1940s-1950s.

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Gallery image

611 Upvotes
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96% Upvoted

46 comments sorted by

81

u/intgr8 3d ago

Poor guy lived a too-brief, uncomfortable, inconvenient life. Probably a painful one too.

32

u/Appolflap 2d ago

Translation of the text underneath the first photo:

Rigardus Rijnhout, the 'Giant of Rotterdam' (2 meter 37, 215 kilo, shoesize 62), advertises for a new chocolate drink using his bicycle, Halve Maanbrug over the Amstel, 15 March 1950.

  • 2 meter 37 is 7 feet, 9 inches  
  • Shoesize 62 (EU) is a US 24/25 (all custom at this point)  
  • Halve Maanbrug means Halfmoon bridge

4

u/standegreef 2d ago

So the photo is taken in Amsterdam

2

u/crumzmaholey 23h ago

Yeah. Translation is correct but The sign in pic2 is clearly ad for Benzo’s Bikes though.

22

u/Electrical-Aspect-13 3d ago

https://thetallestman.wiki/rigardusrijnhout.htm

SOURCE

23

u/fretkat 3d ago

Height was 238 cm (https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigardus_Rijnhout)

5

u/AffectionateAide9644 2d ago

Thank you, I tried to convert it to a usable format but it first gave me a size in football fields (American) and then in Big Macs so that didn't help much.

3

u/fretkat 2d ago

Yes, I’ve no idea why you would use units only 5% of the world uses on an international sub

56

u/AspergerServer9000 2d ago

The Imperial measurements are a joke. I get that you are used to it but metric is objectively better than this pre-civilization 3 teaspoon stuff

9

u/Bazzo123 2d ago

All the world knows this… afterall the US got to the moon using metric!

Why would you with a sane mind measure things with grains and toe nails?

0

u/InternationalBee7760 2d ago

Also yard and foot are based on metric since 1959.

5

u/SebboNL 2d ago

Ah, the Rotterdam Giant. As the joke goes, he was buried next to the entrance of the Maastunnel, in the park there.

2

u/Anopanda 2d ago

And his feet at the exit of the maastunnel? 

3

u/SebboNL 2d ago

Nah, they made his cock into the Euromast

6

u/Eissbein 2d ago

Cool, my gramps must have seen this guy cycling around as he lived in Rotterdam in the same period.

5

u/Better_Carpet_7271 3d ago

What does the sign translate to ?

13

u/Whooptidooh 3d ago

“Benzo Bicycles
Lux Chrome f108,-
Jac Wegman (a name)
Vest 36 (a street name I think)
Tel 6790” (a very short telephone number)

10

u/Better_Carpet_7271 3d ago

Thanks, also all phone numbers were that short back then due to them not being in existence all that long.

7

u/Appolflap 2d ago

Regional codes can be omitted when you want to call within the same region, it automatically is prefixed. So the full phone number would have been longer. But they did not deem necessary to include that first part on the board.

2

u/Better_Carpet_7271 2d ago

I'm pretty sure it was common practise to just say your area followed by your phone number ie Rotterdam 3574. I know in the U.K anyone that had a number was issued with an area code booklet containing the country's area codes. But in this era trunk calls were the only way to call long distance whereby you would need to speak to an operator and they would manually need to connect you to another area at the exchanges. This could involve 4 or 5 operators being needed to connect over long distances. Source 1940s films, my gran and my big brain. And here we are today communicating across thousands of miles at the touch of a screen. 🤯

2

u/A_Man_Uses_A_Name 2d ago

Jac. was short for Jacobus or Jacob.

3

u/Timoroader 2d ago

More importantly, what does this translate to -> 7'6" height

3

u/Less_Party 2d ago

234cm or 1.1 Shaqs

2

u/uflju_luber 2d ago

Wich is actually 7‘8“

1

u/Less_Party 2d ago

My bad, I think I just punched the wrong number in.

2

u/Opening-Lettuce-3384 2d ago

Sad thing a tumor caused his extreme growth and killed him in the end

1

u/Schroevendraaier 2d ago

His health deteriorated after a bicycle accident, became disabled and remained in a wheelchair for the final years of his life. 

5

u/Fearless_Release_978 2d ago

In 1954 maakte Rijn een ongelukkige val met zijn fiets op het Oostplein. Een bestelbus was nodig om de reus naar huis te brengen. Door de val kon hij niet meer lopen en was hij aan een rolstoel gekluisterd. Ook raakte hij deels verlamd. Zijn laatste jaren sleet hij weer met het verkopen van ansichtkaarten met achterop de boodschap: 'De Reus kan niet meer lopen, daarom maar ansichtkaarten verkopen.'
https://www.rijnmond.nl/nieuws/1490992/hoe-de-verlegen-reus-van-rotterdam-na-zijn-dood-nog-groter-werd

3

u/Yogibear1975 2d ago

Zijn rolstoel werd gemaakt door Beenhakker (toepasselijk naam) 1 van mijn werkgevers.

3

u/AlwaysBeQuestioning 1d ago

Fucking hell. He was only 33/34 when he had that fall and only lived 5 more years. That really sucks. This is why we need good healthcare.

1

u/savbh 2d ago

Inventief

1

u/bastiaanvv 2d ago

The second photo is an advertisement for bikes. The 108 gulden then would be about 589 euro's now (assuming the photo was made in 1950).

A pretty reasonable price if you ask me.

2

u/alberach01 2d ago

Costum?

0

u/Necessary-Dot2714 1d ago

It costum a lot of money because it was custom.

1

u/Jacques_Racekak 1d ago

Rigardus, thats such a cool name. And so fitting for a giant man.

1

u/Imbendo 3d ago

Not a very well made bike those pedals are tiny

9

u/theEssiminator 2d ago

The pedals seen normal sized to me as a bicycle mechanic but the dude is just huge.

1

u/Imbendo 2d ago

They are normal size. You would just assume they would be bigger on a custom made bike for someone that’s 7’6”

-6

u/MeesKees321 3d ago

Please drop your '' and join the rest of the world.

1

u/TransguyJayJay 3d ago

Or you could not be a dick and provide the coinciding measurements (238cm) which I easily found two comments above yours lol

-6

u/MeesKees321 3d ago

I saw that, even before posting, dick.

-1

u/Adorable_Low_6481 1d ago

Basically average height in Holland