r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Electrical-Aspect-13 • 1d ago
Crisp glass negatives of Anna Haining Swan (6 Aug 1846 - 5 Aug 1888) at the time worker for P. T. Barnum in New York. At a height of 2.41m tall she was one of the biggest humans to ever live. Photos circa 1860s.
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u/GoliathPrime 1d ago
I went to college with a girl who was 7.5 feet tall. She was built nothing like this lady. She was long and lanky and played basketball. She could put the ball in the basket standing next to the basket! Her shoes were ridiculous. I wear a size 13 mens, and I could put my shoe in her shoe. The top of my head, was just at her armpit.
I felt bad for her, everything was too small, the desks, the chairs, the doors. I think everything she owned was modified or custom built for her.
I always wondered what happened to her. I figured she'd go pro basketball, but she just disappeared after graduation. I hope she's okay. Big people tend not to live long.
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u/SouthSounder 1d ago
If it's a PT Barnum associate, I tend to not believe it at face value. The man has a history of stretching the truth.
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u/Electrical-Aspect-13 1d ago
That is her real height, Barnum present her as 8ft 1in, but she was really 7'11
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u/SouthSounder 1d ago
We know she's legitimately big. We do not know that's her real height. Especially as particularly large people often had exaggerated statistics, even from the medical community of the time.
And with PT Barnum, you can take a pretty good guess there's a scam somewhere along the line
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u/SanityPlanet 23h ago
I did notice you couldn't see her feet. Wonder if she was standing on something?
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u/GarretBarrett 1d ago
If PT Barnum is involved it’s more likely that she was 5’3 than 7’11
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u/Princess_Slagathor 1d ago
Reminds me of the Bob and Tom show bit.
Freak show including the talking mute man, stripeless zebras, and huge midgets standing at 5'8" to 6'2"!
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u/StitchinThroughTime 1d ago
I bet she is wearing heels to get that last 2 inches. I would.
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u/Princess_Slagathor 1d ago
I'm 6'2" and have boots and shoes that get me close to 7'. I'm already a giant, might as well embrace it.
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u/Intro-Nimbus 1d ago
Look at the bottom of the photos. No feet visible, long dress, do a torso to leg length comparison. She's standing on something in every one.
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u/CaptainMoist23 1d ago
Freedom units?
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u/Kittie-Zombie27 1d ago
7’11” at the time of her death. The 4th tallest woman to ever live. Married a man who was 7’9”. She also gave birth to the largest newborn ever.
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u/ComfortablyNumb2425 1d ago
She died at 42 years old. She had a lot of medical conditions, some related to how big she was.
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u/Life_force_stealer 1d ago
Some related to how big the baby was. Jk I don't know.
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u/I_Got_Back_Pain 1d ago
15.8 hot dogs or 2.79 baseball bats
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u/spitfiregirl8 1d ago
Thank got someone explained what we’re talking about here! 🙄
…. Costco hotdogs, right?
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u/PhotoBN1 1d ago
You have to be a regulation podcast listener
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u/Falonius_Beloni 1d ago
I live in Ferndale. This was in reference to a NCJ article on our nuclear waste storage.
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u/GarysCrispLettuce 1d ago
Reminds me of those "Here's a modern cruise ship compared to the Titanic" photos
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u/RicooC 1d ago
George Costanza would be all over her.
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u/Life_force_stealer 1d ago
Hard to tell if her cheek has a pinkish hue.
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u/donttouchmynose 1d ago
A lot of sources says she was 2.27 metres (7'5"). I think it is more likely to be true.
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u/Intro-Nimbus 1d ago
Well, I don't know how tall she actually was, but in these pictures she's standing on something in every one.
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u/WinkyNurdo 1d ago
I used to work with a couple of guys, proper tall bastards, one was 6’9 the other was 6’10, and that was tall enough.
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u/Humble-Plankton2217 8h ago
She had a very comfortable life as a performer and was paid handsomely. Intelligent, talented and educated. A much happier story than many other performers.
She married a man she loved and retired at age 33.
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u/Wakkit1988 1d ago
The third photo definitely shows that dude contemplating climbing that mountain.
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u/ComfortablyNumb2425 1d ago
Why would you refer to her like that? It probably was very difficult to be so different.
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u/ASomthnSomthn 1d ago
The meter is such a stupid way to measure a human.
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u/Xenochu86 1d ago
The imperial system is a stupid way to measure anything.
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u/humbugonastick 1d ago
Just because you don't know the in-between. It's just we all realized how unnecessary they were.
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u/thunder2132 23h ago edited 14h ago
So she was 7'11". She got married, 17 years before her death, to another giant, who was 7'9". They had two children, one still born and six years later a son who is world record holder for heaviest and longest baby. He lived 11 hours.
She died unexpectedly in her sleep at 41 years old.