The Guinness Book of World Records is a collection of bizarre record holders from all over the world in print form, but many of them met in person today in London to celebrate the book’s 60th anniversary. Among the odd couples meeting were the world’s tallest man and the world’s shortest man.
Sultan Kosen, who stands 8 feet, 1 inch tall, met Chandra Dangi, who stands just 21.5 inches tall, in front of the Houses of Parliament. They posed for pictures with Big Ben standing in the distance.
According to the Daily Mail, Kosen, 31, is from Ankara, Turkey and won the world’s tallest man record in 2009. The previous record holder was China’s Xi Shun, 63, whi was measured at 7 feet, 8.95 inches in 2005. It is believed that Kosen is just one of 10 people to ever reach 8 feet tall.
Dangi, 74, is from an isolated village in Nepal.
“I was very interested how tall he was going to be, about how far up my legs he would go, and of course once I saw him I realised how tiny he was,” Kosen told the AFP. He added that meeting Dangi was “amazing,” even though he gets tired easily by bending so far down. Kosen has difficulty with his knees and said that, although Dangi is so much shorter, they face similar struggles.
“Even though he is short and I am tall, we have had similar struggles throughout our lives and when I look into Chandra's eyes I can see he is a good man.” Kosen said.
Guinness was also celebrating its 10th annual Guinness World Records Day, which gathers other record holders to celebrate their achievements. The book series itself is the best-selling book under copyright.