182.5 Centimeters

[mishalak]

Thoughts on Height

I lie online. In other news rain is wet. I am, more or less exactly, 182.5 centimeters tall or 5 feet 11 and 7/8 inches, which I almost always put down as 6 feet exactly when asked. It is a very small thing, but it is an exaggeration. There is actually a nice little notch at 5'11" where significantly fewer people put down their height. Check out this old okcupid blog post about height. It found that people seem to be exaggerating their height by 2". Do people really go that far? I mean I round up or down as suit me, but by a whole number? Or is everyone else using an "in my shoes" number?

Comments

[boxofdelights]

Anecdata: my husband gives his height (in person, I don't know what he does on dating sites) as five-feet-eleven-and-a-half. This bugged the heck out of his oldest brother, who 1. was clearly, visibly shorter than my husband, and 2. gave his height as six feet.

[mishalak]

Oh I lie in real life too, but I often get surprised, "You are only six feet tall?" responses. I suspect it might be like clothing size inflation. Everyone is so used to the fake number that when someone uses a close to real measurement they are shocked. My usual response is, "I have a big personality and seem tall."

[brooms]

based on pictures you posted, you also seem to be pretty lean. lean people tend to look taller.

[mishalak]

Oh, I am not lean. I am downright skinny. I only weigh 135lbs/61kg, which with my height can look somewhat cadaverous in the wrong lighting.

But an excellent point.