Strange but True: Chinese Willingly Torture Themselves to Grow Taller

Story dated 06 June 2005

"In recent months, advertisements on Chinese television are regularly promoting "stretching machines," which look like benches reminiscent of the medieval torture rack. Users are supposed to strap themselves in by head and foot and turn a crank to extend the bench beneath them . . . [other methods of growing taller include] an adaptation of a method originally developed in Russia more than a century ago. Xia breaks his patient's legs, then attaches metal pins to the separated bones, which are held in place by metal frames around the patient's legs. The patient then has to twist a knob daily to drag the ends of broken bone apart gradually, encouraging new bone to grow to bridge the gap as the fracture heals, resulting in longer bones, and a taller person, according to the report."

Apparently, taller people have a better chance of job promotion and marriage. Somehow, the practices of the citizens of California seem less extreme, now. "The average Chinese woman is about 5 feet 2 inches tall and the average man about 5 feet 6 inches."

posted by The Sovereign Editor | 11:23 AM

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