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Tallest man in the world meets the shortest

The world’s tallest man, Bao Xishun today shook hands with He Pingping who claims to be Earth’s shortest.

Astonishingly, two men actually come from the same region of Inner Mongolia. Bao Xishun, a herdsman, is from Chifeng, while He Pingping was born nearby in Wulanchabu city, both Inner Mongolia.

Bao Xishun was recently married in a traditional ceremony to a 28-year-old saleswoman from his hometown. At 5ft 6″ Xia Shujian only comes up to his elbow and is half his age. Mr Xishun is officially the world’s tallest man, listed in the Guinness Book of Records at a towering 2.361 metres (7 ft 8.95 in).

Mr Pingping who stands just 73 centimeters (28.7 inches) hopes also to feature in the Guinness Book of Records as officially the world’s shortest man although he may be disappointed as the record is currently held by Lin Yih-Chih, who stands a mere 67.5 cm (26.6 inches).

Add comment July 14th, 2007

Toxic Toothpaste

The pharmaceutical maker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) today warned that fake tubes of its Sensodyne toothpaste on sale in the UK contain a chemical used to thicken anti-freeze.

The counterfeit 50ml tubes of Sensodyne Original and Sensodye Mint contained diethylene glycol, which is toxic to young children and anyone with impaired liver or kidney function, the manufacturer warned.

The alert comes a few days after more than 120,000 tubes of toothpaste were seized by Italian and Spanish authorities amid fears that the same chemical was being passed off as glycerine. The Italian and Spanish tubes were believed to have been imported from China, which is in the middle of a product safety crisis.

Add comment July 13th, 2007