One of the interesting features of the Feedjit widget (see sidebar at right) is that it supplies information about the words people use when they land here via a search engine. One recent visitor searched on the phrase "how tall were the Marx Brothers." Unfortunately, Google led him to the posts for June 2009, one of which includes a reference to the brothers' Uncle Julius, who was "well over four feet." The information the cyber-seeker was after is actually contained in the post "Passports", dated May 5, 2009. Included there are images of the brothers' 1922 passport applications. The heights they gave on the forms were:
Chico: 5' 6"
Groucho: 5' 8"
Zeppo: 5' 9"
Harpo: 5' 6 1/2"
They seem relatively short by today's standards, but as far as I can tell, the average height of an American male in 1920 was around 5'7" or 5'8".
"A Night at the Opera" in Scottsbluff, NE
1 year ago
Uncle Juius was well over four feet. I love it. From now on I'm listing my height at well over four feet.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff, David.
#167 Dad
I should mention that's Groucho's description, and not original with me. If you check out the "Passports" article, you may get some other ideas of how to fill out a form. Hmmm...that gives me an idea for the next post.
ReplyDelete