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The Man Who Was a Dwarf and a Giant

Written by Alan Bellows on 01 December 2005

Adam Rainer Height ChartVery few details are known about the life of Adam Rainer, but in a way, he represents an extraordinary piece of medical history. He was born in Graz, Austria in 1899, and as he grew and matured, it became evident that his stature was significantly shorter than the average man. He was classified as a dwarf, standing only 3 feet 10.5 inches (1.18 m) in 1920, his 21st year.

But in his early twenties, Adam’s height suddenly began to increase at an astonishing rate, and without any signs of stopping. By his 32nd birthday, his unusually short stature of under four feet was increased to an unusually tall stature of just under 7 feet 2 inches (2.18 m). This incredible sustained rate of growth– about 3.6 inches per year– exhausted his body and left him bedridden.

It seems likely that the secretions from the poor chap’s pituitary gland– the gland reponsible for the body’s growth hormones– went from a trickle to to a flood shortly after his 21st birthday. The malfunctioning organ caused his body to devote all of its resources to unchecked growth, leaving him weak and unable to stand.

He lived in this unfortunate condition until he died on March 4, 1950, aged 51. At the time of his death, he was measured at 7 feet 8 inches tall (2.34 m), twice the height he been at age 21. Adam was the only person in medical history to have been classified both as a dwarf and a giant.

Alan Bellows is the founder, designer, and managing editor of DamnInteresting.com, and he is perpetually behind schedule.
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#1 Alex 01 December 2005 at 04:39 pm

Hmm… where did you get this from?


#2 Alan Bellows 01 December 2005 at 05:18 pm

Adam Rainer is briefly mentioned in the Guinness Book of World Records for the record of “most variable stature.” Other details were from various places. And I created the image based on the data.


#3 anthonares 01 December 2005 at 09:50 pm

A fantastic entry! Damn Interesting almost always lives up to its name.


#4 J 02 December 2005 at 06:53 am

I totally agree! DAMN INTERESTING


#5 spastic 02 December 2005 at 11:20 am

perhaps it was a metric conversion mistake.


#6 Thy Hangman 06 December 2005 at 08:40 pm

The growing pains must have been unbareable.


#7 thatsmyname 07 December 2005 at 03:28 pm

Theme song plays.

-L.


#8 skelter 12 December 2005 at 10:10 am

Well, I just wrote today about my mysterious three-inch growth spurt in my middle age. Someone sent me over here immediately after writing it. I guess that’s more sensible than my Aliens theory: http://www.blogitude.com/blogitude/2005/12/12/growing

So I suppose it’s just one *more* thing wrong with me. Crap.


#9 scamp 23 October 2006 at 02:53 pm

I dont have a clue what to say about this exept “Weird”!


#10 Drakvil 09 January 2007 at 12:14 am

All I can say is “wow!”

I’m reminded of Orson Scott Card’s “Shadow” series of books… “Ender’s Shadow” through “Shadow of the Giant”. Although, in that book the poor guy’s being small at first was just that he was very young and a super-genius… and had a genetic mutation that wouldn’t allow his growing to end at adulthood.


#11 Kao_Valin 12 October 2007 at 07:57 am

Wish I knew the mechanics that made this dude grow. Being 5′ 5″ I wouldnt mind having a couple inches to my height so I’m not short around all my friends. I seem to only make friends with people in the 5 8 to 6 2 range. Is there such a thing as token short guy? Welp, at least I fit into my 2-DR saturn just fine, and I dont hit my head on low hanging objects. Tallness is overrated. Think maybe this was one of those “I wish I was tall, then they’d see.” Then this dude grows uncontrollably until he dies from it.


#12 axe86 16 July 2009 at 08:12 pm

If you think about it kinda proves that you can grow even after your growth plates close. Yes it may be by a glandular problem but he still grew.


#13 satisfactory-delusion 13 September 2009 at 10:49 am

Couldn’t they have given him drugs to inhibit the growth hormone? or done something with his pituitary gland?


#14 DamnAwesome 15 February 2010 at 07:57 pm

Enter your comment here.
axe86, unless you have x-rays taken when he was 21 that show his growth plates were closed, this doesn’t prove anything. Much more likely is that the hormonal problem which caused his initial slow growth also delayed maturation of the bones such that the growth plates didn’t close


#15 Jonas1st 21 June 2010 at 08:45 am

DamnAwesome, true what you are saying.
But here is something to ponder; this article says that by 32nd birthday he was 2.18 m and and at this deathbed (age 51) was measured 2.34 m. That means he grew after his 32nd birthday by an additional 16 cm! Are you telling me that his growth plates hadn’t closed after all that time?!
Although it is said that you MUST have growth plates to grow. But I do wonder if there are any exceptions to that? I mean, if it’s absolutely so, what would’ve happened if there were definitely no growth plates to Rainer but still had his excessive growth hormone production. What would’ve happened? Would that manifest differently, if it couldn’t have been to put to use to grow?

Alan Bellows, what do you say?


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