In a message dated 02-05-13 15:00:06 EDT, Andrew B. Jacobson wrote:

<< Lastly, the average height of a person during post Colonial times to the
late 1800's was just over 5 feet tall.  >>

Yet Scott D. Peters says his research indicates that the difference in
average male height from that period to the present day is only an inch or
less.  As this disagreement can't be a matter of mere opinion, I for one
would be very interested to see both parties present some evidence or
citations to support their conclusions.  My uninformed, knee-jerk reaction is
that the smaller height difference seems more likely, but that hardly counts.

On the other hand, my suspicion regarding the Great Corset Debate is that ALL
the anecdotal reports are accurate, but there's probably no way to locate any
statistical data to prove which experience in the comfort/discomfort spectrum
was more prevalent.

David Haberstich

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