Some scientists continue to amaze the whole world with the results of their non-standard research. Now the subject of heated debate has become what the difference in the height of partners should be in order for them to be considered an ideal couple.
What did the researchers find out?
Having measured the height of several thousand spouses, scientists have not yet been able to come to a consensus on what kind of difference in height can be considered ideal. Polish anthropologist Boguslav Pavlovsky, for example, believes that a man should be 1.09 times taller than his chosen one. Professors at the University of Groningen (Netherlands) are confident that the height of a partner should be 20 cm higher than that of a partner. American scientists are more democratic, since they agree that even an 8-centimeter difference in height can be the key to a happy marriage. As a result of a number of surveys, it turned out that the ideal male height should be 188-190 cm, and the height of a partner suitable for him should be 172-174 cm.
Some researchers decided to study the problem from a different angle. A team of British scientists led by Dr. Daniel Nettle of the National Center for the Study of Child Development has been monitoring the health and social status of several hundred married couples for many years.
As a result of a long study, the most curious conclusions were made: tall men consistently chose short partners as their wives and much more often than short men became happy fathers of a family. In turn, women of short and medium stature paid attention mainly to tall men and married much faster than their tall peers.
What explains the revealed pattern?
Scientists comment on the research results based on evolutionary theory. From this point of view, a larger and taller man should turn out to be a stronger warrior and a successful hunter, so his offspring will surely be reliably protected from any troubles and always provided with good food.
At the same time, undersized women reach puberty earlier than taller women, since in the latter, the body's forces are more spent on growth and maintaining an optimal body weight. That is why in short women men instinctively see more promising mothers for their offspring. In addition, a small lady is more likely to make a large man want to protect her.
Despite the results of these pseudo-scientific studies, most ordinary married couples are not inclined to think that the right difference in height was the key to their marital happiness. The secret of a successful marriage, they call the similarity of interests, mutual respect of partners, tenderness and love for each other.
