Bao Xishun, the tallest man in the world at 7 feet 9 inches, rescued two sick dolphins by reaching into their stomachs and removing plastic. He lost the title of tallest man to Sultan Kosen in 2009.
With a height of 7 feet 9 inches, Bao Xishun was recognized in 2005 by Guinness World Records as the tallest man in the world. The 55-year-old shepherd from Inner Mongolia made further headlines the following year when he single-handedly rescued two dolphins at an aquarium in Fushun, China.
According to the story, the dolphins got sick after eating pieces of plastic from the edge of their pool. Veterinarians have tried to remove the plastic from their stomachs with the use of surgical instruments, but the shape of the dolphins’ stomachs made it difficult to insert the instruments very far.
Aquarium officials summoned Bao, a minor celebrity in China, thinking his nearly 42-inch-long arms could gently reach into dolphins’ stomachs and pull out the plastic. Bao agreed to try and was able to remove the plastic by hand. Both dolphins made full recoveries.
To be the tallest man alive (for a while):
The dolphins had lost their appetites and were suffering from depression, officials said. Towels were wrapped around the teeth so that Bao would not be bitten during the rescue.
Bao says his height was normal until he was 16, when phenomenal growth began. In 2010, he appeared on an episode of the reality show The Amazing Race as a “Pit Stop” salute.
In 2009, Bao lost the title of tallest living man to Sultan Kosen, a Turkish farmer who stands at 8 feet 2.82 inches. Kosen’s incredible growth was caused by a tumor affecting his pituitary gland.
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