Monday, July 23, 2007

My Theory Falls Short
I was trying to find a scientific explanation for why northern Europeans are taller than people from the southern part of the continent. And why an average Bangladeshi is often dwarfed by people from pretty much any part of the world.

My theory indicates that the contrary should have been true. The spinning of the Earth on its axis causes it to bulge at the equator. Bangladesh is pretty close to the equator (24 deg latitude). So any country that is further up north (like Norway, which has a latitude of 62 deg) should experience a slightly stronger gravitational pull than us since they are closer to the Earth's center. All things being equal, the extra gravitation force experienced by those living in higher latitutes should make it harder for them to grow vertically. Why then are Norwegians taller than us?