h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

People have been getting bigger and stronger for about 5,000 years now. But the hunter gatherer people were much bigger and stronger than we are now. People only shrank down when they started farming, as the farming diet was not as nutritious as the high meat diet.

I've also heard that in the early days of milling, a lot of grit from the millstone went into the flour, so bread was fairly abrasive and wore away your teeth, meaning that people lost their teeth earlier and as a result didn't live as long.

>> People have been getting bigger and stronger for about 5,000 years now <<

Are you talking about humanity as a whole or just those of European stock (and culture) ?

I suppose I'm talking about Europeans.

the main reason i brought that up is because you all seem to have an eclectic and well- researched knowledge base and i am curious about...

The History of Longevity down through the races, cultures and millenium of Humanity's sojourn on earth.

!

er
rather, i meant Health, Size and Longevity

I had just gotten into longevity discussions
had found this http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanne_Calment
and was curious if there is any knowledge of ancient very healthy societies

Well there was the Howard Foundation.

From Wikipedia: "The Howard Foundation was started in the 19th century by Ira Howard, a millionaire dying of old age in his forties, for the purpose of extending human lifespans. Howard himself did not live to see the outcome; he simply endowed the experiment with his own fortune, and the trustees of the Howard Foundation used the limited scientific knowledge of the time to create a selective breeding human program to encourage, financially, people of long-lived ancestry to have children together."

The rules for couples to qualify was that upon their marriage date, both partners had to have 4 living grandparents. Through this encouraged breeding program, it was hoped that the descendants would have increasingly long lives well in excess of 100 years.

>> was curious if there is any knowledge of ancient very healthy societies <<

Only a few thousand years ago we had Noah who lived to be 950 years and then there was Methuselah who lived to be 969 years (unless that represents some complex sexual position). And it's all true 'cos I read it in a book given to me by men in frocks.

I think ancient societies would suffer from things like a high death rate at child birth (for both mother & child), high death rate for young children, high death rate for teenagers trying to make an impact in the adult society, war like disputes, disease, accidents ... even short sightedness would probably be a killer.

The Howard Families were sometimes referred to as "Methuselah's Children".

One, Jubal Harshaw was noted for an extremely long life.

Now with restored title.

Back to the original subject. I know someone who would likely know, or be able to definitively look up, the answer to Gnomon's Delta Cephei question. Unfortunately, we just missed a great opportunity to ask a renowned astronomer, Phil Plait (aka Bad Astronomer). But the same opportunity will occur again next week.

http://gizmodo.com/welcome-to-the-first-weekly-summer-science-symposium-1003158269

(Correction to previous post: I meant to refer to Lazarus Long, not Jubal Harshaw.)

I hesitate to speculate on what Robert A Heinlein would have made of Wikipedia.

To get back to my original posting, I've now finished my study of Delta Cephei and Henrietta Swan Leavitt. Wikipedia was certainly useful in pointing me in the right direction, even if the facts in it were rather dubious.

It just needs a read through and then it should be ready for Peer Review.

No, I'm wrong. That's the danger with 3,000-word entries - there are bits you decide to leave for later and then forget about.

I still don't understand why Cepheid variable stars pulsate, and neither Patrick Moore's nor Wikipedia's explanation make much sense. Further investigation needed.

(I'm sure Patrick Moore understood it, but he glossed over details saying it was 'all decidedly complex'.)

... and it's in Peer Review now. F48874?thread=8304488