My theory is that the Inuit were much smarter than us. I offer as evidence the fact that they can subsist on whale blubber and seal meat, while we cannot survive for long even with the copious availability of the whopper, large fries, and a coke. Brad Crain Quoting Darryl Johnson <Darryl.Johnson_at_sympatico.ca>: > Paul Hayward wrote: > > <snip> >> >> Given the stature of the Inuit I met in the 1960's and references (in film & >> print) to earlier generations of Inuit, I believe that few of them topped >> 6'. Without getting into the arm-span versus height argument, I conjecture >> that the range of their body sizes (and hence their paddle sizes) was >> historically somewhat smaller than ours is now. > > Not only are the Inuit shorter than Caucasians and many other races, > but they tend to have proportionately shorter (and stockier) arms > and legs. So an average Inuit paddler, of say, 5' 4", would have the > arm length of of a Caucasian of perhaps 5' 2". > > When I was much younger (just after the last of the dinosaurs died > off), I remember hearing the theory that the shorter and stockier > proportions were to conserve body heat. I have no idea if this was > ever a "real" theory, nor whether it might still be in vogue. > > I do know that the build of the Inuit allowed them to do some of the > gymnastics that tall slender Caucasians can only aspire to. I think > in particular of the trick of being held up in a horizontal position > by your outstretched arms and seeing how long you can stay there. > > -- > Darryl > >> >> So I would argue that you might want to 'up' the lower limit of your >> 'extra-long' paddle range a little - especially if we try and build >> Greenland-style paddles to suit our larger body sizes. >> >> I accept completely the 'what works for you' approach. >> My interest is in finding out what that means - and exploring the 'whys'. >> > <snip> >> >> Best Regards >> Paul Hayward, Auckland, New Zealand *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Jul 21 2009 - 15:03:08 PDT
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