When the world’s smallest man meets the world’s smallest woman, it’s a big deal.
Although record holders are often pictured next to each other in Guinness World Records books, they very rarely meet each other in the flesh.
One notable exception came recently when the world’s shortest man, Chandra Bahadur Dangi, met the world’s shortest woman, Jyoti Amge, as part of a promotion for the 2013 edition of Guinness World Records.
Dangi, a 72-year-old Nepalese man is, at 21.5 inches; Amge, 18, of Nagpur, India, measures 24.7 inches.
For Marco Frigatti, an adjudicator for Guinness World Records, the experience of getting the two tiniest people on the globe together in one room was a true career highlight.
“The atmosphere was magic,” he said. “You could see everyone was smiling. It was something special in the air.”
Neither Amge nor Dangi said anything about the meeting — apparently it was a short one — but both are happy to have their respective titles.
“Since being recognized by Guinness World Records, I have been able to visit lots of different countries,” she said. “I love traveling. I have visited Japan and parts of Europe and now I can’t wait to visit the UK.”
Guinness officials had been aware of Amge’s existence for years, but waited until she was 18 to make the “world’s shortest woman” title official.
Dangi, on the other hand, managed to escape discovery for more than 70 years before Guinness found him in the remote Nepalese mountain village of Rhimkholi, about 250 miles west of Kathmandu.
The recognition may be somewhat late in his life, but, hey, he’ll take it. “I’m very happy that I’m being recognized by Guinness World Records and that my name will be written in a book,” he said. “It’s a big thing for my family, my village and my country. I am very happy.”
Dangi and Amge appear prominently in the 2013 edition of Guinness World Records, which will be published Sept. 13.
