I recall having read that the average Dutch height has gone up several cm (about 10, I believe) since earlier this century, people are still growing. (10 years ago the average for girls was 170, and now it's 174, +- 5'9). The army measures the boys they get, and they are growing taller all the time. I used to have lectures in a really old hall, and everybody had problems fitting their legs between the fixed seat and the one in front. The benches were intended for turn-of-the-century midgets ;) Would earlier this century not be more comparable to the previous century? If so, then there must have been a considerable difference between people now and people then.