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== Real Life ==
* The actual [[Napoleon Bonaparte|Napoleon]] was 5'7, above average height for an 18th century Frenchman (5'5). It was propaganda from his sworn enemy, England, that created his reputation as a miniature, petty tyrant. A number of misconceptions have aided in perpetuating the image to this day. First, French feet of the time period were longer than modern feet, causing his height in French feet to be numerically smaller. Also, his nickname ''le Petit Caporal'', "the Little Corporal", actually referred to his humble background and modesty around his troops, rather than his physical size. Finally, he was often seen during war time on foot, surrounded by hulking bodyguards (who had a height requirement), making him look short by comparison.
* Male politicians and political leaders often go to great lengths to prevent themselves from appearing short.
** French president Nicolas Sarkozy is infamous for his attempts to hide his short height. While ex-president Bush is 15 cm (6 inches) taller than him, they appear the same size on [http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/5358/sarkozypetitsaufavecdieuuh7.jpg the rightmost photo]. But what is the guy on the right [[Scully Box|looking at]]? There are also [http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/7854/sarkozypointedespiedsdsjy0.jpg some official pictures of French governments] where he can be seen on the tips of his feet in order to seem taller. Some people actually make a comparison with Napoleon for this reason. One of his nickname among his opponent is "Naboleon" (Midgetoleon). Ironically, few people would care about his height if he didn't go to such embarrassing lengths to conceal it : many recent world leaders (Vladimir Putin, Dmitri Medvedev, Hu Jintao, and his current main political opponent (François Hollande) are about as short or even shorter than him and their height is almost never commented upon. In fact, his temper about his height is so famous that '''songs''' have been written about it. [[French Political System|This page]] has a few examples.
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** Caesar Augustus was around 5'7" according to his secretary (5'9" in Roman units), but biographer Suetonius says this is slightly inflated and he was known for wearing thick-soled shoes.
** North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il was infamous for wearing platform shoes and a bouffant hairstyle to make himself seem taller. When asked about Kim's height, Madeleine Albright noted that without his lifts, she stood eye-to-eye with him.
** While [[George W. Bush]] is not short, in the 2004 American presidential election he faced the noticeably taller John Kerry. A minor news story broke revealing the back-and-forth negotiations between the two presidents' camps on how to film the debates. The Bush camp was particularly concerned about Bush appearing too short while standing near Kerry.
** Inverted by George W. Bush's father, [[George H. W. Bush]], during his tenure as Ronald Reagan's vice-president. Bush was an inch taller than Reagan and took pains to avoid standing next to him in photos until after Reagan's term of office was over.
* Small dogs are generally more aggressive than large dogs due to the fact that they have to work so much harder to maintain their place in the hierarchy. Their higher metabolism also gives them more forceful personalities in general, whether friendly or mean. Even the tiniest and cutest dogs have the instincts of hunters. In fact, many small dog breeds (like terriers) were specifically bred to hunt and kill vermin. Compounding the problem, many owners fail to train their small dogs properly, believing that their [[Mister Muffykins]] is harmless.
* [[Harlan Ellison]] iswas of short stature and iswas known for his forceful personality. In the documentary ''Dreams With Sharp Teeth'' he describesdescribed himself during his days in the military as a "mean little dog" who, though "86 pounds soaking wet," refused to give up and never collapsed during training. Contrary to the trope, he avoided confrontations with the other soldiers by [[Playing Cyrano|volunteering to help them write letters to their girlfriends]].
* Scientology's current{{when}} leader David Miscavige. If the accounts from ex-members that he frequently beats his staff and encourages other high-ranking officials to do so and manipulates promotional pictures so that he looks taller are to be believed... Could also be considered a [[Mister Big]] depending on your personal opinions of Scientology.
* [[Alexander Thethe Great]] was purported to be 5'4", although considering what time period he lived in that isn't that small.
* [[Attila the Hun]] may have suffered from dwarfism.
* [[Richard E. Grant]] and Paul McGann, the stars of ''[[Withnail and I]]'', once had not-quite-an-argument—apparently more of a friendly debate—about whether Real Classic Movie Stars are generally short, according to Grant's memoirs. McGann, who's 5'8", thought so; Grant—6Grant — 6'2" -- didn't. Score one for the little guy; McGann won.
* Bank robber George "Baby Face" Nelson was a raving loony, with a whole keyboard full of [[Berserk Button]]s, but the biggest one was his height: he was only 5'4".
* Although he was portrayed by 6'2 Peter O'Toole in ''[[Lawrence of Arabia]]'', in real life T.E. Lawrence was 5'5.
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* When Prince Eugene of Savoy-Carignan (1663-1736) requested to be appointed to be given command of a regiment, King Louis XIV of France refused because he said Eugene was too scrawny and too little. Refusing to accept this, Eugene entered the service of the Holy Roman Emperor and eventually rose to supreme command of the Austrian Army. Especially during the [[War Of Spanish Succession]], in which Eugene together with the Duke of Marlborough led the main Allied Army, Louis must have deeply regretted judging the man once known as the "little abbé" by his appearance...
* Despite slightly taller than the American average height (though would be slightly under the average for post-1901 Presidents) at 5'10", Marco Rubio developed (or was seen as having developed) one due to an inability to stop feeding the 6'2" [[Donald Trump]]'s "Little Marco" nickname for him. It reached the point Rubio started wearing high heeled boots to compensate, which attracted more attention than his height.
* Japanese officers in [[World War 2II]] were so small that you could tell officer corpses from enlisted by the shorter height of officers. In this case it was because Japanese military schools took [[The Spartan Way]] to the point of not properly feeding adolescent cadets at just the time when they needed feeding.
 
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