Sunday, February 03, 2008

The Napoleon Complex

Image from Wikipedia


Main Entry: Napoleon complex
Part of Speech: n
Definition: the condition of being small in stature but aggressively ambitious and seeking absolute control

So, there was a superbowl ad starring Napoleon, playing off of his short stature. In the commercial Napoleon was so short that instead of having a powerful war horse, he had a tiny pretty pony. Because I'm a geek, I instantly wondered how tall he really was. So, I looked it up.

Apparently his height was recorded as 5' 2". But, that measurement was according to 1800 French measurements, which are different from the modern English measurement. Napoleon's body was autopsied by our current measure, Napoleon was actually 5' 6". So, if he were alive today, he would have been of very average height. Not only that, but in France in the 1800's 5'6" was a bit above average! Napoleon, was actually kinda tall...

So, it seems, Napoleon could never have had a Napoleon Complex. Interesting...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

wouldn't you have a complex if you had to wear those pants?

Joshua said...

I call it awesome.

Anonymous said...

i too think that 5'6" is tall.