Newest "What's the Difference"

You may ask, "What's the difference between a dwarf and a midget?"

Well, you see a dwarf is a person who has a physical or genetic condition so he/she can't grow at a normal rate. According to Little People of America they commonly are 4'10" tall. Sometimes dwarfism means that the arms and legs may be shorter than average. No medical treatment is available for dwarfism.

The term midget is normally a negative description of a person. Formally, midget is someone who is shorter than average, but is proportional to an average person. Because this may be caused by a hormone imbalance, it can be treated medically.

Both seem to be called dwarfs now. The term midget is gone, except to describe something.

One interesting fact is that some little people elect to undergo "limb-lengthening" surgery.

Christy Ruhe stood 4-foot-3 before choosing to undergo a leg-lengthening process that broke her bowed legs, then stretched and straightened them to make her seven inches taller. See pictures from her painful, but gratifying experience. Limb-lengthening surgery is controversial among dwarfs, and it is painful. Still, many choose to undergo the bone-breaking and difficult therapy to gain inches in height. One patient who made this decision, Christy Ruhe, allowed an Associated Press reporter and photographer to closely follow her two-year progress. This is her story.
(Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4242093/ )

Sounds a little medieval!