10. John was called "Long John" as he was very tall.
Answers
Answer: Somehow the suggestion that we don't really know the reason behind "Long" as John Silver's nickname, is not terribly convincing.
Explanation: Nowadays, yes, anything goes. If a relatively short man is nicknamed "Long", I would either interpret it being as a ironic comment on his evident lack of height, or I'd imagine that something else about him must be long. And if it wasn't his name, hair or nose, it would have to be something else, which for the moment escapes me...
No, historically the epithet Long was given to people who were considered exceptionally tall for those times. There were also several variations on the theme of Long, such as Longfellow meaning tall, good companion; Longstaff, "well endowed" and Longshanks meaning "long legs" or "long shins". Back in the late 1800s the average height of a man in England was about 1.66 m, today that figure has risen to 1.78 m