Ahhh, the evolution of the human – the average height of a person has changed drastically as has the life expectancy.

According to Our World in Data, in 1896 man stood on average 5-foot 3 inches tall, fast forward a century in 1996 it now stands at 5-foot 6 inches.

Meanwhile women have also grown, they were on average 4-foot 9 inches tall and as of 1996 the average height of a woman is 5-foot 2 inches.

You get my point – in the space of 100 years humans have really stretched out.

Now, hark yourself back to 1964 and dive into Ian Felmming’s Goldfinger where we see James Bond, played the most iconic of all the actors to play the spy Sean Connery, face off against gold smuggler Auric Goldfinger, played by Gert Fröbe.

If you haven’t watched the early Bond movies then you have to buy some time to do so – I remember watching them all in college, meanwhile my friend wasted his time learning to play the guitar… whose the real winner? Idiot!

Anyway, if you’ve watched the movie you may remember a Colonel Smithers, played by actor Richard Vernon – who was just 39 years old at the time.

Well, a still of Vernon started doing the rounds on social media, and it shows him donning grey hairs and wrinkles.

But if you compare him to how Chris Hemsworth and Henry Cavill look at the age of 41 then the difference is stark… although the way I’m heading there is no chance I’ll look like Thor or Superman when I’m older so it could be a little unfair.

The late Vernon passed away at the age of 72 from complications with Parkinson’s disease, in 1997.

Anyway, It’s worth noting that times have significantly changed since then, however this hasn’t stop people from sharing their thoughts.

“People aged differently back then. Probably smoked 3 packs and drank half a litre of Whiskey daily as well,” one user joked on Twitter.

Someone else added: “That is completely absurd.”

“Didn’t believe it until I looked it up! These men were born 5 years apart,” another said, sharing an image of Vernon and James Bond actor Sean Connery.

Similar posts of surprised fans have circulated on Reddit, with many users saying they thought Vernon would have been in his late 50s or early 60s.

“Well early 60s is honestly what I would have guessed. But he doesn’t look 39. I guess the years weren’t kind to him,” one Reddit user wrote.

“He’s a good 7 years younger than Jared Leto. What the hell did people do in the 60s that made them age so fast?” commented another.