The History Of Beds

Neolithic period: The mattress and bed are invented. Beds are raised off the ground to avoid drafts, dirt, and pests. The first mattress probably consists of a pile of leaves, grass, or possibly straw, with animal skins over it.
3600 B.C.: Beds made of goatskins filled with water are used in Persia.
3400 B.C.: Egyptians sleep on palm boughs heaped in the corners of their homes.
200 B.C.: Mattresses in Ancient Rome consist of bags of cloth stuffed with reeds, hay, or wool; the wealthy use feather stuffing.
1400’s: During the Renaissance, mattresses are made of pea shucks, straw, or sometimes feathers, stuffed into coarse ticks, and covered with velvets, brocades, or silks.
1500’s and 1600’s : Mattresses are stuffed with straw or down and placed atop a bed consisting of a timber frame with support latticeworks of rope or leather.
1735: Mattresses are now being stuffed with cotton, wool, coconut fiber, or horsehair. French explorers discover South American natives playing with crude rubber balls, making rubber shoes and rubber bottles. (Charles Marie de la Condamine)….father of the condom…? Natives call the stuff “CAHUCHU”…weeping wood. French call it CAOUTCHOUC…
1839: Enter Charles GOODYEAR…(yes, that Goodyear. ), Chuck accidentally drops a glob of a rubber and sulphur mix on the stove…VULCANIZED! Cured rubber is better rubber. Attempts to develop rubber tree plantations are successful in hot moist climates. The British Empire transplants seedlings from South American forest to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Malaysia. Almost all of today’s plantations trees come from these seedlings. Tree-mendous really.
1930s: Innerspring mattresses become widely used. Encased coil spring mattresses, which consist of individual springs sewn into linked fabric bags, are introduced.
1950: Synthetic foam rubber mattresses are being made, but are eclipsed by the introduction of Natural Latex mattresses that rapidly become the best-selling higher-end beds in America and Europe.
1962: Latex mattresses enjoy peak popularity among the beautiful Americans intelligent enough to own them. Fierce consumer loyalty is born! I WANT MY LATEX! (+6% market)
1963: One more word…water beds! America floats to sleep for the next 20 years. The exceptional interest in flotation sleep only adds to the diminishing availability of quality latex mattresses throughout the sixties and seventies.
Adjustable beds also become available to the general public at this time. (with a motor underneath to raise and lower the head and/or the feet
1980s: Air mattresses constructed of vulcanized rubber or vinyl are introduced (Sleep Number by SelectComfort).
1981: The TALALAY process arrives which is more costly, but delivers the highest quality available with the widest range of firmness, and the longest lasting consistent comfort level. The Joseph Talalay process consists of freezing the latex in individual vacuum molds, and subjecting the latex to vacuum, freezing, heating, and a vigorous, extensive washing process to eliminate imperfections. These mattress cores prove superior to all other attempts in history. Exhaustive quality control standards insure that Talalay products are the best in the world today.
1992: “space-age” memory foam beds are introduced (Tempur-pedic), but problems with heat retention cause customers to complain of “excessive sweating” when sleeping on them. Customers with back problems have trouble turning over. Also, about this time the medical community joins the chiropractic community in denouncing the water bed as being “the worst thing to sleep on” and counsels their patients to pull the plug on them!
2008: SelectComfort beds continue to be plagued with reports of multiple system failures and customer dissatisfaction with product performance.
2015: POSH+LAVISH introduce their all-natural latex beds that quickly rise to #1 in consumer approval ratings.

The History Of Beds

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