In the 1950s, a single was as wide as the average person's shoulders. A twin was a single & a half. A double was two singles. A queen was a single & a twin. A king was 2 twins (or 3 singles). Nowadays, the single is forgotten, so everyone is confused. When I was a child in the 1950's, my bed was a twin and you could put two first graders in it side by side. My best friend had a single bed, so when I slept over at her house, I slept in her bed and she slept on the floor.
EDIT: I don't think that that's correct, though, because while beds have become larger, it sounds like the twin was very much around in the 1950s.
Single beds, also known as twin beds, are the smallest antique bed size and the most common size for children’s bedrooms. They were widely used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and measured around 39 inches wide and 75 inches long. However, some antique single beds may be shorter, measuring around 72 inches long.
Nah, here in Germany for example, the standard single bed is 90x200cm, the standard double bed is 140x200cm and the king size (although I’m not sure how it would actually be called) is 180x200cm and usually just uses two 90x200cm mattresses. Can’t say I’ve ever seen a larger bed.
It’s the same in Sweden, which suggests it’s either an EU-wide standard or informally standardised (perhaps thanks to IKEA’s economies of scale).
The UK is presumably different because the Inselaffen like things being in round numbers of inches and they didn’t vote Leave to have 140cm double beds.
Because finding sheets that fit them used to be terrible. Even in a college town, you'd have very limited options. I expect this is much easier now that online shopping is a thing, though.
But that's not an excuse to force 10-20 some percent of the population to hang their feet of the end of the bed (and yes 5 inches makes that much of a difference)
Oh, I agree with you. I was just answering why many college kids disliked the twin xl mattresses. That doesn't mean they should quit using them in dorms.
Because the college would tell you the dorm rooms have twin mattresses in them. So everybody shows up with twin sized sheets.
You can actually get fitted twin sized sheets to fit a twin-xl mattress if you fold the mattress a little when you put on the sheet.. When the mattress straightens out it compresses a little, and the sheets stretch a little. But you'll also find the weak spots in your sheets very fast.
Ahh, okay. Yeah, I've slept on twins and twin xls most of my life and I'm familiar with the sheet stretch, I just didn't realize colleges didn't differentiate when they told kids what they had.
When my husband and i started dating we slept together in a twin. Now we sleep in a king with 2-3 cats, and a dog if there's a storm. Sometimes on vacation we have a room with a queen. Makes you realize how much space the animals take.
A queen sized bed is only big enough for one 5 year old. Trying to get more people in there results in sleeping on the couch so you don't punch your child.
Why on earth do Americans call a single bed ‘twin’?
Because you can put two in a room.
Need Mace Windu saying this to the Jedi Council
Unfortunately, Mace is the council making stupid-ass decisions.
Then call it a half twin.
That makes no sense! I'd say that this greatly depends on the size of the room. Unsless rooms have standard sizes in the US!?
Don’t forget that you can stack them and make bunk beds too.
Why arent they called triplets then?
Because you can’t reasonably get three in a room whereas you can reasonably get two in the majority of bedrooms.
You could stack 3 though.
I looked it up to put an end to this. American hotels call them twin beds because they were a matching set of beds put in a room.
According to this:
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/27810/why-do-americans-call-single-beds-twin-beds
EDIT: I don't think that that's correct, though, because while beds have become larger, it sounds like the twin was very much around in the 1950s.
https://www.ebohemians.com/a-guide-to-antique-bed-sizes-understanding-the-history-and-variations/
I heard it was because siblings shared rooms and they had two beds in the room, hence twins.
This is just the US btw. Here's the UK:
You basically never see emperor though
I think European sizes differ slightly too because IKEA duvets and bedding never quite agree with stuff from other shops
As a tall Dutch person, my bed is 220 long and 200 wide. Unfortunately Ikea only carries 200 long mattresses, so I need to go to specialty stores.
But luckily tall people problems are prevalent here, so lots of stores.
I always just thought it was IKEA making sure you'd have to buy a bed, mattress and bedding exclusively from them.
Nah, here in Germany for example, the standard single bed is 90x200cm, the standard double bed is 140x200cm and the king size (although I’m not sure how it would actually be called) is 180x200cm and usually just uses two 90x200cm mattresses. Can’t say I’ve ever seen a larger bed.
It’s the same in Sweden, which suggests it’s either an EU-wide standard or informally standardised (perhaps thanks to IKEA’s economies of scale).
The UK is presumably different because the Inselaffen like things being in round numbers of inches and they didn’t vote Leave to have 140cm double beds.
As a non-English English-speaker, I just learned some German
https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Inselaffe
How is a king smaller than a queen...
He likes big butts and he cannot lie
IIRC The queen would need space for kids or something like that
To allow for the Superking
Alaska kings sleep with 3 women.
That's two dudes and two women.
Alaska kings are open-minded.
But why are they all touching themselves?
Ecstasy kicking in.
one of them just has short hair
I thought that was nanna? Hair in a bun.
I can't see their genitals. You must have one of those 8k gaming monitors
* Mattress Dimensions and Bed Sizes »in the US« – we can’t even figure out metric, there’s no way we would figure out simplifying mattresses …
Where would one get one of those group sex mattresses? Asking for a friend.
I've slept three to a king comfortably. Only downside is it gets very hot. Yes, both of those statements are double entendres.
That fucker that invented the twin XL has earned the wrath of many college freshmen.
Why
Because finding sheets that fit them used to be terrible. Even in a college town, you'd have very limited options. I expect this is much easier now that online shopping is a thing, though.
Yeah.
But that's not an excuse to force 10-20 some percent of the population to hang their feet of the end of the bed (and yes 5 inches makes that much of a difference)
Oh, I agree with you. I was just answering why many college kids disliked the twin xl mattresses. That doesn't mean they should quit using them in dorms.
Maybe it's too narrow?
I would also like to know to why
Because the college would tell you the dorm rooms have twin mattresses in them. So everybody shows up with twin sized sheets.
You can actually get fitted twin sized sheets to fit a twin-xl mattress if you fold the mattress a little when you put on the sheet.. When the mattress straightens out it compresses a little, and the sheets stretch a little. But you'll also find the weak spots in your sheets very fast.
Ahh, okay. Yeah, I've slept on twins and twin xls most of my life and I'm familiar with the sheet stretch, I just didn't realize colleges didn't differentiate when they told kids what they had.
I don't know... We have a queen size, and it's big enough for me, my wife, my dog, and the occasional cat too. Not exactly roomy but still.
This just in; people are different sizes.
Also: dogs are different sizes
Also: even sized dogs can take up varying amounts of space
Cats however always take up all available space regardless of their size.
I was fortunate to share a bed with this guy last night and compared to my two whippets this was a tiny footprint on my bed!
Yeah sure, but where is my girlfriend supposed to lay?
Probably not in that dude's queen bed (unless y'all are into that).
When my husband and i started dating we slept together in a twin. Now we sleep in a king with 2-3 cats, and a dog if there's a storm. Sometimes on vacation we have a room with a queen. Makes you realize how much space the animals take.
My wife and I have 7 month old twins.
We all sleep on our queen size bed. We turned it side ways so our feet hang off the end.
Just wait...
A queen sized bed is only big enough for one 5 year old. Trying to get more people in there results in sleeping on the couch so you don't punch your child.
Wife and I fit fine in a Full bed. I didn’t know until recently that it’s supposed to be for teenage sized people.