Throwback Tech: The couch

Oh great couch, how long have you been part of our culture? How many times have you given us comfort as we stayed with a friend? Or offered us succor when our significant others were too upset to speak with us, much less share the same bed? Oh great construction of wood and soft cushions, how many times have you welcomed us with your embrace as we slowly drifted off to sleep while watching some television program or another? How often did we test your immense patience and startling durability as many children used both your cushions and frame for forts, weapons and all manner of toys?

It is hard to believe that you have not always been with us. That yes indeed our great ancestors at one time sat upon the ground, slept amid the bundles of furs we called our beds. How long was it before our back cried out in protest and demanded the soft comfort of your loving arms? Yes oh great couch it has been a glorious relationship we have shared since your invention.

Now look at what you have become! Is there a single material that has not been used in your design and construction? Wood, metal, stone, and even plastic have all been added to your frame. Short, long, curvy and straight have all been used to make you appear both appealing and comforting. How many names have we given you in an effort to differentiate one couch from another? Yet in the end you are still the well known, well loved, and well used item of furniture you have always been.

Oh thank you great couch, thank you for your always welcoming ways, for your tolerance of our use and abuse. Thank you for your willingness to be used in any manner we needed (including as firewood) and I hope that we can continue to honor you as the primary object in our living rooms.