Do we need furniture that makes us sweat?
Jerry Epperson -- Furniture Today, January 29, 2006
Unlike most of my columns, which are trivial at best, this one requires you to think in the abstract and ponder our industry's core existence. Maybe you should read it with a cigar or a glass of fine wine.
At the core level, the home furnishings industry provides rest. Rest while we dine, a comfortable place to sleep, to relax while we read or are entertained, or to write at a desktop or table.
The first furniture, as seen on the Flintstones, was certainly crude and sat like a rock because it was one, but it gave comfort, especially after a day's labor. After breaking up rocks at the quarry or stalking wild game for dinner or sewing animal hides for apparel, the exhausted laborer found that furniture offered a safe, comfortable way to get off his or her tired feet.
Don't look now, but that has all changed. The need for physical exertion is largely past, thanks to electricity and the technologies of today. We have all seen the flat disk known as the Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner. It cleans your floors all by itself, electronically sensing the room so you do not have to lug a vacuum cleaner around. And remember, the vacuum cleaner was a labor-saving device that replaced the broom, which required its user to stand and move his or her arms. The Internet has even eliminated the need to walk while shopping.
We have so many labor-saving devices today that we often forget that people really used to not only slave over a hot stove to fix dinner, they used to raise the fruits, vegetables and meats too.
It has gotten so extreme that we now have lots of labor-creating devices to offset all the labor-saving ones. Ever driven to the store, then come home to do a mile on the treadmill, or taken an elevator upstairs to use a stair-stepper? Maybe the operator of a forklift goes home to lift weights for exercise. Think about it.
Even in our factories, the technologies of the day are not only eliminating jobs, but also the need for muscle power. Sure, everyone gets tired at work, but not physically exhausted, no matter how much you tap on a keyboard. The results are clear. Witness the growth of obesity and related illnesses.
This may force us to adapt too. We may need to create furnishings that allow people to stand, or use our muscles while seated. If work doesn't keep the body active and healthy, maybe we need furniture that does, reversing the traditional roles. I told you this was deep!
Meanwhile, let's think of ways to tap into all the energy that is being exerted at fitness centers, health clubs or even by Richard Simmons while he sweats to the oldies.
Maybe it could reduce our reliance on foreign oil.
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