Let’s Sleep On It
Sunday
The regular use of pillows goes back about 9,000 years, but the notion that they should be soft only goes back about 2,000. Before that pillows were made of stone, wood, ceramic, metal, and other hard materials. Among the reasons for the rigid pillows was a fear that such softness would steal bodily energy or appear as weakness.
Monday
You might not think the purpose of your pillow is to keep your head off the ground so that insects don’t crawl into your ears, nose, or mouth, but this was indeed a reason for early pillow users.
Tuesday
Between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Industrial Revolution, pillow use and evolution was greatly slowed in the Middle Ages. Henry VIII even banned the use of pillows for all but pregnant women.
Wednesday
Memory foam, now a modern pillow and mattress staple material, was actually developed by NASA to keep test pilots better cushioned during flight.
Thursday
The oldest discovered burial in all of Africa is that of a young child with its head on a pillow. It was about 80,000 years old, and researchers named him “Mtoto.”
Friday
There are well over a dozen types of stuffing options for the modern pillow shopper, including many varieties of natural and synthetically-sourced material.
Saturday
Competitive pillow fighting is a real sport, involving two competitors trading blows with 2 lb. specialized pillows for 90 second rounds.