chair

Who Invented The Chair?

Last month, I answered the question: What are nooks & crannies? In the course of finding the answer one thing really stood out…Nooks and crannies are old. Nooks have been round since the mid-1300s & crannies date back to around 1440.

That got me thinking about other house hold items and wondering how old they are. I didn’t have to look too far around the house before I started wondering something different. It is something I have never thought about before, but it may just be the most important question ever asked during a Wonder Why Wednesday post.

You might want to sit down before you hear read this…

Sitting down? Okay, good.

Today I am going to answer that very important question…Who invented the chair?

We just established that you were sitting down. I can’t confirm where you are sitting. You may be on a couch. You may be on your bed. You may be sitting criss-cross apple sauce. But if by chance you are sitting on a chair, wouldn’t you like to know who you have to thank for that chair?

Let’s see if we can find out…

According to Quora, “chairs were first invented way back in caveman times, when someone took a rock and sat on it.”

Thanks a lot, Quora, but I am looking for a little better answer.

Ask.com provides a little more information:

The ancient Egyptians are believed to be the first to invent a four-legged seat with a back, better known to most as a chair. The earliest examples have been found in tombs dating as far back as 2680 B.C”

Wow! Chairs are old.

I guess it makes sense that ancient Egyptians invented chairs, but I’d be lying if I said I am not a little sad by that simplistic answer. I was hoping it was some guy named Mr. Chair (perhaps his name was Charlie & Chadwick) who hated sitting in mud so he built something to sit on. I was looking forward to reading all about the family fortune and how it ripped the Chair family apart.

Oh well.

If you are interested in learning more about chairs and how they have changed throughout the years, check out this great History of Chairs on Wikipedia.

 

 

 

Photo credit: Wikipedia