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Manufacture of mattresses
A mattress is a mat or pad, usually placed on top of a bed, upon which to sleep or lie.
The word mattress is derived from Arabic words meaning "to throw" and "place where something is thrown" or "mat, cushion." During the Crusades, Europeans adopted the Arabic method of sleeping on cushions thrown on the floor, and the word materas eventually descended into Middle English through the Romance languages.
Though a mattress may be placed directly on the floor, it is usually placed on top of a bed base to be farther from the ground. The bed base may be solid, as in the case of a platform bed, or elastic, e.g. with a metal box-spring or a slatted foundation). Flexible bed bases can prolong the life of the mattress.
Historically, mattresses have been filled with a variety of natural materials, including straw and feathers. Modern mattresses usually contain either an inner spring core or materials such as latex, viscoelastic, or other polyurethane-type foams. Mattresses may also be filled with air or water, or a variety of natural fibres, such as in futons.
A pillow top queen-size mattress.
- Neolithic period: The mattress and bed are invented. Beds are raised off the ground to avoid drafts, dirt, and pests. The first mattress probably consists of a pile of leaves, grass, or possibly straw, with animal skins over it.
- 3600 B.C.: Beds made of goatskins filled with water are used in Persia.
- 3400 B.C.: Egyptians sleep on palm boughs heaped in the corners of their homes.
- 200 B.C.: Mattresses in Ancient Rome consist of bags of cloth stuffed with reeds, hay, or wool; the wealthy use feather stuffing.
- 15th century: During the Renaissance, mattresses are made of pea shucks, straw, or sometimes feathers, stuffed into coarse ticks, and covered with velvets, brocades, or silks.
- 16th and 17th centuries: Mattresses are stuffed with straw or down and placed atop a bed consisting of a timber frame with support latticeworks of rope or leather.
- Early 18th century: Mattresses are stuffed with cotton or wool.
- Mid 18th century: Mattress covers begin to be made of quality linen or cotton. The mattress cane box is shaped or bordered, and fillings include natural fibers such as coconut fibre, cotton, wool, and horsehair. The mattress is tufted or buttoned to attach the stuffing to the cover and the edges are stitched.
- Late 19th century: The box-spring is invented, making mattresses less lumpy.
- 1930s: Innerspring mattresses and upholstered foundations become widely used, and artificial fillers become common. Encased coil spring mattresses, which consist of individual springs sewn into linked fabric bags, are introduced.
- 1940s: Air mattresses constructed of vulcanized rubber-coated fabric are introduced.
- 1950s: Foam rubber mattresses and pillows are available for purchase.
- 1960s: The modern waterbed is introduced and gains its first widespread use. Adjustable beds gain popularity.
- 1970s: NASA invents material that later becomes known as memory foam.
- 1992: Tempur-Pedic introduces a mattress made from memory foam.
- 1992: Fibrelux introduces a mattress made from rubberized coir.
Photo on a 1940 USDA circular promoting home production of cotton mattresses
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia : Manufacture of mattresses
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