
We all use them.
Functional, practical, comfy, sometimes stylish.
Who invented the chair?
The ancient Egyptians are believed to be the first to invent a four-legged seat with a back,… The earliest examples have been found in tombs dating as far back as 2680 B.C”
The most common theories are that the chair was an outgrowth of indigenous Chinese furniture, that it evolved from a camp stool imported from Central Asia, that it was introduced to China by Nestorian missionaries in the seventh century, and that the chair came to China from India.
Here are some of my favourites.
Big chairs for Little folks Resting Dalen, Norway Vigeland Sculpture Park, Oslo Norman Point, Tin Can Bay
You will find this photo challenge is alternately hosted each Friday by the bloggers:
Something to Ponder About and The Snow Melts Somewhere
Thanks to Snow for this week’s excellent prompt for Friendly Friday. I’ll be back next week with a new prompt. Be sure to check out all this week’s participants linked in the comments section on Snow ‘s blog.
Something to Ponder About

I jumped in this week, great challenge and info, I guess I never really thought about the history of chairs
https://juliepowell2014.wordpress.com/2019/05/18/friendly-friday-challenge-chairs
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, Julz. Great to have you on board for the Friendly Friday challenge. This was a great prompt by Snow from TheSnowMeltssomewhere, with whom I host alternately. I participated this week in Snow’s prompt and I will be back again next week with a new prompt. I will pop over and check out your collection.
LikeLike
Awesome colection of chairs, Mama, for Snow’s Friendly Friday challenge
LikeLike
Lovely choices! In the old days we often had three legged chairs in Sweden – my grand parents had a couple.
LikeLiked by 1 person
They were really wonderful antique pieces of furniture! But were they comfortable?
LikeLike
Grandmothers’ chairs were comfortable. Rather sturdy furniture!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Solid worksmanship was the aim then I suppose. Nowadays productivity dictates that items are made cheaper and less durable, I think.
LikeLike
So true – I hate it that they make them short lived just to sell more…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Happens all the time now. This is modern capitalism at work.
LikeLike
😦
LikeLike
Great assortment of seating possibilities! Interesting tidbit about the origins of chairs!
LikeLike
Thank you, Sabine! I wondered where the chair originated. I wondered if it was even known. I wouldn’t want to be without them, hey? We would get tired standing all the time, and lying. Or would we all be seated on the ground?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good questions, Amanda! We’ve come a long way with seating options. When we had to replace our recliner loveseat, they only had electric ones!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Recliner loveseat sounds pretty comfy. Shame it uses energy to do that. Still, it is nice to have a bit of confort in our older age!
LikeLiked by 1 person
We wanted the manual kind, but they don’t really make them anymore. I’ve noticed a similar trend for beds! That I wouldn’t want!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is similar to washing machine choices. I would love the simple turn dial and start mechanism. Remember those old Hoovers? Mine lasted gor 20 years without missing a beat. Now you have all kinds of sensors and buttons to press just to start the washing. Ridiculous.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m afraid that’s hw it’s going to be in the future! I’m just hoping my washer and dryer will last a while longer. New ones don’t seem to any longer.
LikeLike
No they are not made to. Built in obselecence so that companies have an increased and more regular profit flow.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, the profit flow! I feel discouraged at times how things are changing in that regard!
LikeLike
There seems little we can do to stop that. I try to buy durable items that hopefully will last longer than their warranty, Sabine. The march of the capitalist machine seems to be towards quantity not quality. It is not very environmentally friendly either, is it?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I buy quality items too because it’s not very ecological to throw out broken items. The only hope we have is that more and more people choose more wisely.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Perhaps there will be more innovation with the climate change movement and the reduced emphasis on single use plastic?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, single use plastic is bad! Stores here put everything into these flimsy bags and they often rip by the time you get to the car. I’ve started to refuse them, if I forget to bring my own reusable bag, and get funny looks. But that’s okay.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It will catch on eventually. In just three months of banning single use bags, there has been a 80 % reduction in their use. 1.5illion bags have been prevented from entering the ecosystem.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Some cities here have banned them as well, but most are still debating it. Less plastic is good!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Less plastic is necessary and pretty easy to achieve. I am actually proud and slightly amazed at how Aussies have embraced the bring your own re-useable bag at the supermarkets. You see the majority of folks using them. Plenty forget and just buy another re-useable bag at the checkout. But that is okay. It makes me so sad to see images of birds with plastic bags around their bodies and just the beaks poking out. Or turtles ingesting them, or whales with stomachs full of plastic. Very upsetting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m glad too that Aussies are greatly reducing the use of plastic. Last year in California some stores charged customers for single-use plastic bags! I like that! It’s like that in Europe too, I believe. Americans are still walking out of stores with lots of those flimsy bags. Hopefully it will catch on all across the country!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes I saw that in Denmark and Norway in 2016 – you had to pay for the plastic. Oddly enough, I didn’t see too many people with their own bags. It might be different now, though. Someone just gave me some beeswax wraps – have you seen those, Sabine?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve seen them, but not used them. If I remember right they were rather expensive. Reusable lunch containers are popular!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I thought Australia was the land of the sandwich lunch and that lunchbox woukd be redundant in America, at least in schools?
LikeLiked by 1 person
They do have school lunches, but a lot of those are fast-food style, even the real thing. Not exactly healthy! There are kids who bring their own eats, perhaps in part of the quality, but also many people can’t afford paying for them. I think more adults are also taking their lunch to work these days because of expense. A lot of places charge $10.00+ for lunch and that adds up over the course of a work-life. Plus it’s healthier and there’s no wrapping to throw away.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed. $10 for rubbish nutrients would work out expensive. On the other hand, salad goes a long eay and at least here, is inexpensive. What is your favorite for a lunchbox meal, Sabine? I think a lovely salad with fresh dressing is perfect for me in summer.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A nice salad is always tasty! But even those can be pretty pricey here! One place I enjoy going to every once in a while is a place called Sweet Tomatoes. It’s a salad buffet, unlimited veggies of decent quality, and various soups including a couple of vegan/vegetarian choices. They also have breads and some pasta, but for $10.00 it’s a healthy option when I feel like going out. At home, we just eat leftovers for lunch!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That sounds like the old ‘Sizzler’ style of buffets?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m not familiar with Sizzler. This is a chain too, but they do a pretty good job of serving mostly healthy stuff. I love their ginger broth and spicy sriracha udon noodle soup! 😋
LikeLiked by 1 person
My apologies. I thought it was an American chain. They had buffet salads and pasta etc. Was really big here in the nineties. I think there are only a few left now that we have lots of trendy small restaurants. The cafe society arrived!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is an American chain, Amanda! I’ve never gone because there isn’t much on their menu that appeals to me. I wonder if they’re still around?!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh Right. They seem to have really become unpopular, so I think the last one round here closed a year ago. When they first opened, there were queues outside the door for the first five years. After that, it and the food became a little bit ordinary. Gourmet and vegan and Indonesian and Asian cuisines really took off. But I do remember my kids loved being able to go to Sizzler and serve themselves ice cream from the soft serve machine!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s the same here, Amanda! Asian, European, and especially Mexican food are popular now. I wish we had an Indonesian restaurant close by, but since we don’t we eat it when we’re in Amsterdam. That’s where we accidentally stumbled across a super place that serves the best Rijsttafel! 😋 Our salad place has a soft serve ice cream machine too, and I love watching kids help themselves to an ice cream cone! Do you have Outback Steakhouse in Australia? It’s popular here!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t know of Outback Steakhouse but we have other kinds. No wait, just googled it and we do. It is located in a place that has bern renamed. We also have Hogs Breath here. I am guessing that is American? What is Rijsttafel?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I thought the Steakhouse was Australian! A Rijsttafel is a wonderful multi-dish Indonesian dinner. There are all kinds of delicious things to try. This place in Amsterdam has a vegetarian/vegan one and it was delicious. We stumbled across it walking around in a neighborhood one day and decided to try it out. I can’t give you an address, but I can walk there without a problem. Google it! If you’re ever in Bali or Indonesia, or Amsterdam you should try it. It’s always prepared for several people. 😋
LikeLiked by 1 person
Apparently Google advises it was founded in Florida, so it is yours, Sabine! But the name does make it confusing. I think the only food restaurant chain we managed to export was Domino’s pizza. Usually it is all way – from outside Australia to inside. But we do have many wonderful Italian and Greek Restaurants in all the cities. Mostly BYO – bring your own alcohol and that means that the food they serve is less expensive due to not having to pay for a liquor license. I do like the BYO restaurants. If I go to Amsterdam, I will definitely watch our for Rijsttafel, because Indonesia is too hot for me, and that includes Bali. Bali is a huge destination for Aussies, but not me. I like the colder regions. I must be one of the few Australians who haven’t gone there. Lol!
LikeLike
I guess I just assumed it was from the “Outback”! 😂 Domino’s has awful pizza in my opinion, but it’s very popular here. I’ll let you know the name of the restaurant in Amsterdam when I get a chance. I’m about to hop into my car to visit friends in California. We saw quite a few Aussies in Bali, and on the way out in the airport terminal, a large number of customs officials suddenly appeared and searched every single person and their carry-on luggage before they were allowed to board their plane. I have never seen that anywhere before. They even x-rayed our luggage when we arrived there! I guess they must be looking for contraband or drugs. 🙋
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t like Domino’s Pizza either. When they first started out, they made great pizzas with the promise that they would deliver in ten minutes or get them free. And they were pretty good for a takeaway. Things went really downhill with the quality when various other pizza chains started up here. The profit margin was exceedingly slim and the quality suffered. I don’t know who buys them. Although the MOTH will have one occasionally, I steer clear of them. The Bali officials must have been looking for drugs. There has been some trouble over there in recent years. Aussies behaving badly and drug trafficking. It is a hot spot for fools! And some school kids are going there now for their graduation celebrations. I could not think of anything worse. Enough of Bali.
Have a wonderful time in California!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Amanda! I just checked into my hotel after driving 700+ miles in two days! I think that a lot of these restaurant chains aren’t too bad when they first open and need to attract customers. We had a local pizza place deliver one about two years ago, it was so bad we have never been tempted to order there again. If I eat those calories, they have to be worth it!
We enjoyed Bali, but would never go back! The worst part was all the vendors hitting one up to buy stuff everywhere, and driving around (we had a guide) we’d encounter road stops where they would basically force one to pay “a toll”. A few times we stopped to take pictures on the side of the road, someone would jump out of the bushes and demand a fee!! I was less annoyed about it then my husband, as those people are extremely poor I think. But it does spoil it, because we spend plenty of money there! So I get it when you say that you have no desire to go there!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed. They depend on the today industry for a lot of income but it does soil the experience and I wouldn’t like it at all.
700 miles…wow. You are ready to drive the east coast of Australia. Cairns to Melbourne!!! Glad you arrived safely.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, I better get planning my down-under trip! 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha! Yes, a great idea.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Udon is delicious!!!
LikeLike
One of my favorites!
LikeLiked by 1 person
A lovely, happy collection! 😁
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Snow. I hope it wasn’t too confusing for some that I posted. I tried my best to re-direct them to your post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
😊
LikeLike
Couch chair for me so I can read my book with my feet up.. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Feet up? Sounds comfy
LikeLike
Inspiration struck Amanda
http://bushboy.blog/2019/05/21/chair/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fantastic Bushboy. I wish the chair could talk! Wouldn’t that be fun.
LikeLike
As long as it didn’t tell bottom jokes 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha. You crack me up, bush boy. Pardon the pun. 😘
LikeLike
Good one 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person