Futon You!

There's a store on Route 1, very close to where I live, that used to sell futons. I recently looked at it, and the sign is gone. And I wonder if the same can be said of futons.

Futons were the bed (I mean, mattress) alternative of the 80s and 90s. Goodbye old-fashioned box springs and mattresses. Hello to transformer style bed or sofas, which is it?

You'd sleep closer to the floor. It was square in shape. It looked (kinda) cool, and for those lacking in space, it could convert to a couch.

But futons, in order to transform to the couch shaped, were not filled with springs, that long-time staple of mattresses. Some people simply could not adjust to spring-less mattresses, and found futons to lack in comfort. They couldn't bounce up and down as they did when they were a kid. And they said it hurt their back.

So, many folks, who tried the futons abandoned it, returning back to a familiar friend. Perhaps it says something that mattress companies never seemed to embrace the futon market, and played a patient game, outwaiting those who used futons.

It's usually tough to track a trend that's starting. By the time it's around, you were probably too late. For example, when did people stop wearing oversized shirts, and decided to move back to small shirts, form-fitting, possibly even suggestive? When did silver become popular as a car color? When did goatees make a comeback?

It's a little harder to know when a trend is falling out of favor, and fewer people seem to care. Classic "what's hot, what's not" trend.

So, futons, happy to know you. Sorry to see you go!

Buh-bye!