I personally dislike using chairs most of the time. I'd rather sit on the floor, stand, or walk around to work, reading, thinking, socializing, etc. Strange? Seething in my dislike for chairs, I decided to do a little "armchair" research on chairs to find out where they came from and why they are everywhere in WEIRD ("Western Educated Industrial Rich Democratic") cultures.

Did you know:

• For many centuries, chairs were "a symbolic article of state and dignity rather than an article for ordinary use" (Wikipedia)
• The earliest images of chairs in China are from the sixth century, but even then sitting in chairs was rare (Wikipedia)
• Writing, multi-story buildings, paper money, and examinations all have a longer history than chairs in China!
• Chairs became mainstream in the West and spread especially fast during the time of the "Industrial Revolution" (Chair Institute)
• Nowadays, there are a lot of people hating on "sitting" (i.e. chairs)

Dirty floors vs clean feet

Chairs are useful if you are wearing shoes, don't plan on taking them off, and want to sit down. Note that it is nice to sit down on a bench or chair to remove your footwear.

Chairs are not so good if you want to sit on a rug or reach things that are close to the floor. Removing sandals or slippers requires to chairs.

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Hot idea

Many common clothing items we wear were designed for purposes quite unlike modern living. For example, long pants came from horse-riding. Few people these days ride horses.

Where I live (California), it is usually rather hot. Rather than following dressing, eating, and sleeping habits of other hot climate people, many (most?) Californians like to retreat to air conditioned coffee shops and dress and act like they live in cooler European (English/German/French?) places. Why?!

Good uses of chairs

Besides being required for being socially acceptable in a good many places, there are a number of situations in which having a chair is useful. To play the piano, for instance, it makes sense to sit on a comfortably adjusted piano bench so you can reach the pedals under the piano.

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References

• Wikipedia on Chairs
• Wikipedia on the History of the Chair
• "History of the Chair" from the Chair Institute