TiGhT iN a tWin Or pLuSh iN a _____?

Here I am, laying in my hotel bed after a loooong day of work. As I lay here, my mind begins sizing up how many people could actually fit in the bed--I think this trend started when I was little, because my grandparents had a California King that to my kid-sized eyes was GINORMOUS. I always wondered how many of my friends could fit in it without touching. Or maybe it was that song, "and the little said, roll over! roll over!" Also, the fact that in college it was not abnormal for 3+ of us to sleep in one bed could have something to do with it.

As I lay there doing my calculations, I became a little perplexed. How was this bed officially categorized? As a single? A double? a queen? a triple? Finally, I looked up bed sizes. Ends up beds are sold in twin, full, queen, king, and the ultra plush California king. What? I mean I get the whole king/queen thing because we all know that in cards a king trumps a queen. But who decided this nomenclature for beds, anyway? What TWINS do you know that sleep in a TWIN bed. NONE, it's a single, that's why it should be called a single. And a FULL? Full of what... two people, three people, a partridge in a pear tree? I don't get it.

Common sense tells me that beds really should be measured by how many people could fit in it without touching (personal space!) Europe somewhat has this system down. If you ask for a double bed (i.e. full... or is it a queen?!) in many hotel rooms, it's two single beds smashed together. Got it? 1+1 = 2.

On a recent adventure to help a friend redecorate her room, this bedding problem proved to be quite a kerfuffle. In the process of picking bedding, we couldn't figure out what size she needed. "Wait, what size bed do you have?" A double. "Oh, okay. Wait, is the double really the single or is it the kind that could fit two?" Uh, lets ask! ... "Mam, what's a bed that only fits one person?" A twin? A twin as in two people? Well yeah, twins are two identical people, but for only one. But then what's a bed that fits two people? That's a full. I'm so confused...."

I think we still ended up buying the wrong size.

To me, life should be simple:

See, that's logical, good sleeping to me.