Adirondack chairs are slanted, making you sit in an awkward and, at times, uncomfortable position. However, it turns out there is actually a reason behind the angled seat.
In a TikTok that has been viewed almost 500 thousand times, Autumn Weathers revealed the true purpose behind the slanted seats, admitting she previously doubted the chairs but now loves them.
People are just now realizing how you’re supposed to sit in Adirondack chairs.
Weathers admitted that about three years ago, she bought some of these chairs because they were cheap. She used them to sit on her patio but always felt weird because they were so dramatically angled.
Then she saw a video of another woman complaining about the chairs, saying they are “the dumbest chairs that ever existed” and “not even usable.” Weathers agreed with her take, but the comment section let her in on a little secret.
The top comment explained that the chairs were meant to be used on steep hills and mountains like, you know, the Adirondacks? DUH!
Weathers tested her chair on the slight hill she has in her backyard and realized she had been using her Adirondack chair wrong all these years. When placed on an angled hill, the strange chairs are far more functional.
“The back legs are shorter than the front legs so that you can be sitting upright (when on a hill),” she excitedly explained.
Many commenters were also unaware of the true purpose of these chairs.
It seems that even those who have owned these chairs for a long time are unaware of the utility behind their strange dimensions.
“I live in the Adirondacks. I have eight Adirondack chairs. I had no idea about this,” one user wrote.
“I never knew that,” another commenter admitted. “I have had two of them for more than ten years. I just found them so uncomfortable and never used them.”
Despite originally being intended for steep surfaces, Adirondack chairs are common for lawns, patios, beaches, and lakes.
The chairs were invented by Thomas Lee in 1903 because he wanted to make a chair that could withstand the terrain of the Adirondack Mountains. After three years of work, he finalized his invention and gave the design to his friend Harry Bunnell who owned a carpentry shop. He went on to patent the design and mass-produce it.
Eventually, there was a design change made by Irving Wolpin in 1938 for which he acquired a new patent. His design went on to become the most common Adirondack chair we see today and was popularized as the “lawn chair” — which may be why people aren’t aware of its origins.
glenda | Shutterstock
Today, most businesses selling such chairs do not advertise them to be used on hills. Home Depot says they are ideal for “fire pit areas” and can be used indoors and outdoors, while Lowes categorizes them as “patio chairs.”
So, it makes sense why many misuse the slanted seats, but now that we know the chairs’ true utility, hopefully, they can be put to better use.
Sahlah Syeda is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news, and human interest topics.
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