I’m equally perplexed. The only time I’ve seen this in movies/tv is when it is clearly the result of hard partying. Certainly not the result of “going to great lengths” to sleep in the tub.
In Avatar: The Legend if Korra, fraternal twins Eska and Desna are in town for a big ceremony. The desk clerk apologizes, “I’m afraid there’s been a mistake, Your Eminence. We have you and your brother booked in the same room, with only one bed.”
Eska replies, “It’s no mistake. Desna sleeps in the tub,” then makes the barest break in the fourth wall by glancing at the camera a moment before going about her business.
I was this idiot 3 times. (Idiot for allowing my paper white skin to be exposed to that much sun, not for the vinegar/bathtub thing.)
I’ve had visitors with very small children who would bed them down in the bathtub instead of risking them rolling off a bed.
Nope, that was Congress.
Me too, in a bar in St. Thomas in the 70s. I knew a woman there whose bed was an old door that she removed the hardware from and propped up on several concrete blocks.
Wow, OP, you watch some interesting movies. I’ve never seen this on the big or small screen.
Or in real life.
I’ve heard of that. At one point there was a market in the inner cities for old fashioned metal bathtubs because they were bullet resistant and children could sleep there.
What kind of movies haven’t you been watching? 
I would bet the trope goes to some of the earliest movies. I know for sure at least back to the 50’s which is as far back with movies/TV shows I generally go to. It’s common enough to be a listed on IMDB as a trope, though some are takes on The Nightmare on Elm Street, don’t fall asleep in the tub!
One that brought back a memory was that in the first episode of *Three’s Company *, Jack was found by Chrissy in the tub. Though it was because he was drunk.
For a real life example there’s this video that shows the basic setup.
Having renovated a rowhouse in DC, do you have any idea how expensive a metal clawfoot tub is? and also, how incredibly hard it is to move and install one? Its very likely that you will need a crane and to remove a window frame to get it onto an upper story. I guarantee you, no one is spending the thousands of dollars to buy, transport and install one just because they are safer to sleep in.
I have seen the trope of people sleeping in the bathtub in old timey movies and early sitcoms.
I am not familiar with that trope, and it seems odd, because a bathtub is too small to lie down in.
I have once dozed off while taking a bath. But never intentionally. I have intentionally slept on beds, couches, recliners, benches, a hammock, the floor, and even bare ground outdoors.
I slept in the bathtub on one memorable occasion when the hotel we were staying in had a broken heater. It blasted heat into our room all night. We complained to management, but there were no other rooms, and they refused to turn off the heater. I ended up sleeping in the bath tub because it was the coolest place in the room. We checked out as soon as it was light out.
That’s one of the two ways I’ve seen it in media: when the people involved were drunk and slept over. There’s often the biggest partier in the tub.
The other is just falling asleep while actually taking a bath, which is what the first few posts seemed to be about, and what I assumed the question would be about.
For the record–no. I’ve never been in my tub without water. And while I have been tired in the tub before, I find it very difficult to sleep face up. I’m a side or belly sleeper.
I have slept in a recliner, though. And I turn on my side to do it.
I’ve fallen asleep in the bath. I wouldn’t want to try to make a bed in the bath - seems a bit restrictive for body position.
I’d rather sleep on the floor (which I have actually done many times) or even the bathroom floor (which I have not really done, except for once - the last time I got drunk, about 15 years ago)
Back in my college days, it was SOP to literally throw drunk, vomity people into the dorm showers, or the bathtub if it was someone’s house, and more often than not they’d wake up there sometime in the morning.
No, it wasn’t particularly smart, but then again at the time, neither were we.
Yeah I was in my lower 20’s and thought it would be fun to go to the beach for a day. Didn’t seriously consider sunblock, it was partly cloudy anyway. Big mistake, I’m a big proponent of sunblock now, even if I don’t always trust the ingredients it’s better than getting skin cancer.
sure … i’ve slept in bathtubs … it was a beckoning refuge for the debilitative migraines i used to suffer. they*(bathtubs)* tend to be cooler ‘n quieter than the surrounding environment. was either the tub or the closet. it should be noted my height is just over 6’ … so, fetal was the only appropriate position.
I remember seeing old movies, shows, and comics where men slept in bathtubs because their wives were angry at them or because they were crowded out of other sleeping spots. I never knew of anyone really doing this, and was skeptical as a kid, so I tried it then and remember it was way worse than just sleeping on the floor.
One show I can remember seeing it recently is “Are You Being Served,” in the episode where Mrs. Slocombe sets up house in the store, and the rest of the staff stay there during a transit strike. I think it was the oldest salesman who slept in the bathtub, saying something about how his wife had gotten him used to it.
I slept on a bumper pool table in my friend’s basement once.
As far as bathtubs go, I don’t even think I can fit in mine. I’ve never used it. I only use the standing shower in my bedroom.
Good and bad memories came back.
Good. As a kid I used to like lying in the filled tub (actually a 4’x4’ furo, Japanese soaking tub) and read comics there. For some reason, I never did it completely naked, always wearing my underwear. Good thing too since my parents once took a picture of me without my knowing.
Bad. I’ve talked abut this before. My Dad would lock me in the shower/tub room (it had two 4’x4’ sections, one for washing and the other for soaking and a door which was locked from the outside? WTF DAD!) after stripping me naked, whipping me with his belt and turning the cold shower on me. I’d curl up and sleep there for what seemed hours (oh, it was nearly pitch black too!), though my Mom always let me out after Dad left (though he sometimes came back home for round two). An hour or so before he came home, I’d sometimes have to strip and go back there (where I’d usually fall asleep again) to make it seem like I was there all day. Oh, I’d often bang my head against the wall in an attempt to knock myself out!
yes, a few times in a hotel room on vacation with parents when I was 13, 14 years old. My Stepdad snored so loud I went in the bathroom shut the door and tried to sleep in the tub.