# What is it about ottomans? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 31, 2002, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-ottomans/145858 "2002-12-31T13:29:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-ottomans/145858/1 "2002-12-31T13:29:03Z")
While lolling around on my stepmom’s porch over the Xmas holiday, sipping my hot chocolate laced with amaretto, my mind wandered to…ottomans. She has nice cushy chairs on the porch, with little plastic stepstools to prop your feet on. It got me wondering…why is it people find it more comfortable to put their feet up on an ottoman then flat on the floor? I’m thinking about purchasing a little cheap ottoman for work to prop under my desk to put my feet on. So…do you like propping your feet up on an ottoman? What makes it more comfortable? ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-ottomans/145858/2 "2002-12-31T13:31:04Z")
You know for a minute there, I thought you were talking about those people who ruled that empire way back when. Look at the egg on my face 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-ottomans/145858/3 "2002-12-31T14:36:32Z")
Well, I get fairly restless and like to shift positions, so I tend to shift from feet up to feet down. But they can be nice. ---
**Author:** ![heresiarch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@heresiarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heresiarch)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-ottomans/145858/4 "2002-12-31T16:23:26Z")
Well, I don’t usually sit with my feet propped up, but I’m keeping my ottoman in the collection of things to write a palindrome about. Do you think I could have a glass of your Amaretto for my collection? Then I would have: Red iced desserts an’ a ottoman, an amaretto an’ a otter, a man an’ a motto an’ a stressed decider. ---
**Author:** ![MrVisible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@MrVisible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrVisible)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-ottomans/145858/5 "2002-12-31T16:33:58Z")
**heresiarch** just broke my brain. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-ottomans/145858/6 "2002-12-31T16:46:57Z")
Ivylass hands **Meatros** a washcloth to wipe off his/her face. **Heresiarch** …Huh? ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-ottomans/145858/7 "2002-12-31T17:17:43Z")
**ivylass** Andy Rooney once said that the desire to put one’s feet up is probably a self-preservation thing. When the feet are elevated, the heart doesn’t have to work as hard to pump the blood, therefore, even without thinking about it, it’s good for us. Don’t know if it’s true or not, but it sounds logical. ---
**Author:** ![heresiarch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@heresiarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heresiarch)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-ottomans/145858/8 "2002-12-31T17:41:47Z")
**Ivylass** , a palindrome is a word or phrase (or sentence or story) that reads the same backwards and forwards. Ex: “A man, a plan, a canal - Panama!” I’m guessing you knew that but just didn’t recognize the palindrome in my post. Maybe because it isn’t a very good one. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-ottomans/145858/9 "2002-12-31T17:51:18Z")
Whoosh, **heresiarch** …I know what a palindrome is, I’m just used to seeing shorter ones, like _racecar_ or _Madam, I’m Adam_. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-ottomans/145858/10 "2003-01-01T06:02:38Z")
So are you like, some kind of savant or something? Notice I didn’t say _idiot_ savant. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-ottomans/145858/11 "2003-01-01T06:03:47Z")
That’s directed at **heresiarch** if it wasn’t clear. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-ottomans/145858/12 "2003-01-01T06:38:48Z")
Propping your feet up allows your body to slouch down into a more comforatble position, rather than a more formal upright one. You’re sort of half lying down. It’s almost a sub-concious invitation to relax. ---
**Author:** ![Burnt\_Sugar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee59a6/32.png) [@Burnt\_Sugar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burnt_Sugar)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-ottomans/145858/13 "2003-01-01T07:45:18Z")
I’m short, and often I can’t put my feet comfortably on the ground. So, I guess that’s another reason. ---
**Author:** ![Daerlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Daerlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daerlyn)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-ottomans/145858/14 "2003-01-01T21:49:15Z")
I am more comfortable with my knees higher than my hips – no idea why. I, like **Blue Curls** , am also short, so a footstool/ottoman is very handy. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-ottomans/145858/15 "2003-01-01T23:32:59Z")
I think it has to do with the word “ottoman.” Who wouldn’t want several of something called an ottoman around the house? ---
**Author:** ![heresiarch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@heresiarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heresiarch)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2003, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-ottomans/145858/16 "2003-01-02T14:24:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Homebrew \* > **So are you like, some kind of savant or something?** Who me? No way. I think I’d been looking at palindromes earlier and must’ve had them on my brain because the _otto_ in _ottoman_ caught my eye. Then I notice that _amaretto_ spelled backwards contained the word _otter_… > [@](#): > > \*\*Notice I didn’t say _idiot_ savant. 😉 \*\* Thanks for that! 😉 But I’m much more prone to moments of idiocy than of… uh… savant-ness. [sub]Now I’ll try to make up for my terrible hijacking and address the OP.[/sub] I think **Lissa** is right. The muscles in our lower back are contracted most of the time - whether we’re standing or sitting upright. But if you prop up your feet I think it lets your lower spine curve and gives those muscles a break. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2003, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-ottomans/145858/17 "2003-01-02T14:57:44Z")
I think most people have ottomans because it comes with the armchair. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2003, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-about-ottomans/145858/18 "2003-01-02T16:24:33Z")
I need an ottoman for my cat. At the moment they slide off my lap when I sit at the computer. So I need to raise my feet up about 6" so my lap will be level and my cat-slide coefficient will approximate 1.