If you’re going to soak in a bathtub, the most comfortable way would be to stretch out and recline like you’re in a recliner chair, right? But standard bathtubs make that impossible. They’re too short for an adult to stretch out his/her legs, and there are never any headrests. Why is this?
And why isn’t some kind of book rack standard equipment? Lots of people like to read in the tub.
If I had to guess, in part it’s so you don’t get too comfortable, fall asleep, and drown because you now have enough leg room to lie completely submerged. I dunno if that’s real likely, but I suppose it could happen.
The decline of the comfortable bathtub could probably be tracked along with the rise in popularity of the shower. There’s another thread about bathing habits over in IMHO and showers are overwhelmingly more popular as a regular thing, and a number of people (my parents among them) don’t even have a bathtub anymore.
My grandmother’s circa 1920 house had a huge clawfoot tub–deep and comfortable. People who want a luxurious bath have to install one–they don’t come standard. These days I think it’s assumed that only children will be using the tub very much.
I have one of these. They are marvelous for deep winter soaks!
With housing square footage costing a premium these days most people don’t want to waste it on a elongated tub. The standard seems to work fine for most people allowing adults to shower and kids to take baths.
You only see the bigger tubs in larger more expensive homes where there is more space and people opt for jacuzzis or seperate bath/shower combos.
Luxury tubs are definately out there, but the demand in your average home is low.
Unless, of course, you are Japanese like my wife, who if she does not have her daily ritual bath, I hate to think what might happen. 
Fortunately, we have a large tub in which she can soak. She would prefer a Japanese style, which is something like the proverbial pot in which cannibals cook people, but we have no room for that.
Not unless you’ve been knocked unconscious. Getting a lungful of water will awaken a sleeper.
Wrong question. The question really is, Why are some people so long and ungainly? 
At somewhere between 5’2" and 5’3", I find most standard bathtubs perfectly comfortable for a soak – in fact, the one in my bathroom is almost too long. If I were to take a bath in a tub long enough for my 6’3" brother to stretch out in, I’d probably be able to lay down completely in it, and I can’t really see that as a plus in the bathing experience.
Unless the bathtubs I’ve encountered are just unusually large.
Wouldn’t cost also be a factor?
Ironically, virtually every manufactured home (i.e. trailer) now comes with a garden tub pretty standard.
We are looking for a home and are hard pressed to find something in our price range that can compare amenenty-wise to a manufactured home. Long term is different, but still, a huge master bath (typically with a separate shower and garden tub), a walk in pantry, a huge kitchen?
So I guess the answer is, go expensive, or go cheap. But the middle ground puts me in a bathtub that I can’t sit in with my legs out. (34" inseam does not a standard tub fit) Heck, I can barely lay back to get my head wet in a standard tub.
I have built three homes to my specs, and purchased one used. The most important difference is not the length of the tub, but whether it is cast iron or fiberglass. I like hot steamy tubs and the only type that holds heat is cast iron. The next consideration is length. 4’ is (IMHO) criminal - 5’ is comfortable - 6’ is luxurious (unless you play for the NBA). The interesting thing is that if you build a place to your specs the total cost for a bigger tub (including moving walls) is about $500.
A related question. I’m 6’1", why is the damned shower head so low I have to duck underneath it to rinse my hair?
This is the price you pay for putting things on the top shelf, out of the reach of shorter people. 
In case you’re wondering, I find it annoying that my face and head are sprayed if I am under the shower at all.
Next bathroom remodelling project will include a vertical bar with a shower spray holder which slides up and down. Yes, this does include a handheld showerhead, and the little holder can be adjusted easily for shorter or taller people. My folks have one in their shower, and I love it.
Were I to make the joke I’m thinking about making right now, I’d suddenly have no reason to (try and) post (here).
I am guessing this has to do with the scourge of female plumbers. Well just kidding, but I am 5’11’’. and the shower head problem has puzzled me forever. I have long hair. This leads to major problems in the morning. Since my hair takes about 3 minutes to wet, 3 more to shampoo and rinse, 3 more to repeat and rinse, and 3 more to condition and rinse. I also have bad back. All the fuckin stooping and arching to actually get under the water drives me insane and in pain. I started measureing. One hotel shower I was in had the highest head position at 4’11. I had to get on my knees to shower. The best was at 7’1’’, That was great. Although I bet Shaq still would have been pissed.
Okay sorry about that post, kind of train of thought, but those crappy short sentences and fragments make it seem like Hemmingway on crack. I tried to edit it better, but I got locked out.
It’s all part of my master plan. Bwohoho!
An old prof of mine warned us against excessively choppy writing, saying he didn’t want to read the output of a “demented dwarfish Hemingway”. Well, I think we can conclude wolfman is not dwarfish.
I, for one, welcome our diminutive bathing overlords.
I used to love it when I was young and small and could lie down flat in the bath, completly submerged. If I ever get a big enough house I’m soo gonna have a massive bath so I can do that again. Preferably big enough that there’s room to not do it alone.