# Why Do Office Chairs Have 5 Legs?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-office-chairs-have-5-legs/752733>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 20, 2016, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-office-chairs-have-5-legs/752733 "2016-04-20T15:48:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\
**Post date:** [April 21, 2016, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-office-chairs-have-5-legs/752733/42 "2016-04-21T14:20:42Z")

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> [@Chronos](#):
>
> Even if there are nonlinearities, though, they don’t necessarily work in your favor. Sink far enough into the carpet, and you’re effectively resting on the firm substrate underneath the carpet, and surrounded by strands that are still standing. I’d expect that once you get to that point, the drag is probably pretty constant, independent of further force. And 1/5 of the weight of person+chair is enough to get to that point.

Well, yes, that’s the way these things often work. It will work against you till at some point it will work for you (or at least quite getting worse).

Time to get out the lab instruments one supposes.

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**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\
**Post date:** [April 21, 2016, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-office-chairs-have-5-legs/752733/43 "2016-04-21T17:44:54Z")

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> [@swampspruce](#):
>
> That’ll never fly. The average office chair is too wide for a consumer grade treadmill. What do you propose, some specially built treadmill just for office chairs? 😉

I assume they were talking about the treadmills we keep putting airplanes onto.

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**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-office-chairs-have-5-legs/752733/44 "2016-04-23T21:49:53Z")

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And now throw in the floor contact is wider or farther out that the size of the seat.

Had a stool with a 14 inch diameter seat and the leg contacts were near to a 40 inch diameter.  
You could straddle on leg or had plenty of room to keep your legs between the stool legs.

Wheel size makes a big difference on rough or carpet covering.

IMO, floor contact diameter of the wheels and quality ( bearings etc. ) more than make up for the “normal as you are thinking of it” cheap ass wheels on all but the really high dollar chairs.

The big boos does not scoot around to the printer and a few file cabinets like the average ‘one step above a cubicle worker’ does in his office which is not a corner one. he he he.

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**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-office-chairs-have-5-legs/752733/45 "2016-04-23T22:27:47Z")

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I once owned a 4 legged office chair, and yes it was easy to tip that thing over. If I leaned back to quick and the wheels were oriented like an X under me instead of a + then I could easily tip over backwards. This is next to impossible with a 5 or more legged chair.

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