h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

>It has a number of men and women to choose from that are all about 75% of normal size so those horrible mini sofas with the awful low backs actually look sumptuously and generously comfy.<

Last time I went around both DFS and SCS, 90% of their sofas were so huge we couldn't possibly have got them either into our house through the door or fit them in our front room - and we don't/didn't have a small front room. In fact we did actually, around 10 years ago buy one that was too big to get in and had to renogiate for a smaller one and have a 'lend' for the interim period while they made it.
Those ones in the adverts, really are, very big.
The real mini ones are in Argos, Index and the like - but they don't really advertise them on telly that I've seen.

Last time I went to DFS (about a year ago) they didn't have a single sofa (apart from the recliner type ones) that I could rest my head back on while sitting up.

Orcus, are you 75% of normal size because there may be a job for you...

Well I would suggest that a sofa that you can rest your head right back on whilst sitting up is not the definition of a normal size sofa.

I'm not sure outside of a designer TV ad, I've ever actually seen one where one can do that.

>a designer TV ad<

and by that I don't mean one where they're trying to sell you a sofa. More like just a strange scene with arty stuff in it.

I'm trying to imagine the dimensions of this ideal sofa now.

So it needs to be about 5ft high (1.5m)? Like a train seat say. Then it needs to be wide enough that you don't slide off - say 1 metre.

Lets not worry about the length.

Good luck on getting such a thing through a doorway unless you have french windows.

Well, no... The back needs to support your head in a slightly reclined seated position so no, I dont know many people with a 5' upper body, and the angle would necessarily make it a little lower as well.

I suspect you could make an ideal sofa based on the golden ration and a basic measurement to work from. If every seat cuchion were, for instance, 3'6" square, you could work from that measurement for the rest of the sofa's dimension, couldn't you?

I meant 5ft in total, not from your bum upwards

Oh the height of the seat's not a big deal for me... I would say around four give or take a few inches should be fine

Heard an ad for antiviral tissues this morning ... you sneeze into them and the germs are killed ... is it not enough to have used a tissue, screwed it up and thrown it in the bin anymore?

Of course it is... But you can sell *these* ones for more money and at the same time reinforce the ridiculous marketing boom that is germ warfare.

Interesting topic, but an absolute nobrainer. Unless you can afford to have furniture built to measure, you will always end up buying something designed to look nice and be just a tiny bit off your expectations.

Don´t be stupid - if you found a sofa like my fav armchair (stole it off the sidewalk, someone had thrown it away)you wouldn´t keep buying new ones!

Robyn -

"But you can sell *these* ones for more money"

WHAT? You can put your snotty old tissues on eBay?

Selling snot to the snotty?

Why not? "Stolen from waste bin of (put in name of crappiest TV show)" and don´t be humble as to base bid.

How's this for advertising stupidity?

http://failblog.org/2009/11/04/safeway-fail/

(For those who can't get outside links: a supermarket advertising its Easter sale as "Christ Died For OUR PRICES!")

Our local pound shop has got a half price sale on at the moment. Does that count as advertising fail?

No. It just shows how they rip you off when charging normal prices.

>How's this for advertising stupidity?

http://failblog.org/2009/11/04/safeway-fail/

(For those who can't get outside links: a supermarket advertising its Easter sale as "Christ Died For OUR PRICES!")
<

That is a safeway - with a pretty ancient logo. Must have been sometime ago.

Anyway, perhaps it was so offending to the almighty it obliterated them from the planet

OK, maybe not from the planet. It appears the parent US company still exists. Must be 'cos they're so godfearing there.