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What's the stupidest thing anyone has ever told you as fact? (piefed.blahaj.zone)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/ask@piefed.social
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[–] 9 points 1 year ago (15 children)

People from Sweden are short, his reasoning was the size of IKEA furniture.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (14 children)

    I am confused... What is different with the size of IKEA furniture?

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  • [–] 9 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    A lot of it is designed to fit in college dorms. So some are on the small side...

    But this guy also didn't understand that beds came in standard sizes, and was worried a swedish store (in the US) would be selling bedframes sized based on swedish standards and wouldn't fit his mattress... It was a dumb conversation

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

    Ok, so might be different product offering in the US then. Which makes what he said even doubly stupid.
    College dorms are not as much of a thing here in Europe and Ikea stuff here is normal sized, just standardized, mostly with that minimalistic Ikea look and easy to assemble by oneself.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    ... How does that make it doubly stupid? He wouldn't know what ikea stores sell in Europe. His only exposure was a week known European brand stores offerings.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

    You before said it was based on the stuff that is used for college dorms, so I gathered he was looking at similar offerings as in other stores but just assumed it to be smaller because of some Ikea-specific reasons instead, so he then had to make up a suitable reason.

    But on the other hand, perhaps he knew that College dorms are not a thing in Europe and had to find a reason the Ikea sold small furniture regardless of this.
    In that case his remark wouldn't have been stupid at all but a valid speculative thought process based on deeper cultural knowledge.

    Who knows...

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago* (3 children)

    I think IKEA furniture does read as a little small to Americans because it is European designed and European furniture on average seems a little smaller than American furniture, to my eye at least.

    Source: have owned a few IKEA pieces and have also am an American who has travelled to Europe a few times where I often stayed in airbnbs

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    That sounds plausible and might be true.

    Also I have to say that I am a rather tall guy and the only height-adjustable desk that had a usable maximum height for me e.g. was the one from Ikea.
    I think it is definitely not a specific Ikea or Swedish thing or has anything to do with the people being smaller (If anything, I think to remember that typical US citizens are actually smaller on average than most of the people in the northern parts of Europe...)

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Yeah danes seemed taller than most Americans to me too, so I can believe it. And yeah the furniture size comments I made are definitely not true across the board

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    And yeah the furniture size comments I made are definitely not true across the board

    No no, I think now they might well mostly be true.
    Even the extra high desk I mentioned doesn't cover much groundspace and is about as high as it is wide when fully extended...

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    When I go to Ikea with my bf, I always feel like we're walking through a dollhouse.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    By now really want to see what a American (you are from the U.S.?) furniture store looks like. Wonder if there is something on youtube, must have a look...

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    Yes, US. I'm not sure if you can see the difference in scale in a video, but people do seem to actually make videos about American furniture stores... 😂 This one got lots of wows...

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

    Thanks!

    Regarding the beds: First thing I noticed were the HUGE headboards. I thought we had a really big one on our bed, but it is perhaps only half as tall as most in the video.
    And while the beds themeselves did look somewhat big, they also seemed to be quite short? I am about 1.90m (~6ft 2inches) and got the impression that I'd either bump my head or have my feet hanging over. But that may be an optical illusion, perhaps because of the widefield camera, the width of the beds or again in comparison to the towering headboards.

    What I also noticed was that the presentation seems not to be grouped by function or room (so beds near sofas near dining tables...). Is this typical?

    Also I was missing a lot of actual, well, "useful" stuff. Kitchen furniture seemed not to be present at all, I saw no child furniture only some youth room stuff, but not much and not very practical and there were no bigger cabinets or other furniture to put away your stuff..
    Do you have specialized stores for that or has it just been the youtuber's incomplete selection here?

    Overall the presentation of the products is much more spacious and giving a much more "luxurious" impression. When entering a similar exhibition here in Germany I would probably walk right back out again, because clearly not my price range... 😆

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    American furniture stores don't tend to prioritize organization, IMO. It's more about what fits where.

    Beds do tend to be tall, and sofas and chairs are both tall and wide. Stuffed furniture tends to be overstuffed.

    Extremely tall mattresses are popular, so headboards must also be very tall or they'd be hidden.

    The standard-sized American bed is uncomfortably short for people over 6 ft tall, despite it being pretty common to be tall. Longer mattresses are available at a higher cost.

    Americans don't tend to have kitchen furniture, unless the dining set is placed in the kitchen. The cabinets and drawers where you'd keep cookware and kitchen supplies are built into the house.

    Storage furniture is also not used very often, and is sort of old-fashioned. Items are usually stored in bookcases in the living room or office, in a closet, or in cardboard or plastic boxes in an attic or basement. If you need more than that, you have to get creative.

    Baby/nursery furniture often comes from a specialty store. It may or may not be available at a store that sells other types or furniture.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

    Thanks for the reply! Learned some things I didn't realize before.

    Extremely tall mattresses are popular, so headboards must also be very tall or they’d be hidden.

    Yes, I heard about the tall mattresses somewhere before. In this context the tall headboards suddenly make sense!

    Regarding the length and width I had a look. Turns out, sizes are in reality not that different between US and EU (specifically: Germany). Most due to rounding differences between inches and cm. Exception seems to be King Size, which is a good deal (~5 inches) wider in the U.S.

    There being no kitchen furniture in U.S. stores also makes sense if i put down my German glasses. Our custom that the kitchen is not part of the house/apartment you buy or rent but responsibility of the person living there is probably completely uncommon not only in the U.S...

    What you told about the storage furniture is very interesting and something I entirely didn't know. Here it is common to have massive cabinets and wardrobes for all kind of stuff (although since the rise of Ikea, racks and shelfs also have become very popular). I assumed that to be common also in the U.S. Very interesting difference!

    Nursery and baby stuff typically also comes in special stores here, but we normally have huge sections for children and youth (i.e. teens) furniture in our department stores.

    So, I would say somewhat different differences than I expected, very interesting!

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