Very Important Pillow Facts: Fact 1

This week's blog post marks the first in a very exciting series.  Over the next few months we are going to be discussing the Top Five Most Important Pillow Facts.  Now, this time frame may sound a bit long for only five facts, but think about all the very long things that come in fives... like half decades, the Great Lakes, and certain people's fingers.

Fact Number 1:  A pillow is not a rhinoceros.

This is vitally important, which is the reason we have it as our opening fact salvo.  The fact that a pillow is not a rhinoceros was instrumental in the development and proliferation of the modern pillow.  Rhinoceroses are highly endangered and had they been used as pillows, as was almost the case, the average pillow today would not only be incredibly expensive, but you would have to purchase them on the black market as they would be illegal. 

We should consider ourselves lucky - only the fall of Greek civilization saved us from having to shoot our pillows with a tranquilizer gun.  When the ancient Greek philosopher, Restocles, first conceived of the pillow, the rhinoceros was exactly what he had in mind and eventually attempted to emulate.  Restocles mentions in his memoir, It's All Greek To Me, that he had fond memories of playing on the bellies of rhinos, which later gave him the idea of creating the pillow. 

"I recall one evening, after a full day romping around the family rhino paddock, lying down upon the beast.  His back and shoulders were quite rough and scratched my face, but after some tickling I managed to get the animal to roll over and found that his tummy was actually very soft and plush."

The rest, as they say, is history.