Today, in language use I haven't noticed for far too long...

[deird1]

Does everyone in non-Australia seriously call them twin beds?

Twin? Really?

Single/double works so well. Twin/double is more... aren't they the same? It sounds weird.

I'm rather confused.

Comments

[petzipellepingo]

A bed that can fit one person is called a twin and people used to buy two of them for two siblings (twin or otherwise), a bed that could fit two people (this is years ago mind you) is called a double bed. There were no queen or king beds when all of this naming started.

[deird1]

Down here we have:
- single
- king single
- double
- queen
- king

...I really hadn't realised this wasn't universal.

[rebcake]

I am curious about this "king single". Smaller than a double?

Here in Cali, we have"

Twin
Twin XL (extra long, usually found in dorm rooms)
double (which is not double the size of a twin)
queen
king (aka Eastern or standard king)
California king (Western king, 4 inches longer and 4 inches narrower than a standard king)

[deird1]

King singles are wide single beds - but not really wide enough for two people unless there's some serious snuggling involved.

I've never really seen beds with extra length. That's interesting.

[charliefred.blogspot.com]

King singles are longer than singles. Queens and Kings are longer than Doubles and Singles, too. :)

Sue Ellen

[lizbee]

It's rare, but we also have a queen single.

I had a queen single waterbed as a kid (Mum got them cheap, and figured they'd be good for my arthritis), and while getting linen for it was a pain (I think we mostly made do with double-bed stuff), I still miss it. (The bladder died after about ten years, and replacing it would have cost more than buying a new double waterbed.)