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Waterbeds, where are you now?

By Catherine Toth Fox • July 21, 2011 • Musings, The Daily Dish

The other day I came across an odd news story about an exotic-animal keeper from Ohio who was found dead last week in an apparent accident during sexual role-play.

The 49-year-old man, Sam Mazzola, was found face down in his waterbed, tied with bondage restraints and had obstructions over his nose and mouth.

It wasn’t the way he had died that gave me pause.

It was where.

A waterbed.

People still have those?

I never saw the appeal of waterbeds. I remember my cousins had waterbeds in their home in Mililani. Even back then I thought they were odd. This coming from someone — me — who grew up sleeping on futons instead of beds. I was convinced I’d get seasick trying to sleep on one of those things.

So what ever happened to waterbeds? Do people still use them?

I found an article in TIME dated July 1987 — exactly 24 years ago — that declared, “Oh, Wow, Water Beds Are Back!”

The article reported that the $2 billion waterbed industry — up from $13 million in 1971 — was the fastest-growing segment of the bedding market, accounting for 21 percent of all mattress sales. Back then, beds ranged between $100 and $600, with nearly three-quarters of the buyers older than 30. Many of them chose waterbeds over other kinds of mattresses because of health issues including back pain, arthritis and insomnia.

So where are they now? Anyone know?

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Catherine Toth Fox

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5 Comments

  • Reply WildeOscar July 21, 2011 at 2:44 am

    Just to get it out of the way, I was nowhere near Ohio last week. Cat, you pick up on the most interesting things, like a grizzled old homicide investigator, minus the grizzled, and minus the old. Seen the BDSM thing a thousand times. Look at this waterbed. Can I have a bite of that sandwich?

    Perhaps the deceased was found wearing only a pair of Skechers Shape Ups shoes? Maybe that’s a story for the year 2025.

    Actually, I don’t know anyone who owns a waterbed, and I don’t know anyone who has owned one probably since about that 1987 article. It is my understanding that sooner or later they all leak, and no one wants to go through that twice.

  • Reply oldshoes July 21, 2011 at 4:44 am

    yeah,waterbeds were so hot once upon a time.Like big CADILLACS.But i think they just became a huge hassle.They were cumbersome,high maintenence,and prone to leaks,and with the advent of better built regular mattresses, became obsolete.Air beds w/motorized pumps ,memory foam, and futons also came about and became the choice for a “cheap comfortable sleep”.I like the idea of that sleep number bed i see on tv and memory foam.EASY! Next i gotta try those anti-gravity shoes i see being advertised all over the place….

  • Reply David Jackson July 21, 2011 at 5:45 am

    I slept on one once, just didn’t find it to be all that enjoyable.

  • Reply M July 21, 2011 at 9:23 am

    Hello Cat, I never tried one and I didn’t know that it was still around.

  • Reply MaxMaxMax July 21, 2011 at 12:25 pm

    I believe they were all marketing and all hype. No one I knew back in the day “admittedly” liked theirs. The times I would sleep on one as a guest in someone’s home were miserable.

    And finally, could there be a worse bed to do the deed on? Just not very conducive for “fun time.” Waterbeds weren’t really meant for (ahem) constant movement…

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About Me

About Me
Born and raised on O‘ahu, Hawaiʻi, Catherine Toth Fox has been chronicling her adventures in her blog, The Cat Dish, for more than a decade. She worked as a newspaper reporter in Hawai‘i for 10 years and continues to freelance—in between teaching journalism, hitting the surf and eating everything in sight—for national and local print and online publications. She’s currently the editor of HAWAIʻI Magazine.

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