What World is This Anyway?
Dec. 28th, 2007 07:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fauxkloreI had a discussion re: my upcoming vacation with one of my colleagues. I commented that I am sure I will come back with a renewed gratitude for chairs. Which led me to this observation about how to tell whether you are in a developing country. In general, developing countries have a significant lack of chairs.
I've never mastered the Hindu squat, the squatting posture that people (both Hindus and Moslems and presumably Jains and Sikhs and so on) are capable of for hours, with seeming comfort. I am reasonably comfortable sitting cross-legged and surprisingly comfortable sitting in a lotus position. However, there is nothing comparable to the luxury of the back support you get when sitting in an actual chair.
This is, surprisingly, a more reliable indicator of "civilization" than even plumbing is. To prove the point, the British have lots of chairs, but have never mastered the concept that both hot and cold water can come out of the same tap.
I've never mastered the Hindu squat, the squatting posture that people (both Hindus and Moslems and presumably Jains and Sikhs and so on) are capable of for hours, with seeming comfort. I am reasonably comfortable sitting cross-legged and surprisingly comfortable sitting in a lotus position. However, there is nothing comparable to the luxury of the back support you get when sitting in an actual chair.
This is, surprisingly, a more reliable indicator of "civilization" than even plumbing is. To prove the point, the British have lots of chairs, but have never mastered the concept that both hot and cold water can come out of the same tap.
