July 22 – National Hammock Day

Posted on July 22, 2016

Have you ever sat or laid in a hammock? Have you ever slept in one?

A hammock is a sling of fabric, netting, or rope that is suspended between two points – trees, poles, or other supports.

Hammocks were invented by the peoples of Central and South America, including the Caribbean islands. The word comes from the Arawakan word for “fish net.”

Here are some reasons why hammocks have been used for sleeping:

They are portable and lightweight.

Because a hammock allows people to sleep suspended above the ground, they can minimize certain insect stings, spider bites, and other animal bites.

Because of the connection between pests and diseases, having better protection from bites can help people live longer, healthier lives.

British Royal Navy hammocks, circa WWII
A hammock can be folded up during the day and is therefore a huge space saver. This can be useful, especially, on a ship and (these days) a spaceship.

A hammock can provide a more comfortable and safer sleep than a bunk when on a ship, because it is able to stay balanced even when the ship is pitching and rolling on heavy seas. The sides of a hammock can curl up and around the sleeper like a cocoon, making an accidental fall out of bed almost impossible; there have been sailors injured or even killed because of falls out of bunk beds.

Sleeping on a hammock can be way more comfortable than sleeping on hard, rocky ground, say, in camping or mountain-climbing situations.

But many, many hammocks are used more for lounging and relaxing than for sleeping. When people hear “hammock,” they usually think of sunning on beaches, reading in backyards, or other relaxing-in-the-great-outdoors scenarios!

Here are some more unusual hammocks:

The Mothership Sky Net Penthouse was an aerial hammock that was erected by a group called Moab Monkeys. They suspended their hammock more than 400 feet above the ground, and highliners would walk across the tightropes to get to the hammock, and BASE jumpers would leap from the hole in the middle of the net!