A cool guide on Mattress Dimensions and Bed Sizes

Why on earth do Americans call a single bed ‘twin’?

Because you can put two in a room.
- Then call it a half twin.
- That makes no sense! I'd say that this greatly depends on the size of the room. Unsless rooms have standard sizes in the US!?
According to this:
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/27810/why-do-americans-call-single-beds-twin-beds
In the 1950s, a single was as wide as the average person's shoulders. A twin was a single & a half. A double was two singles. A queen was a single & a twin. A king was 2 twins (or 3 singles). Nowadays, the single is forgotten, so everyone is confused. When I was a child in the 1950's, my bed was a twin and you could put two first graders in it side by side. My best friend had a single bed, so when I slept over at her house, I slept in her bed and she slept on the floor.
EDIT: I don't think that that's correct, though, because while beds have become larger, it sounds like the twin was very much around in the 1950s.
https://www.ebohemians.com/a-guide-to-antique-bed-sizes-understanding-the-history-and-variations/
Single beds, also known as twin beds, are the smallest antique bed size and the most common size for children’s bedrooms. They were widely used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and measured around 39 inches wide and 75 inches long. However, some antique single beds may be shorter, measuring around 72 inches long.
I heard it was because siblings shared rooms and they had two beds in the room, hence twins.

This is just the US btw. Here's the UK:

You basically never see emperor though

I think European sizes differ slightly too because IKEA duvets and bedding never quite agree with stuff from other shops

As a tall Dutch person, my bed is 220 long and 200 wide. Unfortunately Ikea only carries 200 long mattresses, so I need to go to specialty stores.
But luckily tall people problems are prevalent here, so lots of stores.
I always just thought it was IKEA making sure you'd have to buy a bed, mattress and bedding exclusively from them.
- Nah, here in Germany for example, the standard single bed is 90x200cm, the standard double bed is 140x200cm and the king size (although I’m not sure how it would actually be called) is 180x200cm and usually just uses two 90x200cm mattresses. Can’t say I’ve ever seen a larger bed.
How is a king smaller than a queen...
- He likes big butts and he cannot lie
- IIRC The queen would need space for kids or something like that
- To allow for the Superking

Mattress Dimensions and Bed Sizes »in the US« – we can’t even figure out metric, there’s no way we would figure out simplifying mattresses …

Alaska kings sleep with 3 women.

That's two dudes and two women.
- Alaska kings are open-minded.
- one of them just has short hair
- I can't see their genitals. You must have one of those 8k gaming monitors

Where would one get one of those group sex mattresses? Asking for a friend.

I've slept three to a king comfortably. Only downside is it gets very hot. Yes, both of those statements are double entendres.

That fucker that invented the twin XL has earned the wrath of many college freshmen.

Why
- Because finding sheets that fit them used to be terrible. Even in a college town, you'd have very limited options. I expect this is much easier now that online shopping is a thing, though.
- Maybe it's too narrow?
I would also like to know to why
- Because the college would tell you the dorm rooms have twin mattresses in them. So everybody shows up with twin sized sheets.
  You can actually get fitted twin sized sheets to fit a twin-xl mattress if you fold the mattress a little when you put on the sheet.. When the mattress straightens out it compresses a little, and the sheets stretch a little. But you'll also find the weak spots in your sheets very fast.

I don't know... We have a queen size, and it's big enough for me, my wife, my dog, and the occasional cat too. Not exactly roomy but still.

This just in; people are different sizes.
- Also: dogs are different sizes
Yeah sure, but where is my girlfriend supposed to lay?
- Probably not in that dude's queen bed (unless y'all are into that).
When my husband and i started dating we slept together in a twin. Now we sleep in a king with 2-3 cats, and a dog if there's a storm. Sometimes on vacation we have a room with a queen. Makes you realize how much space the animals take.
My wife and I have 7 month old twins.
We all sleep on our queen size bed. We turned it side ways so our feet hang off the end.
- Just wait...
  A queen sized bed is only big enough for one 5 year old. Trying to get more people in there results in sleeping on the couch so you don't punch your child.