From Pete West, Essex University
As a third-year undergraduate, most of my life involves sitting with my torso
at 90 degrees to my legs in computer labs, lecture theatres or the student bar.
I welcome the advice in your article on the perils of sitting to make this angle greater
(“The only good chair”, 19 December 1998, p 76), although whether this
would alleviate or antagonise lower back problems is another matter.
Last year, one of our lecture blocks was refurbished with cinema-style,
flip-down seats. Being designed by fine human engineers, the hinge, which locked
at 90 degrees in the first week, locked at 95 degrees in the second—and
the angle steadily increased until the end of term.
By this time the seats resembled the Swedish “perching chairs” in which the
user/victim is gradually tipped forward onto the floor while their trousers ride
high into an eye-popping wedgie. In light of your article, I must consider this
progress.
