Now I Will Sleep Better.....

Today I was rotating my mattress ( well...I have been told that is a good thing to do every 3 months or so, lol) and I did a "bad thing". As I wrestled with my mattress to complete the rotation process...I ripped the mattress tag clear off...I mean...gone!
 My first thoughts were.."Uh-oh...did anyone see me? Removing a mattress tag can put you under the "penalty of law", or at least that is what I have always understood. Besides, it states that right on the tag itself!
 Jay Leno once said: " My Mom is such a law-abiding citizen she would check her mattress tags once a month."
 So...what's up with this mattress tag thing anyway?....

 First...good news! Since I have been a consumer of mattresses on several occasions in my lifetime,  I have had a misconception on the mattress tag and why it is placed on a new mattress in the first place.
 Here is what I have not understood: The infamous mattress tag on each newly acquired mattress I purchase is...for me...for my benefit. If the tag is removed BEFORE I receive the mattress and have a chance to sleep on it...that is where the illegal act technically takes place.

 The real reason for the tag to be installed on the mattress dates back to the early part of the 20th century. During this era government regulations for the consumer were on the rise to ensure the quality of goods being sold. Mattresses were included in government regulations...why?...you might ask.
 Mattresses up to that time were being stuffed with...just about anything a manufacturer of mattresses could "get his hands on", and some of the "stuffing" was quite questionable. Stuffing could include straw..ok, horse hair...kinda ok...newspaper....uh no....rags...no...corn husks....definite no...and food wastes....gross! The logic of the manufacturer?...the consumer wouldn't know it anyway!

 Here is where the problem of this logic took its toll: mattresses began to be a place of "safe harbor" for bacteria and insects...who would share the bed with one attempting to get their "beauty sleep"....often interrupted by the unwanted guests.
 As a result, the government began putting new regulations on the sale of mattresses. Mattresses would first be required an inspection, then "tagged" to help ensure all mattresses were being "stuffed" with quality material that would not attract bacteria or insects.
 Now, if a tag was removed BEFORE it reached its destination of the consumer, and the consumer had not been given the opportunity to "test" the product purchased, the company that had sold the mattress without a proper tag would be subject to the Federal Trade Commission Act which defined any unfair and/or deceptive practices...and be subject to fines and penalties.

 The "mattress tag" proved successful and brought to an end mattresses stuffed with inferior quality or potential health hazards that had been previously done.
 At the same time...consumers have often been confused with the mattress tag thinking they, the consumer themselves, were subject to penalties and fines if the tag was removed...at any time!
 In recent years, many mattress tags now read: "This tag shall not be removed...except...by the consumer."
So...go ahead...I dare 'ya....



A Note: Does the Scripture have anything to say about mattresses? That I am not aware of....but it does tell the dangers of NOT having one.... Gleaning from Acts 20: 9 and a few other verses:

 "A young man named Eutychus was sitting near an open window. As Paul continued to teach, Eutychus fell asleep...a sound sleep...and fell out the window! He fell 3 stories, and when everyone got to him...he had passed.
 Paul came to the boy, checked on him and said:" Don't worry, he has life...he will be ok! Later, after the meeting, the young boy Eutychus went with the others and returned home...to the sheer delight of all those around him."
 Moral of Story: Sleep on a mattress...with or without a tag!