Have you ever slept on some cardboard beds? Maybe not you, but the participants in the Paris Olympics 2024yes. They had already done it at the last Summer Olympics in Tokyo 2020, so nothing new for them. But it is undoubtedly a curious choice: why cardboard beds? Well, there are many reasons: first of all because they are easy to transport and to assemble, then because they take up very little space and – last but not least – they are also recyclable. At the end of the big event, in fact, the cardboard platforms are recycled and the mattresses are sanitized and donated to some associations (this year the mattresses will go partly to the French army and partly to a dance school).
How the cardboard beds of the Paris 2024 Olympic village are made
Each bed consists of a modular recyclable cardboard platformtopped by a cushion and three mattresses in resin fiber with different degrees of firmness (ranging from soft to extra firm), so athletes can choose whether to sleep on a harder or softer surface. For example, one athlete might prefer a firmer pad for their shoulders, while another might use it for their legs. In each case, there is a cover that seals them all together. The inside of the mat is made of food grade plasticwhich visually looks like a transparent fibrous network. Thanks to its conformation, the inside of the mattress is composed of 90% air, so it remains fresh.
The question arises spontaneously: these beds they are comfortable? It depends. The opinions of the athletes are contrasting: the Italian diver Chiara Pellacani said the beds were quite comfortable, while the Australian water polo player Tilly Kearns He called them “rock hard” even when sleeping on the softest part of the mattress. So far there have been more positive comments than negative ones.
“Anti-sex” beds? They can hold up to 270 kg
In the last few days, the news has been circulating on the web according to which these beds were made of cardboard to prevent athletes from being able to entertain sexual intercourseas happened at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, where the organizing committee had banned intimate contact between athletes due to Covid-19. Even if the beds are the same, the company that produced them, the Japanese Airweaveimmediately denied the news, stating that these beds were designed primarily for safety reasons practicality and sustainabilityand which can also support the weight of three or four people jumping on them (can support up to 270 kg of weight). Furthermore, it was possible to understand that the issue of anti-sex beds was a falsehood because the organizers of the Olympics donated 300 thousand condoms to the athletes, effectively encouraging meetings and socializing.