Bench (furniture)

A bench is a long seat on which more than one person can sit at the same time. Benches are usually made of wood, metal, stone, or other synthetic materials.

Flickr

The word ‘sofa’ dates back to Ancient Egypt. It derives from the Arabic word ‘suffah’ (which translates as ‘bench’).

 In the 16th century, moneylenders often conducted their business on benches outdoors. The Italian word for such benches was "banc," from which we derive bank. A "banca rotta" literally means a ‘broken bench’, hence bankrupt.

British politician Tony Benn met his wife in Oxford in 1949. Nine days later, he proposed to her on a park bench. Later, he bought the bench from Oxford City Council and installed it in the garden of their home. They were together for 51 years.

After accepting a role in the 1974 comedy-drama film The Girl from Petrovka, Anthony Hopkins set out to find the book. Unable to find any for sale, he spotted one on a park bench and snagged it. Two years later he was speaking with the author, who lamented having lost his copy with notes. The same copy Sir Hopkins found.

The 'cyber seat' was the world's first park bench with free internet. It was installed in the United Kingdom in 2001 by Microsoft. Within days, two teens had plugged their house phone into it, attempting to call Bill Gates to say "we are calling you from your bench." They managed to reach his secretary.

A park bench in Bristol was given an official postal address so doctors could register the homeless as patients.