
Monobloc chair - ZeljkoS
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monobloc_(chair)
======
phamilton
A more unique use case, but these remind me of water polo practice. We'd have
to carry them across the pool without getting them wet. Sometimes we'd do 3
person drills where 1 person would carry it across and hand it to the next
person who would carry it across to the 3rd person who would carry it back to
the first person, etc. The chair was well suited because you could hold it by
any two legs easily enough, so when handing it off you didn't have to re-
adjust. It was a brutal drill, especially since your "rest" was treading
water.

~~~
frant-hartm
OT but I never understood why treading water in calm comfortable temperature
(20C plus) pool is supposed to be difficult (or even slightly tiring). For me
it is definitely less effort than e.g. standing up.

~~~
andbberger
How could treading water possible be less effort (which I read as less energy)
than passively standing??

Also gets a lot more difficult when you can only eggbeater with your legs and
have to hold a chair above your head!!

~~~
frant-hartm
Haha I had to lookup what eggbeater means and based on some YouTube videos
it's crazy how much some people have to move to stay afloat. The body
densities must vary a lot more than I thought.

~~~
phamilton
Eggbeater in water polo is usually used to rise out of the water. Taking shots
on goal is much more effective with your upper body out of the water.

Most people can float on their back without much effort.

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ChuckMcM
One of the 3D metal printing companies made a titanium version of this chair
and had it out at Westec or one of the tradeshows. It gave me really mixed
emotions, do I want it because its frickin' titanium or am I just impressed
you can print something like that? I expect that chair to outlive the company
and possibly humans on the planet :-)

~~~
thewarpaint
"I expect that chair to outlive the company and possibly humans on the planet"
is a sentence that I would react to with the opposite emotion :-(

~~~
ChuckMcM
When future cockroach geologists look upon this artifact they might speculate
it was a throne for the giant creatures that used to rule the planet :-)

~~~
ljm
You assume they might know or appreciate chairs and thrones. More likely they
see it as an ancient monolith.

------
creddit
Bryan Ropar on YouTube is a dedicated collector of many examples and
extensions of the design.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2UvVoTS460](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2UvVoTS460)

------
JoshTriplett
I'm surprised that an article that says "stackable" in the first sentence
doesn't have a picture to show the chairs stacked together.

Two examples:

[https://payload.cargocollective.com/1/12/412300/6034129/stac...](https://payload.cargocollective.com/1/12/412300/6034129/stackedchairs_600.gif)

[https://i.pinimg.com/736x/27/cb/7c/27cb7c5a2e9610cff78e47ce5...](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/27/cb/7c/27cb7c5a2e9610cff78e47ce56d7ac86
--stackable-chairs-magis.jpg)

Hopefully someone has (or can take) a freely licensed image to add to the
article.

~~~
Rapzid
There is quite a bit wrong with that article; it reads like a middle school
weekly report; on Monobloc chairs. Maybe it is?!

~~~
daveFNbuck
The article is pretty short and straightforward. Can you name a specific thing
that's wrong with it?

~~~
Rapzid
Sure, there are too many ideas in the second/last paragraph.

~~~
daveFNbuck
So when you say there's quite a bit wrong, you don't mean that any of the
content is inaccurate?

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pixelpoet
Such a distinctive sound when you drag them on the ground, too; I can hear it
perfectly.

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kube-system
The most ingenious designs are the ones that are everywhere but nobody ever
notices.

~~~
CaptainZapp
I wouldn't say it's not noticed It is, mostly in an unfavorable way.

A German moniker for the chair is 'Rasen Akne', which translates to 'lawn
acne'.

As you can probably surmise that's not meant as a compliment.

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dehrmann
Probably worth mentioning the Emeco 1006, a similarly iconic chair.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emeco_1006](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emeco_1006)

~~~
telesilla
Is this U.S. specific? I've never come across it (though it seems like
something I might have seen in a café in north america). The monobloc I've
seen in every continent except Antartica - as I've not been, but I'm sure
there is someone here who could attest that they've sat on one there.

~~~
TylerE
It's a hipster thing.

As a lifelong US resident I've seen those no more than a handful of times,
always at hipster bars or restaurants.

~~~
cat199
> As a lifelong US resident

how old are you?

in my recollection, the old/original ones were around alot kind of everywhere
(watch 60s movies with office/interior scenes, etc, though i'm younger than
that), gradually fading away, and then the new ones came back on the scene
~10y ago (and yes, now very often at hipster sorts of places)

~~~
thecardcheat
In my 30s here, so past the heyday. I have lived in several regions of the US
and traveled to the rest - these aren't very common.

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codeulike
Thats quite a cool name for a chair. I think I like them better, knowing that
I can call them that.

"Hey, pull up a monobloc and tell me all about it!"

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dirtyid
The OG ugly design has seemingly insurmountable cultural inertia. Many
handsome modern monobloc designs out there, production cost not that much
greater, but I very rarely see them being sold or being used out in the wild.
Wonder if there's a "stack" of theseus thing going on, since the modern
designs are largely not stack compatible with the original geometry. Really
annoying/perplexing this form factor has lasted so long.

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Tepix
> "Seeing a white plastic chair in a photograph offers you no clues about
> where or when you are"

Well you know it's 1970s or later.

~~~
numpad0
That's as vague of a key as the photo being color or has signs of modern lens
coating

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jvandonsel
Every time I see one I'm reminded of how uncomfortable they are.

~~~
notatoad
I couldn't disagree more. That's my favourite thing about these chairs -
they're cheap and ugly, but i actually find them really nice to sit in.
There's just the right amount of flex to support you and bend to the shape of
your body without feeling flimsy. Most cheap chairs are either totally
inflexible, or too flimsy.

~~~
OskarS
I always hesitate to sit in them because I always get the impression that
they’re dirty. I think that’s a problem with them being white: every speck of
dirt stands out.

I agree though: very comfortable to sit in.

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ronyfadel
Seeing objects like this makes me think of the book, the Design of Everyday
Things[1].

We often forget that these products have been designed by someone, somewhere,
who thought long and hard about their aesthetics, usability and cost.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Design_of_Everyday_Things](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Design_of_Everyday_Things)

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c3534l
The red solo cup of international chairs.

~~~
rejschaap
I've actually never seen those cups outside of the US, which was surprising to
me as they are so pervasive inside.

~~~
Freak_NL
Look more closely; we've had these for years. These bloody things are now sold
in nearly all party shops, variety stores, and supermarkets in the
Netherlands, because US media (like films and music videos) and social media
from America feature these as the cups you use for a party.

Your local Jumbo sells them. Your local Action probably too. They seem to be
bought by teenagers mainly.

For the non-Dutch: the stereotypical plastic cup in the Netherlands is white
and much smaller than these solo-cups. The trend is towards more
environmentally friendly paper cups though.

~~~
Freak_NL
Also Albert Heijn: [https://www.ah.nl/producten/product/wi434996/ah-party-
cups](https://www.ah.nl/producten/product/wi434996/ah-party-cups)

Once you notice them, you'll see them everywhere.

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krilly
I wish to share the world's foremost authority on chairs, Bryan Ropar

[https://youtube.com/channel/UCAajKTeS-
mCS3PccJUrrIzw](https://youtube.com/channel/UCAajKTeS-mCS3PccJUrrIzw)

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colordrops
These are basically disposable chairs that break easily and sit in landfills
forever. I'm shocked that over a billion have been sold in Europe alone. They
are aesthetically offensive in my opinion.

~~~
rolleiflex
That break easily? These things are nigh indestructible in my experience. It’s
possible that you had ones that weren’t rated for the appropriate weight, they
have slightly different sizes and larger ones are beefier.

~~~
alexdumitru
I weight just around 70kg and I broke two in an hour by just standing on them.
I'm quite scared using them now.

~~~
rolleiflex
I don't think standing on them is what they're designed for, that strains even
the best built chairs. The interesting thing about this chair I think is its
relative strength compared to the absolute dearth of materials used, not its
absolute strength, in my opinion — it won't ever be a strong as a steel chair,
sure, but that is not why these things are remarkable.

~~~
thaumasiotes
> I don't think standing on them is what they're designed for, that strains
> even the best built chairs.

My memories of monoblocs suggest that the problem is less that the chair can't
take the strain of being stood on, and more that it can't take the strain of
being climbed onto. They're not rigid bodies; getting on to one to stand up
will shake the seat around like crazy.

Most chairs are much more physically _stable_.

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e40
I have no idea where I saw them, but I bought 4 of these and they are the most
comfortable folding chair I've ever sat in.

[https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B005PJ0VJQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt...](https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B005PJ0VJQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

Definitely made of plastic.

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kaffeemitsahne
There's also this one, quite a bit prettier:

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panton_Chair](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panton_Chair)

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momirlan
probably one of the objects most washed up on the shores of the planet.
creates piles of indestructible garbage

~~~
thaumasiotes
> creates piles of indestructible garbage

This is a serious conflict with the other complaint that they spontaneously
disintegrate under exposure to sunlight.

~~~
marton78
... to a zillion tiny pieces of microplastic.

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smileypete
Reminds me of a documentary on the common but little known Robin Day chair:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTYWPuJ_zJc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTYWPuJ_zJc)

For something a step up from the monobloc, a typica classroom chair will last
and take some abuse, though not as common especially in low quantities.

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netsharc
There's an interesting gallery from an exhibition of photos of where the
Monobloc is found: [http://www.abitare.it/en/gallery/events/chairs-monobloc-
vitr...](http://www.abitare.it/en/gallery/events/chairs-monobloc-vitra-
exhibition/?ref=291427#gallery)

------
aaron695
I love the way Monobloc is not linked (Admittedly missing from Wikipedia atm),
but chair, white and plastic is.

"The Monobloc _chair_ is a lightweight stackable _polypropylene_ chair,
usually _white_ in colour, often described as the world's most common
_plastic_ chair"

Monobloc, adjective made as, contained in, or involving a single casting.

~~~
Stratoscope
Anyone can edit Wikipedia, including you!

When you see something like this, feel free to jump in and fix it.

I went ahead and edited the page for you, linking the second instance of
"monobloc" to the disambiguation page for that word. It seemed like a tossup
between linking the word there vs. the highlighted word in the first sentence,
so if you think something else would be more helpful in the article, please go
for it. Thanks!

~~~
dmurray
AFAIR you're not meant to link to a disambiguation page, which makes sense
because you already know which meaning of the word you wanted.

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gumby
Micro monobloc application: [https://www.awesomeinventions.com/tiny-pizza-
table-and-chair...](https://www.awesomeinventions.com/tiny-pizza-table-and-
chairs/)

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Joyfield
I have broken at least one of those and I am sure I will break more in the
future.

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butterthebuddha
I don't think I've ever seen these in the US, and I find it interesting that
these are also ubiquitous in Europe.

~~~
bullfightonmars
These are everywhere in the US and have been for decades. I have a stack of
them on my patio.

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29athrowaway
They don't stand much weight compared to other chairs. But you may stack
multiple of them to solve that problem.

~~~
BozeWolf
It stands enough weight for above average weight of people in the 70s. It was
designed with that in mind probably. Times/people changed though.

~~~
rtkwe
Another big factor is how they're stored. If left outside in the sun they'll
become pretty brittle. Most people probably experience poorly stored and older
examples of these chairs just by sheer probability.

