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A rocking chair or rocker is a type of chair with two curved bands of wood (also known as rockers attached to the bottom of the legs (one on the left two legs and one on the right two legs). The chair contacts with the floor at only two points, giving the occupant the ability to rock back and forth by shifting his/her weight or pushing lightly with his/her feet.[1] [2]
A rocking chair is also known as rocker, easy chair, Boston rocker, swing rocker, platform rocker or chair.[3] [4] A shoofly is a child’s rocking chair with the seat built between two flat sides that are made to resemble an animal, such as a swan or a duck.[5]
In Spanish, a rocking chair is called mecedora (feminine) or balancin (masculine).[6]
Many find rocking chairs soothing because of the gentle motion. Rocking chairs are also comfortable because, when a user sits in one without rocking, the chair automatically rocks backwards until the sitter's center of gravity is met, thus granting an ergonomic benefit with the occupant kept at a very unstressed position and angle. Varieties of rockers include those mounted on a spring base (or platform) called "platform rockers" and those with swinging braces commonly known as gliders.[7]
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Etymology [link]
The word rocking chair comes from the verb rock.[8] The first known use of the word rocking chair was in 1766.[9]
History [link]
Though Benjamin Franklin is thought to be the inventor of the rocking chair there is no historical evidence of this. Historians can only trace the rocking chair's origins to North America during the early 18th century.[10] They were originally used in gardens and were just ordinary chairs with two rockers at their bottoms. It was in 1725 that early rocking chairs first appeared in England. The production of wicker rocking chairs reached its peak in America during the middle of the 18th century. These wicker rockers, as they were popularly known, were famous for their craftsmanship and creative designs.
Michael Thonet, a German craftsman, created the first bentwood rocking chair in 1860. [11] This design is distinguished by its graceful shape and its light weight. These rocking chairs were influenced by Greek and Roman designs as well as Renaissance and colonial era artistry.[12] During the 1920s, however, folding rocking chairs became more popular in the US and in Europe. They were handy for outdoor activities and travel purposes. By the 1950s, rocking chairs built by Sam Maloof, a US craftsman, became famous for their durability and deluxe appearance. Maloof's rocking chairs are distinguished by their ski-shaped rockers.[13]
Rocking chairs are sometimes associated with maturity and class. They are also often associated with parenting, as the gentle rocking motion can soothe infants.[14]
Famous rocking chair [link]
President John F. Kennedy made the P&P Chair Company rocker famous. The President was prescribed swimming and use of a rocking chair by his physician in 1955 because the President suffered from lingering back problems. The president so enjoyed his rocker he brought it on Air Force One when he traveled around the country and the world. He bought additional rockers for Camp David and the Kennedy estates, and gave them as gifts to friends and heads of state. The Kennedy Rocking Chair is shaped, stem-bent and assembled while green according to the original design.[15][16]
In literature [link]
American novelist Louisa May Alcott[17] referred to a rocking chair in this passage from her novel Little Women; "I shall lie abed late, and do nothing," replied Meg, from the depths of the rocking chair."[18]
Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery[19] referred to a rocking chair in this passage from her novel Anne of The Island; “Anne and Priscilla and Phil had awaited her advent rather dubiously; but when Aunt Jamesina was enthroned in the rocking chair before the open fire they figuratively bowed down and worshipped her”.[20]
See also [link]
- Bassinet, another rocking piece of furniture
- Glider (furniture), a chair that rocks via suspension from a four-bar linkage
- "Rockin' Chair" (song) by Hoagy Carmichael
- Swing (seat), the rocking movement comes from suspension
References [link]
- ^ "Rocking chair". The Free Dictionary By Farkex. https://www.thefreedictionary.com/rocking+chair. Retrieved 2012-17-05.
- ^ "Rocking chair". Cambridge Dictionaries Online. https://www.thefreedictionary.com/rocking+chair. Retrieved 2012-17-05.
- ^ "Synonyms for rocking chair". Your Dictionary. https://thesaurus.yourdictionary.com/rocking-chair. Retrieved 2012-17-05.
- ^ "Rocking chair". The Free Dictionary By Farkex. https://www.thefreedictionary.com/rocking+chair. Retrieved 2012-17-05.
- ^ "Rocking chair". The Free Dictionary By Farkex. https://www.thefreedictionary.com/rocking+chair. Retrieved 2012-17-05.
- ^ "Rocker". Merriam-Webster. https://www.thefreedictionary.com/rocking+chair. Retrieved 2012-17-05.
- ^ "Fact Sheet on Rocking chaisr". Overstock.com. https://www.overstock.com/guides/fact-sheet-on-rocking-chairs. Retrieved 2012-17-05.
- ^ "Rocker". Online Etymology Dictionary. https://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=r&p=29&allowed_in_frame=0. Retrieved 2012-17-05.
- ^ "Rocking chair". Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rocking+chair?show=0&t=1337287725. Retrieved 2012-17-05.
- ^ "Fact Sheet on Rocking chaisr". Overstock.com. https://www.overstock.com/guides/fact-sheet-on-rocking-chairs. Retrieved 2012-17-05.
- ^ "Michael Thonet and his Bentwood Rocking Chair". bedroom furniturespot. https://www.bedroomfurniturespot.com/bentwood-rocking-chairs-guide. Retrieved 2012-17-05.
- ^ "Michael Thonet and his Bentwood Rocking Chair". bedroom furniturespot. https://www.bedroomfurniturespot.com/bentwood-rocking-chairs-guide. Retrieved 2012-17-05.
- ^ "Sam Maloof, Furniture Craftsman, Dies at 93". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/arts/design/27maloof.html. Retrieved 2012-17-05.
- ^ "Rocking chairs". Parents. https://www.parents.com/baby/nursery/rocking-chair/. Retrieved 2012-17-05.
- ^ "History Of The Kennedy Rocker". Kennedy Rockers. https://www.kennedyrockers.com/history.htm. Retrieved 2012-17-05.
- ^ "The Kennedy Rocker". P&P Chair Company. https://www.thekennedyrocker.com/. Retrieved 2012-17-05.
- ^ "Louisa May Alcott". The Literature Network. https://www.online-literature.com/alcott/. Retrieved 2012-17-05.
- ^ "Rocking chair". The Free Dictionary By Farkex. https://www.thefreedictionary.com/rocking+chair. Retrieved 2012-17-05.
- ^ "Lucy Maud Montgomery". The Literature Network. https://www.online-literature.com/lucy_montgomery/. Retrieved 2012-17-05.
- ^ "Rocking chair". The Free Dictionary By Farkex. https://www.thefreedictionary.com/rocking+chair. Retrieved 2012-17-05.
External links [link]
Media related to Rocking chairs at Wikimedia Commons
https://wn.com/Rocking_chair
Rockin' (The Guess Who album)
Rockin' is the ninth studio album by the Canadian rock band The Guess Who. It's also the last to feature Greg Leskiw on guitar. Two charting singles were released from the album. "Heartbroken Bopper" spent seven weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number 47 and "Guns, Guns, Guns" spent six weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number 70.
Track listing
Notes
On the album the song "Running Bear" was incorrectly credited to Curly Herdman and "Sea of Love" incorrectly credited to Don McGinnis.
Personnel
Rockin' (Frankie Laine album)
Rockin' is a 1957 album by Frankie Laine which reached No.13 on the US album chart. Laine was backed by the Paul Weston Orchestra.
Track listing
References
Guanajuato
Guanajuato (Spanish pronunciation: [gwanaˈxwato]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, are the 32 Federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city is Guanajuato. The largest city in the state is León.
It is located in North-Central Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Jalisco to the west, Zacatecas to the northwest, San Luis Potosí to the north, Querétaro to the east and Michoacán to the south. It covers an area of 30,608 km2 (11,818 sq mi).
Guanajuato is located between the arid north of the country and the lusher south, and it is geographically part of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, the Mexican Plateau and the Sierra Madre Oriental. It was initially settled by the Spanish in the 1520s due to mineral deposits found around the now capital city of Guanajuato, but areas such as the Bajío region also became important for agriculture and livestock. Mining and agriculture have been the traditional mainstays of the state's economy, but today, about 30% of the state's GDP is accounted for by industry, which includes metals, automobiles, leather goods, processed foods and more.
Ferrari 288 GTO
The Ferrari GTO (often referred to as Ferrari 288 GTO) is an exotic homologation of the Ferrari 308 GTB produced from 1984 through 1987, designated GT for Gran Turismo and O for Omologato (homologated in Italian).
Background
The Ferrari GTO was built to compete in the new Group B Race series and a minimum of 200 cars were required for homologation. However, after the death of Henri Toivonen and his co-driver Sergio Cresto in the 1986 Tour de Corse, the FIA disestablished the class, leaving just the Group A Rally championship. As a result, the 288 GTO never raced and all 272 cars built remained purely road cars.
Some of the 288 GTO's styling features were first displayed on a 308 GTB design exercise by Pininfarina shown at the 1977 Geneva Salon. This included the deep front spoiler, fender flares, rear lip spoiler, front lid radiator cooling louvers and quadruple driving lights.
Engine
The GTO was based on the mid-engine, rear wheel drive 308 GTB (which has a 3.0 litre V8 engine). The "288" refers to the GTO's 2.8 litre V8 engine as it used a de-bored (by 1 mm) V8 with twin IHI turbochargers, intercoolers, and Weber-Marelli fuel injection. The 2855 cc engine capacity was dictated by the FIA's requirement for a Turbocharged engine's capacity to be multiplied by 1.4. This gave the GTO a theoretical engine capacity of 3997 cc, just under the Group B limit of 4.0 litres.
Ferrari 250 GTO
The Ferrari 250 GTO is a racing GT car which was produced by Ferrari from 1962 to 1964 for homologation into the FIA's Group 3 Grand Touring Car category. In May 2012 the 1962 250 GTO made for Stirling Moss became the world's most expensive car in history, selling in a private transaction for $38,115,000 to US communications magnate Craig McCaw. In October 2013, Connecticut-based collector Paul Pappalardo sold chassis number 5111GT to an unnamed buyer for a new record, somewhere within the $38 million range. The numerical part of its name denotes the displacement in cubic centimeters of each cylinder of the engine, whilst GTO stands for "Gran Turismo Omologato",Italian for "Grand Touring Homologated." When new, the GTO cost $18,000 in the United States, and buyers had to be personally approved by Enzo Ferrari and his dealer for North America, Luigi Chinetti.
In total, 39 250 GTOs were manufactured between 1962 and 1964. This includes 33 cars with 1962-63 bodywork (Series I), three cars with 1964 (Series II) bodywork similar to the Ferrari 250 LM and three "330 GTO" specials with a larger engine. Four of the older 1962-1963 (Series I) cars were retrofitted in 1964 with an updated (Series II) body.
