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30 October 2017

Do I Really Have To Make My Bed? Or, The Mysteries Of Facebook

Image via The Graphics Fairy

Last week, I shared a post from Purple Clover on our Facebook page that posed the following question:

"Are there actually people out there who make their beds every morning or is that just myth?"
 
I expected that maybe a 100 or so people would see the post in their feed and that I'd get a few likes and maybe a couple of comments. What I got instead astounded me - the post reached over 13,000 people, has over 160 likes and there are more comments than I can possibly read in this lifetime.

For the record, the majority of people who commented make their bed every morning. Or their wife does. Some people even said that they make the bed if they're staying in a hotel.

Their reasons varied - it's a habit ingrained from childhood, you start the day off right by making the bed and accomplishing something, the cats need a nice place to sleep during the day, the house is more orderly, it's nicer to tuck yourself into a freshly made bed at night etc.

A few brave souls confessed that they don't make their bed every morning. For many folks, their reasoning was that it's healthier to air the bed out during the day. But my favorite reason was that an unmade bed has less bugs in it. I think I found my perfect rationale for not making our bed everyday.

And then there was this comment that cracked me up - "I made my bed once, then I remembered the old adage, 'You made your bed, now you have to sleep in it.' Climbed back in and missed a day of work."

So this all leaves me wondering why was this Facebook post so popular?

We only have 1.5k people who like our Facebook page and only a fraction of them probably see our Facebook posts in their feed regularly. What made this post so popular? Was it some mysterious algorithm that Facebook uses that caused this to pop up in everybody's feed? Is the topic of bed-making really that fascinating? 

By the way, if you're one of the folks who liked the bed-making Facebook post or commented on it, thank you! It's been so much fun to read everyone's comments. I'm really sorry that I haven't been able to respond to all of them. If I did, I'd never have time to make the bed.

Do you make your bed every morning? If so, why? If you don't, why not? What's been your most popular Facebook or blog post?

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28 comments:

  1. It's one of those strange mysterious of Facebook. It always seems pictures of my cat get the most views and comments. Yes, he is adorable, but I'll post about writing stuff and it'll get very few views. I should just post about my cat writing!

    And yes, I do make my bed every morning... for the cat. :)

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    1. Cats really do win pretty much any popularity contest, even on Facebook. Too funny that you're one of those people that makes the bed for the cat. I think there's a number of them out there. :-)

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  2. I think this is one of your posts I didn't comment on....I was about to comment, yes, of course I make my bed, I wasn't raised by wolves, but then I checked.....the bed wasn't made! I blame the dog. He likes to lay in bed all day and I don't want to move him to make the bed.
    As far as Facebook goes....the Russians are involved. That's all you need to know.

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    1. Well, you really do need to defer to Hastings on the whole bed making thing. Totally understandable :-)

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  3. Odd that would be a post to attract so much attention.
    We don't so much make the bed and just flop the covers back over the pillows.

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    1. Flopping - great description of a bed making technique :-) We use a duvet, so when I do make it, it's more along the line of flopping it on the bed too.

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  4. I wonder about responses like this also. I think the first post like this that caught my wonder a long time ago, on another forum back in the beginning of internet forums, that got so many responses was ... Over or Under? The great TP debate! LOL

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    1. Oh, the infamous TP debate :-) That would get a lot of likes and comments on FB too.

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  5. Well I don't follow you on Facebook so missed that post. FYI I do make my bed each day but not always at the same time. I usually turn the covers back when I get up to air it and then tidy it later on - hopefully not too much later! I guess it comes down to trying to be an organised person. Having said that my worst habit is stripping the bed to change the linen and forgetting to remake it until it's bedtime. My excuse is that making it up is a 2 handed job and I need to wait for hubby but it's annoying when you're ready to fall into bed and realise you're looking at the mattress and bare pillows lol

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    1. I've done the same thing with washing the sheets and forgetting all about it until I'm really tired and want to go to sleep but then I have to make up the bed. :-)

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  6. Yes we make our bed everyday at home. I can't say the same for the boat. We tend to know make the bed all that often.

    Have a fabulous day. ☺

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    1. I think it's harder to make a bed on the boat. The sheets never fit properly, the mattress is oddly shaped and you have to contort yourself to get to the corners. At least that's my excuse :-)

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  7. We have a waterbed frame with a regular mattress in it, so making the bed is easy. Just need to be sure the pillows are covered so no cat sleeps on them.

    Sadly my most popular Facebook posts were when Spunky and then Rocko died.

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    1. Oh, that's so sad that Spunky and Rocko's passing attracted so much attention on FB. But it's also probably a good thing because people know how much they meant to you.

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  8. I saw this post too! I think it's an algorithm with Facebook to get the most superfluous stuff to the viewer, but anything that someone might want to have a smidgen of self-promo gets squashed. I would make my bed every day, except that my husband is last one out.

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    1. But the question is, does your hubby make the bed since he's last out :-)

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  9. John makes the bed every day, it’s one of the (few) things he’s very tidy about. When he’s away I just kind of smooth it a wee bit......

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    1. Funny how we're tidy about some things but not so much about others.

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  10. I love the graphic you shared!
    And, yes, I make my bed. I have a comforter that I just shake a bit and all looks tidy and neat. Then, I can use the bed as a flat surface for folding clean laundry. I think your post is popular because, with all the depressing and upsetting news these days, it is rather nice to think about beds.
    Cheers!

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    1. It's cute, isn't it. I get a lot of my graphics from The Graphics Fairy. It's such a great site full of lots of fun and interesting vintage images.

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  11. For whatever reason, I think this to-make-or-not-to-make discussion about beds is equivalent to the disagreements over which way is the "right" way to hang a roll of toiler paper.

    I make our bed every day, mostly because old habits die hard, I reckon. The whole room looks messy to me if the bed isn't made, and I feel like a slacker if I don't do it first thing in the morning. (Or at least, first thing after my husband gets OUT of it. He would seriously frown upon me trying to make it while he was still sleeping...)

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    1. Someone else mentioned the infamous TP debate. Everyone definitely has strong opinions about that one. :-)

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  12. Too funny! I'll never understand the mysteries of Facebook! Same thing happens to me. Post something I think will get a big reaction...nothing. Post something just kind of meh...and reactions galore! Crazy!

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  13. I wouldn’t say you “only” have 1.5K people who follow your blog... :-) Who knows why a post goes viral? The joy that comes with that must be satisfying, though. I think it has to do with people sharing it and then it multiplies exponentially and out of proportions. Fun to read all the comments! As for making the bed, yep, I do that every morning. But, we are not rambunctious sleepers, so all I really have to do is pull the sheet up and fold it over the duvet. Easy, peasy. On the boat it was just a sheet, so even better. :-)

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    1. 1.5k is how many people have liked our FB page, but only a small proportion of them see our posts in their feed. Not sure how many people follow our blog, but I'm sure it's a lot less.

      The comments were really fun to read. So many great reasons to make the bed of not make the bed.

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  14. I'll keep this simple to the reason I make the bed. If I don't, my partner turns it into a nest by which my head is swathed and my feet naked. I'm sure a sailboat would change that habit. ~grin~ I adore you, my dear.

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