• An official dictionary definition of bean bag chairs: a chair like a large bean bag covered with vinyl, fabric, etc. and filled with foam pellets, as of polystyrene, that shift about to fit one's body.

CELEBRITY NEWS

• Frasier's Kelsey Grammer gave his wife Camille a 30th birthday party with a "70's disco in Malibu" theme. Kelsey sported a shaggy wig and bell bottoms. A tent outside their L.A. home housed orange and lime decor with beaded curtains, leopord skin table cloths, disco balls, and bean bag chairs. Guests included Frasier cast members.

• Director Renny Harlin (Diehard 2, Cliffhanger, Deep Blue Sea) threw a 40th birthday bash at his Beverly Hills home, guests included Michael Keaton, Vin Deasel, and Michael Rapaport. He turned his gardens into a giant living room with sofas and velvet bean bag chairs.

• When Joan Lunden was asked what the best part of her real-life role has been, she replied: "Staying up with my girls at night...to be able to flop down on one of their bean bag chairs and listen to Alanis Morrisette and talk about boys."

• An In Style magazine writer proclaims, "Hillary Swank (actress Boys Don't Cry) has voluptuous bean bag lips."

• Julia Roberts says, "Reading a book in a bean bag chair in front of my fireplace is a great luxury - to sit down with a whole day free and barrel through a book."

• Fashion designer Issey Miyake plans to make a line of bean bag chairs called Mobile, with arms and legs!

• While Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz read stories to kids at a benefit for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, some kids were more interested in bouncing on their bean bag chairs.

HIP HOTELS

• A $335 per night kid's suite at the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel in Orlando, FL boasts bean bag chairs, mini bathrobes, and kid-friendly decor. The hotel is responding to the rising number of biz trips that include kids.

• The Cavalier hotel in chic South Beach Miami has bean bag chairs placed strategically under a disco ball in its grotto-like "Marlin" bar. For the hip and trendy people!

BUSINESS WORLD

• Mattel, the world's largest toy maker, has a 2000 square foot think tank for employees that includes desks with wheels, chalkboard walls, and bean bag chairs to encourage spontaneous collaboration.

• Buyandhold.com, an online investment firm, offers employees office decor of bean bag chairs and a giant Nerf Ball to lure young people away from big stodgy companies.

• Avalanche, a web design firm, has a conference "womb" with scattered bean bag chairs instead of a conference table to encourage open interaction.

• General Motor's Detroit research center reinvents their SUVs sitting in bean bag chairs in front of a giant video screen in a window-less office - reviewing new SUV concepts.

• MaMa Media, a New York childrens website, plops kids on bean bag chairs behind a tinted window for weekly focus groups researching how kids learn and play online.

• Wells Fargo in San Francisco makes work space homey for employees with an open-loft floor sprinkled with bean bag chairs and a pool table. Bankers on bean bag chairs!

• ORLANDO, FL - a creative services company allows employees to work alongside their kids! They created a "kids office" stocked with toys, books, and bean bag chairs.

• The 30 employees of the Matrix Group International in Virginia can go to their office lounge and nap on the bean bag chairs and couch - during work hours!

HEALTH

• Alzheimers and other dementia patients at the Mount View Health Facility in Buffalo use a multi-sensory room filled with bean bag chairs, fake palm trees, glowing neon tubes, and a booming sound system as part of their treatment.

SIMPLY WIERD

• In Las Vegas, a disgruntled ex-chef at the Harley Davidson Cafe stole $7000. When he was caught, he had only bought some miscellaneous items, including a bean bag chair.

• The 1st floor of the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Barbara, CA has a main gallery, 100 seat theater, and video nook with bean bag chairs.

• Fans of the Simpsons TV show crashed on bean bag chairs watching a marathon of past Halloween episodes during a Simpsons Fanfest.

• When asked "Home/ Design - What's the sexiest?", Paola Antonelli (curator of architecture and design at the Museum of Modern Art) replied, "the bean bag chair...you can do whatever you want with it."

• The Yahoo! Outloud Music Tour hit Austin, TX with heavy-metal headliner Weezer. They took advantage of the 16-22 year old demographic by setting up a booth with internet connections, bean bag chairs, and playstation 2... Yahoo! logos adorned the walls and curtains.

• Did you know that using real beans would make bean bag chairs too heavy to be practical?

Bean Bag Chairs Bibliography

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