15． Every night, we climb into our beds and rest our heads on our favorite pillows (枕头). Throughout history, the pillow has changed a lot, and its story is both long and colorful.
Nobody knows when the pillow was invented, people are said to have first used them in Mesopotamia (美索不达米亚) around 7000 B. C. .They were made of stone and were shaped to support people's neck. These pillows were not made for comfort but for more practical purposes. The Mesopotamians wanted to keep insects out of their mouths, ears, and noses. But if you were poor, you were out of luck because pillows were used only by the rich. In fact, the more pillows you possessed, the more people admired you.
In ancient China, pillows were made of hard materials like bamboo and wood. They had wonderful paintings of animals, humans, and plants. Centuries later, in Japan, some women used small hard pillows to raise their heads off the ground and keep their beautifully designed hair looking perfect. Softer pillows didn't become more common until the ninth century. The ancient Greeks and Romans put things like feathers (羽毛) and grasses into pillows to make them more comfortable.
Starting in the Middle Ages, Europeans almost stopped using pillows. It was believed that using pillows was a sign of weakness. After the Industrial Revolution (工业革命), things changed completely.
Improved technology allowed pillows to be produced in great numbers, and what was once an item only for the wealthy was now available to everyone.
From the pages of history to your bedroom, pillows have given humans something to lay their heads on for thousands of years. That's something to think about as you get to sleep tonight. Have a good night!
