The Heinlein Society doesn’t know what to do with celebrated sci-fi novelist Robert A. Heinlein’s old bed — every museum they’ve offered it to has refused to take it. So they’ve decided instead to auction the thing, which was designed by Heinlein himself for he and his wife Ginny, off on eBay. I mean, hey: do what you gotta, right?
According to full description from the eBay listing, the bed has a lot of storage and moving parts to it:
The bedframe measures 85″ X 60″ X 19″, and will hold a queen-size mattress & box spring. There are four drawers located in the bottom of the frame, two on each side. The drawers are 21 1/2″ wide X 23″ deep X 8 1/2″ high. The portion of the bed platform nearest the head is hinged, and can be lifted (after sliding the mattress and boxspring down) to allow for storage under the bed. The hinged portion is split in two halves, and the total opening is 58 1/2″ X 23 1/2″.
The side tables are 18″ X 24″ X 35 3/4″ high, and each table has a drawer, a pull out writing surface, and shelf space, as well as a compartment suitable for a box of tissues, and a trash compartment with a removable container. The total width of the bed plus side tables is 102″.
There is also a light fixture housing made of the same wood, with a plastic lens cover. It is 60″ X 8 ” X 6 ” deep, and will house two 4′ florescent bulbs.
All money from the auction will go to the Heinlein society, which is a non-profit that organizes blood drives, award scholarships to young people and provides educational materials to teachers and librarians.
Listen, that’s all well and good. Own a piece of science fiction history, sure. But you guys have read Stranger in a Strange Land, right? The second half of the book is nothin’ but casual orgies and disappearing clothing. A lot of people think that it basically inspired the Hippie movement of the late ’60s. You really want to own that guy’s bed? I don’t care that it’s just the frame — you don’t know what kind of stuff might have been going on in that room, man.
I mean, knock yourself out, I guess. Maybe whoever buys the thing off of eBay will end up cloning their own Heinlein from what I must imagine is a lot of leftover genetic material.
(eBay via Boing Boing)
- Go ahead and snag this ultra-rare Pokémon card while you’re at it
- Or some full chainmail armor for a guinea pig
- How about a morgue refrigerator? Hmm?
