Coming home from dinner this evening, my wife and I found ourselves behind a van carrying a (presumably new) mattress on the roof.

We’ve all seen this at one time or another, a vehicle of some sort carrying a mattress, usually on the roof. Quite often, the vehicle will be traveling at such a speed that, despite being tied down, the mattress will be bent back by the wind force.

What you’re probably thinking might happen is exactly what happened, just a mile or two down the road. Fortunately, it had already occurred to me and we were a couple hundred feet back when yes, the mattress suffered some wear and tear beyond what one might normally consider to be normal wear and tear.