Hammocks at Olivet College

You’ve seen them hanging from trees in the park, from light posts in the park, on trees around campus, and from support beams in build- ings. Everywhere.

Hammocks. On a warm day, shoes are abandoned on the ground while students retreat to bright nylon hammocks. Sophomores AbbyRadcli e and Sarah Feldpausch are two such hammocking students.

“There is no better way to enjoy a warm day or a gentle breeze,”said Radcliffe. “I first bought a

hammock while working at a summer camp. My employer’s son had one and he let us sta use it. After that, the whole sta decided to get hammocks so we could hang them up together.” When asked why they enjoy hammocking, Feldpaush and Radcliffe said hammocking is a relaxing and perfect way sit still, relax,and enjoy a pleasant day.

According to American Google search data, the hammock grew slowly and steadily in popularity through the early 2000s. Google searches for hammocks made a noticeably large jump in the summer of 2014, moving from 63 to 85 percent of peak searches. Google searches for hammocks peaked in popularity in June of 2016. According to hammock retailer ENO, hammocks, like most warm weather seasonal goods, see a predictable increase in sales the early summer months and a dip in sales through the winter.

Florida has, by far, the most searches for hammocks, with the next closest state being Delaware, with 59 percent thenumber of searches for hammocks. This may be related to the original location of ENO hammocks. According to ENO’s web-site, the company began in Florida, but was mobile from the beginning. It spent the rst few years of business driving alongthe eastern coastline of America selling its product at music festivals and social gatherings of all sorts.

There are plenty of ways to enjoy a hammock. When asked her favorite place to hammock, Radcli e said, “In front of Sheppard or in the Square. If you see several hammocks stacked, it’s probably me and some friends.”

When asked how to stack hammocks Radcliffe said, “The first hammock is set up a little closer the ground than usual, but it’s a pretty normal process compared to the next two hammocks. I’ll stand on a friend’s shoulders to tie the straps for

the second hammock. Then you climb up to the second hammock and repeat the process as high as you dare to go.”