So just how hard is it to stay in a hammock? We're all of course
familiar with the cartoons where the dopey character manages to get
twisted up in his hammock. Fortunately, this is nearly impossible.
However, it is easy to fall out of a hammock, particularly when a
person moves quickly or is startled. This article will provide
some tips on how to balance and to effectively stay in the hammock.
The trick is to center your weight in the hammock. Many people think
that the best way to stay in a hammock is to center your weight
vertically in the hammock. However, since the hammock is hanging
between two trees, this actually is not the best way to stabilize. Many
suggest lying at a slight diagonal, rather than perfectly parallel to the
hammock, to offer more stability. This offers more stability than lying
straight and increases the room for error.
There are other people who have other more interesting strategies for
staying in hammocks. The Wapushani Indians of Southern Guyana, who along
with their neighbors the Macuxi make the world's best hammocks, sometimes
sit entirely sideways in theirs. They make them from just one, perhaps a
few, strands of rope, woven back and forth like fishing net.
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