It all started with a joke the bisexual community tells about itself: that they can’t sit straight.
On July 26, 2019, Brazilian artist Má Matiazi turned it into a drawing and posted it on Instagram: the “Bi-Chair,” a ridiculous orthopedic chair designed for people who sit however they sit. She herself has said she saw it as just another joke, one of those hardly anyone remembers.
But the sketch reached Israel Walker, an Iowa dad whose bisexual daughter laughed at the idea. He didn’t just like the post: he contacted Matiazi, asked her permission, and got to work. The result was a somewhat rough wooden chair, with short unfinished arms, a hole, and a footrest. It wasn’t identical to the drawing, but it served its purpose: giving people who sit crooked a place of their own.
When Walker posted the photos on Facebook, the chair went viral. An internet joke ended up becoming a gift from a dad.