When you run a site about mattresses, you tend to pay attention to anything new that you see that’s related to beds.
Recently, I was typing “Mattress j” into Google when I was doing a search, and my trusty Chrome autocomplete spits out, “mattress jousting” as the first recommended phrase.
“Mattress what?” I thought to myself, raising an eyebrow. “Is this some new product that I’ve never heard of?”
Alas, no. Mattress jousting is not a product. It’s more like a “sport.” And when I say “sport” with quotation marks around it, that’s exactly how I mean it.
Evidently, the search mattress jousting became popular as a result of this GEICO commercial (sorry, couldn’t find it on YouTube) that used footage from this original YouTube video. Note that the original video is from at least 7 years ago!
Naturally, after you watch your first mattress jousting video, it leads you down the YouTube rabbit hole of OTHER mattress jousting videos.
My personal favorite mattress jousting video is this one, with an entirely different take on mattress jousting where the jousters slide the mattresses on the slick floor of the dorm hallway and spectacularly collide with each other, getting massive air in the process. The best part is that they are wearing what looks like some kind of helmet, which turns out to be necessary.
What kind of mattress works best for mattress jousting? Looks like a small and lightweight mattress that is easy to carry, but with enough cushioning that you don’t end up with a brain injury when you collide with your fellow jouster.
You’ll also want to make sure that you are in a similar weight class as your opponent, as this guy proves by losing his tooth in a mattress joust.
College campuses are the most popular venue for mattress jousting — particularly in freshman dorms. However, you’ll also find the sport in army barracks, and even as official summer camp competitions with adult supervision.
Have fun, and don’t get your teeth knocked out. As one YouTube commenter so wisely says, “Pillow fights are for little boys. Mattress fights are for men.”