Behold my collection of uncomfortable pillows: 
Everyone is different. We all come in different shapes and sizes. Some of us have long, delicate necks. Some of us have necks like tree stumps. Some have spines that are a tangle of mashed nerves crushed by crumbling vertebrae. Some people sleep on their sides, some sleep on their backs, and some people can get blackout drunk and fall asleep in a pile of snow on the side of the street. We all have a unique set of physical attributes & personal experiences, which inform our preferences and prejudices. And… most of us have a favorite pillow or type of pillow.
I have a difficult time finding the right pillow for me. I’ve tried buckwheat pillows, NASA science foam pillows, and TV-Infomercial pillows that turned out to smell like gasoline and seemed to be just a bag of shredded foam. I’ve tried “normal” pillows — the type you can get at Home Goods or Bed, Bath & Coupons. I hate most of them too. I hate when I rest my head on a pillow, it completely flattens, and the rest of the pillow balloons out like an airbag.
Over the years I’ve found a few pillows I’ve liked. A small Sealy pillow that they don’t seem to make anymore. Sometimes the white & blue/black striped “prison” pillows are nice. Nice pillows don’t last forever of course — like sheets, and mattresses, you have to retire them to the local dump after steady use.
My favorite pillows are hotel pillows, in particular, Hampton Inn pillows. I like Hampton Inn for other reasons — free ice water in the lobby, the photo of the dog wearing sunglasses on their elevator doors — but their pillows are great. They’re firm and don’t have the balloon/air-bag effect. They’re also relatively small — smaller than Queen, which is what I like.
The thought has crossed my mind to try to buy (not steal) some of these Hampton Inn pillows, but I want a new one. (But maybe it’s the 1000’s human heads that made them great). I’ve tried ordering them online, but they’re not the same. Admittedly, I’ve only tried the down alternative. Maybe it is the down version I need. Maybe I need 1000 people to come to my home to help me break my pillows in. 1000 heads compressing the pillow into a comfortable shape — natural skin oils conditioning the pillows. If you do stop by, please shampoo first. 🙂