OK I was attempting a snappy eye-catching title for this one, I confess, and have probably missed the mark a bit. When I say 'Quantum', this is meant the colloquial sense, like a big change. It isn't to indicate that it can be decomposed into orthonormal eigenstates compliant with Schrödinger's equation
although, of course, it can be.
We've always had beds with sheets. Then, within my lifetime I seem to remember, the fitted sheet and mattress protector appeared. In my view they are a step forward; the protectors are marvellous for reducing the risk of penetration of the mattress by perspiration, curried chips vomit, bed bugs, or the like whilst also providing a slightly more comfortable surface contact layer for the skin.
Despite this, one of the chief reasons for my significant loss of hair has I believe been the frustration of trying to get all four corners of the sheet or protector to stay on at the same time. On our bed the frame design means that we painfully graze our knuckles on the sharp edges of the frame during the challenging stretching process. Then it snaps off on the far side that you have just done, causing both frustration and grief.
Then, in the morning it has mysteriously detached itself and pinged half-way across the bed again.
So we need the next significant step in human technological evolution: a mattress cover or sheet system which stays in place. It can be attached to the bed quickly and firmly without having to wrestle violently with the mattress for ages.
This is is just a design brief, or a plea for help, rather than to propose a finished solution. The details are to be resolved, but I can imagine that duffel tags or Velcro® may form an element of a solution, together perhaps with a corner cover pocket which stays in place on the mattress because of a generous hypotenuse, perhaps assisted by back-up tension straps underneath the mattress. [Bungston] in the past has suggested magnetic grippers but I suspect they will be rather light in their grip, or will corrode in the wash.
I wouldn't mind it if an affixed corner attachment device initially took some time to fit to the mattress, but it should remain firmly in place when the protector or the sheet is removed.
In a perfect world, there would be global agreement that all mattresses shall be available pre-fitted with a standard interface sheet gripper ratified, for example, by the United Nations, compatible with international standard sheets.
You can get zippered protectors which encase the mattress but they are not something that can be removed quickly and easily every wash day.
of course, I want to attach both the protector and also the fitted sheet to the same fixing anchors. Please, please sort this out, so that I can say goodbye to corner chasing within my lifetime.
Oh, another thought has just popped into my head. If there were to be an automation-friendly sheet changing system that could be the next quantum level of humanity again.