Louise Bremner wrote:

> It seems that the word "futon" has been adapted in the West to refer to
> some sort of couch-bed. I had a bizarre conversation online once with
> someone who was telling me to put blocks under the feet at the head end
> of my futon (as a treatment for reflux). He flatly refused to beleive
> that my futon don't have feet because every futon he'd seen did.

"Futon" in the US describes an extremely uncomfortable sofa that 
converts into a terribly uncomfortable bed- not to be confused with 
"sofa-bed" which describes an extremely uncomfortable and hideously 
heavy sofa that converts into a torture rack.