Bean bag chairs are known to enthusiasts by many names, such as physics bag or oversized sac. Bean bag chairs can be cute, chic, funky, hip and cool; it just depends on the material used, setting and age group. Designers and families of all types love the retro modern look that a quality bean bag can give. Although bean bag chairs are a fun, affordable, and portable alternative to traditional furniture, they can be a turn off for the conscious consumer.

The chairs were marketed in the 60s and early 70s as the most comfortable piece of furniture. They are the sort of furniture most associate with dorm rooms, basements, and recreational drug use, but the Sumo Sac is a little more grown up.

There are many different uses for the bean bag such as foot bag which is also known as hacky sack, which is a type of ball-shaped bean bag that is used to play various games. There are also bean bag rounds that have been used in many movies and a few TV shows

A bean bag is a sealed bag containing dried beans or PVC pellets, with various applications, one on the outer cover to seal the bag and another on the liner to keep the polystyrene beads from escaping the inner liner.
After a couple of years use, the beans within a bean bag will become compressed and comfort will be reduced. One can generally obtain smaller bags of refill to top them up.

Wal-Mart stores sold the bean bag chairs nationwide from September 1999 through December 1999, the problem was that the bean bags contain small polystyrene beads that present suffocation and strangulation hazards to young children, who may inhale the small beads.