A bean bag is a small pouch of flexible fabric or plastic containing styrofoam, plastic, or actual beans. Small bean bags are frequently used in throwing games at carnivals and other outdoor events, while large bean bags, in the form of bean bag chairs, can be used as a comfortable seating arrangement.
Due to the property of conforming to the shape of an underlying surface that bean bags have, they are often used as a backing for things that require stability on an uneven surface, such as lap desks.