The picture I linked is of a buckwheat pillow. Had no idea they were a thing before today.
What about silk or bamboo pillow cases?
I've only ever really used cotton pillow cases and cotton stuffed pillows. I recently upgraded to a foam pillow that I'm enjoying.
I switched to buckwheat pillows a few years ago and I've been a fan. It's a really interesting texture that you can move and shape really easily, but then when you apply pressure to it, it firms up and holds its shape. So, you get a really supportive pillow that's molded to your head and neck (For reference, I'm a side sleeper). The only downside I've noticed is the filling degrades relatively quickly, and after about a year it loses a lot of its volume and doesn't hold its shape as well, so you'll need to replace it. The bright side is that it's fairly cheap, and entirely biodegradable.
Mine is ~10 years old now and still holding up fine for me. I replaced a travel size one with a queen size, the smaller one definitely degraded but I was rougher on pillows back then.
There's a story here, I just know it.
I remember once looking over my sister's shoulder while she was on MSN messenger and a mutual friend chose that moment to confess (via MSN messenger) that he fucked pillows for practice.
You've never spent hours screaming in pain with your only tether to reality being a pillow that you're chewing on so you don't clench your jaw tight enough to chip teeth?
The ye ol legendary pillow humping fights of the 40s.
The ye el las thems