This Post About Americans 'Discovering' Clothesline Has Internet In Splits

Drying clothes outdoors is a widespread practice in many parts of the world, especially in Southeast Asian countries or European nations like Spain and Portugal. People often utilise different types of clotheslines to suit their open yards or compact balconies. Whereas, in places like the USA, people opt for a drying machine after washing. However, a recent resurgence in interest was sparked by an old Reddit post where a user shared their “discovery” of drying clothes on a clothesline.

On Wednesday, an X (formerly Twitter) user shared a screenshot of a Reddit post featuring a photo of an indoor clothesline with the caption, “Hanging clothes to dry. Save maybe a hundred or more a year on energy bills.” Alongside the screenshot, the user commented, “This post has 3000 upvotes. I love Americans so much.” As the post went viral, many individuals flocked to the comments section to jest about people in affluent countries expressing admiration for commonplace and sustainable domestic practices.

An X user sarcastically commented, “Let’s give Americans a few more decades and they will also discover sidewalks, normal bread and windows that can be opened wide, and then the world will be a better place.”

Another person wrote, “My family just got back from a vacation in the Italian countryside and we all talked about hanging our clothes out to dry in the breeze as if we had discovered fire.”

Many people also tried to reason why many Americans do not dry their clothes in the open due to reasons such as climate limitations and lack of space. An X user argued, “Most Americans 1. don’t live in a climate where clothes would dry outside efficiently. 2. don’t live in a place with enough space outside to hang them. 3. don’t live in a place where they won’t get stolen”

Someone else shared, “American here! For everyone commenting, hang them outside in the sun, a lot of us live very close to high car traffic areas so leaving our laundry outside just makes it smell faintly of really gross car exhaust (also why we keep our windows closed).”

Aside from weather and space constraints, drying clothes on a clothesline is restricted in many US localities, with some communities associating it with economic disadvantage. These cultural factors create barriers for individuals who wish to use clotheslines, making it a challenging practice to adopt.