Ask yourself this: what do you think tea towels are used for?
I know, I hadn’t thought about it either and, to be honest, I use them for everything from drying the dishes to drying the kitchen countertops after cleaning them. I even use them to help me carry hot bowls of soup from time to time.
All of this being said, I’d never considered what they’re actually for and, if a Reddit thread is anything to go by, a lot of other people hadn’t considered this either.
In the community /r/AskUK, user psyche-illogical asked: “What is a tea towel for if not for drying dishes?”
Now, there is a story behind this that is key to understanding why the question was asked but I will warn you, it could just confuse you more...
The user said: “So, my partner and I recently moved into a flat in Glasgow. Our flatmate is American. We’re from New Zealand, and we regularly use tea towels to hand dry dishes, which I’ve always assumed is what everyone uses them for.
“In the flat, there are two tea towels hanging off the cupboard just below the sink.”
Then, they revealed a baffling conversation with their flatmate, where their flatmate asked why the tea towels in the kitchen were damp, and our Reddit user said, “Um. Oh, sorry. We just made dinner and did the dishes so they might be slightly damp but I hung them back up and they should still be clean.”
To which their flatmate responded: “Oh, no, that’s OK, I’ve just never seen someone use them for that before.”
While this is a very polite exchange, it left the Reddit user flummoxed and they asked: “Have I been using them wrong my whole life? Or is the American talking rubbish? What are they using them for? I’m giving myself a bit of a complex about it!”
Well, same.
Marquee-smith commented: “I dry surfaces, dry my hands and pick up hot things with them. I leave pots and glasses to air dry usually because they are not very absorbent and leave things quite smeary.”
Interesting.
However, New_Expectations5808 has a different take entirely, saying: “They’re definitely for drying dishes. Hand towels are fluffier.”
To which Willsagain2 responded: “Exactly. Terry towelling for hand drying, flat woven cotton/linen for drying dishes when necessary.”
I’ll be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever thought this deeply about it.
Max-Main is on my wavelength, suggesting: “They’re for the impromptu and utterly chaotic pastime of tea towel flicking which starts in the kitchen and can end in any room of the house accompanied by high pitched screaming from full grown men.”
However, there was one ‘right answer’ marked on the thread
User AwarenessHonest9030 said: “I mainly use it to dry my hands after washing up or washing my hands or I use it for getting stuff out of the oven, air fryer, microwave.”
This one was marked as the right answer.
I honestly still feel confused.