Lately, social media has been buzzing with a surprising debate: Why do bath towels have those weird lines running across them?
It’s not exactly a world-changing question, but it’s oddly interesting—maybe even more so than that viral dress debate about whether it was black or blue. Welcome to the curious case of towel lines.
If you’ve ever looked at your towel and thought, “Why do I need to wash this after just using it?” or “What’s the deal with those stripes?”—you’re definitely not the only one.
This question recently went viral after someone on X (formerly Twitter) asked about those mysterious towel stripes. The replies ranged from clever jokes about wave-particle duality to serious attempts to explain what those lines really mean.
Some of the funnier guesses included calling the lines the “face/butt separation line” or “racing stripes” that help towels dry faster. But for those who wanted a real answer, the mystery didn’t take long to solve.
So, are those lines just a design choice? The simple answer is no.
Those lines, called the “dobby border,” actually serve important purposes. Most importantly, they make the towel stronger, which helps it soak up water better and stops the edges from fraying after lots of use and washing.
According to “Towel Hub,” absorbency is one of the key qualities of a good towel, but it’s tricky to get the right balance between thickness and performance.
The dobby border keeps the towel’s structure even, so the edges don’t get too thick or bulky. This way, the towel stays soft, light, and really good at drying you off.