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Software engineer Nate McGrady has attracted a lot of attention and stirred passionate debate on X because he dared to question a part of our everyday lives that most of us are so accustomed to, we hardly notice it. What’s the deal with the rough lines that interrupt the softness of a standard bathroom towel? Just about every towel has them, so there must be a reason, right?

One would assume they serve a purpose because why else would manufacturers inject rough patches into otherwise soft towels? Also, over time and after repeated washes, they can cause the towel to lose its shape, making it harder to fold. McGrady posed the question to the folks of X, and the tweet received over 91 million views.

“What is the purpose of this part of a towel?” McGrady wrote. “I’m convinced that it only exists to shrink and make it impossible to fold the towel nicely, causing you to buy another towel.” Could the rough lines be there as a sort of planned obsolescence? If we removed the rough lines, would towels last a few years longer, costing the towel industry billions?

Many people scratched their heads when the question was asked, so instead of solving the problem, they took the opportunity to make jokes about the lines in the towel.

The post also inspired some people to come up with answers that challenged our fundamental understanding of scenes, physics, and reality in general.

Some brave people took a genuine shot at answering the question many of us had been wondering about but nobody had thought to ask.

Alas, with the help of Google and AI consulting, the commenters answered correctly: the lines are called the Dobby border, or Dobby weave.

What is the dobby border on a towel?

Towel Hub, a towel wholesaler, explained the dobby border's important function in the life of a common bathroom towel.

“Known as a dobby border, this woven strip helps prevent fraying, improves absorbency, and gives towels a professional, polished look,” the site said. “The woven strip at both ends acts as reinforcement, securing the fabric’s edges and preventing them from unraveling. This small but crucial feature ensures that towels remain intact, even after dozens of washes, making them a reliable choice for both businesses and home use.”

The site adds that towels with too-thin edges take longer to dry and can feel unnecessarily heavy. “The dobby border eliminates excess bulk while keeping the towel strong and absorbent,” the site says.

Interestingly, McGrady’s initial theory about the Dobby border was that it was there to shrink towels and force people to replace them more often. However, Towel Hub shares that its goal is the opposite: the border helps towels remain in shape, significantly benefiting places like hotels that must maintain thousands of towels.

Even though McGrady’s assumption about the dobby border was incorrect, kudos to him for putting himself out there and asking a question that we’ve all thought about but never asked. Now, prepare yourself to wow people at your next cocktail party. "Hey! You guys know why there's a rough part on just about every bathroom towel?"