Optimal Number of Towels Debate

Submission 4,142

About

Optimal Number of Towels Debate refers to a viral discussion which took place on Twitter in February of 2019 about how many towels a household of two should own.

Origin

On February 17th, 2019, Twitter user @Advil tweeted "hello fellow adults. my gf and i have a question… what is the correct amount of towels to own? i said 10 and she looked at me like i was crazy. we have zero frame of reference on the appropriate amount of towels in a household of two."^[1] The tweet gained over 2,200 replies, 670 retweets, and 9,700 likes (shown below).

Spread

The tweet quickly began generating impassioned responses. User @lizzieohreally^[2] posted a list that gained over 20 retweets and 700 likes (shown below, left). User @LaurenEMorrill^[3] posted her rule regarding towels, gaining over 440 retweets and 5,500 likes (shown below, right).

Twitter user @Yashar^[4] posted a response that generated by far the most discussion, saying a household of two should have "10 Bath Sheets, 10 Bath Towels, 10 Hand Towels, 20 Wash Cloths. Preferably more" (shown below).

Many Twitter users reacted to @Yashar's tweet with surprise, as his recommendation seemed like a very large amount of towels. User @MattSBN^[5] quipped "Did a towel write this?" to @yashar's tweet, gaining over 230 retweets and 3,500 likes (shown below, left). Writer Drew Magary^[6] replied to the tweet, joking, "Do you live in Buckingham Palace?", gaining over 30 retweets and 750 likes (shown below, right). The entire debate about towels was covered by Twitter Moments^[7] and Mashable.^[8]