This is a great visual representation of how much better life is today than earlier this century for most Americans. This was not the most effective nor healthiest way to dry clothes, quite aside from the risk of having them stolen. Mechanical dryers have improved lives tremendously. This would go great with the Rosling washing machine video.
The "sky-line" of New York certainly looked noticeably busier prior to the prevalence of Mechanical dryers, and yet, social stigma's are hard to shake. Wikipedia has noted some interesting social repercussions below:
“When these machines were first introduced, only well-to-do families could afford them and they became associated with affluence. Interestingly, however, now that most people can afford a mechanical dryer, clothes lines have become associated with a ‘home-town’ character in neighborhoods because they are indicative of a low-crime area. (Outdoor clothes lines may be used less frequently in high-crime areas because of the risk of clothes being stolen – a worldwide phenomenon.) Also, environmental concerns and higher energy prices have created a new generation of clothes line advocates. Still, the old association with poverty persists in some people’s minds.”
Interestingly, in many other parts of the world, hanging clothes on clothing lines continue to be the norm, some advocates cite the city "smell" absorbed by the clothes as one of the primary reasons for continuing this legacy practice. Wealth, as they would claim, has little to do with maintaining tradition.
