Towel

A towel is a piece of absorbent fabric or paper used for drying or wiping the body or a surface. It draws moisture through direct contact, often using a blotting or a rubbing motion. In households, several types of fabric towels are used, including hand towels (small towels placed by a sink for drying the hands), bath towels (large towels for drying the hair and body after a bath or shower) and kitchen towels, which are used for drying dishes. In warm climates, people may also use beach towels, which are large towels used for drying off after swimming and for placing on beach surfaces. Common household textile towels are made from cotton, rayon, bamboo, non-woven fibers, and a few other materials. Paper towels are provided in commercial or office bathrooms for users to dry their hands. Paper towels are also used in households for a range of wiping, cleaning and drying tasks.

History

According to Middle Ages archeological studies, "... closely held personal items included the ever present knife and a towel." However, the invention of the towel is commonly associated with the city of Bursa, Turkey, in the 17th century. These Turkish towels began as a flat, woven piece of cotton or linen called a pestamel, often hand-embroidered. Long enough to wrap around the body, pestamel were originally fairly narrow, but are now wider and commonly measure 90 by 170 centimetres (35 in × 67 in). Pestamel were used in Turkish baths as they stayed light when wet and were very absorbent.