There are many serious things that could cause someone to get angry at their neighbors. Angry enough to kill them? Maybe. But, is a clothesline enough of an argument?
The New York Times reports that a documentary is being made about outdoor clothes drying, which features an argument between one disgruntled neighbor in Verona, Miss., who shot another because he was tired of telling the man to stop hanging his laundry outside. The documentary, "Drying for Freedom," is set to come out next May.
The article goes on to describe many communities where drying clothes outside is considered an eyesore for neighbors, so it is banned. There are "laundry activists" in the film who are working to change that through an organization called Project Laundry List, a group that is advocating air-drying and cold-water washing clothes in order to save energy. The article says that dryers use up to 6 percent of all household energy consumption.
Many people used to hang their laundry outside until the advent of the electric dryer in the 1950s when the clothesline began to become a sign of poverty, because of the inability to afford the popular electric dryer. In addition to that, some say laundry is an eyesore and they shouldn't have to stare at their neighbors sheets when they could be looking at trees and grass and birds.
Alexander Lee, a New Hampshire lawyer who runs Project Laundry list, said in the New York Times article he has seen a telltale sign of the times:
"There are a lot of kids these days who don't even know what a clothespin is," he said. "They think it's a potato chip clip."
Just for fun:
