Polotentsa: History, Culture, and the Global Life of Towels
Few objects are as universally present—and as rarely contemplated—as the towel. Known in Russian as polotentsa, the plural form of polotentse, towels exist at the intersection of the personal and the global. They dry our hands, absorb our sweat, clean our homes, and signal comfort and care in public spaces. Within the first moments of…