this post was submitted on 10 Nov 2024
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Everybody always presents laundromats in tv shows and movies as this sexy place where you meet horny singles who aren't wearing underwear because it's in the wash.

But in real life, that just isn't true. The laundromat has angry people who don't want to be there, and nobody EVER has sex, or takes their clothes off.

So why are laundromats always presented like that?

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[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 10 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

I’ve definitely experienced romance in a laundromat, it was a place where I had basically nothing but time and was freshly out on my own. It was a place I could focus on texting someone I was falling for.

Also it’s one of those things I will struggle to avoid any chance I can get in the future because that time translated to an hour and a half long chore that’s mostly waiting where I couldn’t do much else. It fucking sucked lol.

Oh also there’s a bar with live music in a laundromat that I’ve been to, alcohol and punk music can definitely up the vibes

[–] Nuke_the_whales@lemmy.world 20 points 3 days ago

I used to go to this Laundromat and next door to it was a good burger joint that served beer and had great food. Inside the burger joint was a light up board with all the laundromat machines and they would light up green when your load was complete. Must have been owned by the same people and it was a great business model. I'd go have a burger and beer every other week and watch tv in the burger joint till the light told me my stuff was ready

[–] hungryphrog@lemmy.blahaj.zone 42 points 4 days ago (2 children)

aren’t wearing underwear because it’s in the wash

??????? Do these people only have one paif of underwear??

[–] Burninator05@lemmy.world 55 points 4 days ago (3 children)

Hey everyone! Take a look at mister "I have two pairs of underwear" over here!

[–] uriel238@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 4 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

I have multiple pairs of underwear but I hate ~~h~~ going to a laundromat, so I used to wait until I was absolutely out of everything and the clothes I was wearing were oversoiled.

I have laundry facilities at home now, but when I'm double-plus depressed, I still will wait until I have absolutely nothing to wear.

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[–] klemptor@startrek.website 12 points 4 days ago (2 children)

I have zero paifs of underwear.

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[–] craftyindividual@lemm.ee 5 points 3 days ago

Remember the Levi's classic ad 1985, now I feel old.

[–] gnomesaiyan@lemmy.world 19 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Don't believe everything you see on TV. There's a reason it's called "the idiot box".

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[–] Akasazh@feddit.nl 15 points 4 days ago (4 children)

It makes me wonder how many people don't own washing machines. I mean I consider that was essential as a fridge.

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 11 points 4 days ago (2 children)

I mean.....it's getting harder and harder to buy a house as an individual. Apartment living is very real. And if you rent in a duplex, you're not going to buy a washer/dryer.

So.....yeah. I'd say not owning washer/dryer starts becoming more common if you're under 45, and gets more common the younger you go.

[–] kungen@feddit.nu 7 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Do your landlords not have any requirements to provide even a communal washing machine? In Sweden, and probably most other countries, the law says you have to have it within reasonable distance, otherwise the apartment isn't considered "livable".

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[–] Akasazh@feddit.nl 3 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

I mean I get that, certainly within the context of the last five years, but laundromats were a staple of American tv since the eighties I feel (that's at least what American tv I've seen).

Then again I'm almost in that age bracket you mentioned. Laundromats aren't a common where I live, though. There's more nowadays, due to the changes you mentioned, but it's not nearly a common aspect of life.

[–] TheRealKuni@lemmy.world 8 points 4 days ago

laundromats were a staple of American tv since the eighties I feel (that's at least what American tv I've seen).

A lot of American TV takes place in NYC, and there just isn’t room for lots of apartments to have washers and dryers in NYC. Buildings might have a laundry room, or you go to a laundromat.

[–] thawed_caveman@lemmy.world 9 points 4 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (6 children)

The owner of my laundromat claims that it's cheaper to do your laundry there than at home. At first i thought "of course a laundromat owner would say that", but then he argued that his machines are more efficient than the ones we buy and that they are collectively heated.

I still think he's fulll of shit because he only argued about energy costs, not including his rent taxes or profit; but it did get me thinking that it would be cheaper and more efficient to wash our clothes collectively.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

He’s also ignoring the cost of your time. At home I can do other chores or whatever I want as the washer and dryer go. At the laundromat I’m sitting there on my phone waiting. Also transporting the dirty clothes is a pain in the ass with a car, I’d hate it so much if I didn’t have one.

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Definitely more common in suburban areas with more single family homes or places with larger apartments.

That said, having to drag all your laundry down to the laundromat or building laundry is very inconvenient and sucks up a lot of time. I don't miss that at all.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

Cheap apartments sometimes don’t have them. My first apartment had neither a laundry machine nor a dishwasher (I honestly consider the latter more critical). I’ve also had in building shared washing machines which also sucked but sucked significantly less

[–] ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 days ago

Because if people wanted to see angry people who don't want to be there, they would just go to a laundromat in real life.

[–] nek0d3r@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

It's kind of what I liked about Baby Driver, the movie acknowledges that a laundromat is kind of a weird place to hang out for a date, but the awkwardness lets the passionate feelings they have for each other shine through.

[–] Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 153 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Because some of those angry lonely people are writers, and they have a lot of time to think.

[–] NeoNachtwaechter@lemmy.world 41 points 4 days ago

Correct answer.

The people there are mainly bored because they are waiting. And sometimes creativity arises out of boredom.

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[–] Drusas@fedia.io 144 points 4 days ago (5 children)

You must watch very different movies than I do. I immediately envision something dank and dark with flickering lights.

[–] TexasDrunk@lemmy.world 30 points 4 days ago (2 children)

And a naked, bloody clown playing patty cake with his imaginary friend while his clothes wash.

[–] Bougie_Birdie@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 points 4 days ago (2 children)

How do you know they're a clown if they're naked?

They might just be a juggalo

[–] Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 6 points 4 days ago

That's even worse!

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[–] altima_neo@lemmy.zip 19 points 4 days ago (1 children)

And a frustrated Mr Bean trying to do laundry.

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[–] SatyrSack@feddit.org 62 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Wow, what kind of lame laundromats have you been visiting?

[–] Iheartcheese@lemmy.world 58 points 4 days ago (3 children)

My last three laundromat visits involved anal.

[–] KittenBiscuits@lemm.ee 39 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Nah, it just felt like it because it costs so much to start the machine.

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[–] Crumbgrabber@lemm.ee 61 points 4 days ago (1 children)

The scientific reason is that the 350 watt drum connected to the dryer motor vibrates at 55 hertz which stimulates the female solar plexus. This creates a chain reaction and urges males to assert dominance and proceed with a mating ritual. When you combine this with the enticingly large sums of cash at a typical laundromat, you can see this is a devastating combination. The scantily clad hot body people is a side effect, not the cause.

[–] ThoGot@lemm.ee 34 points 4 days ago

That reads like something out of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

[–] Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 58 points 4 days ago (4 children)

The laundromat has angry people who don't want to be there,

I live in a college town. The laundromat nearest me has a bar.

[–] Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 8 points 4 days ago

I've seen one laundromat/bar like that, and instantly thought it was genius.

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[–] Sanctus@lemmy.world 41 points 4 days ago

Yeah I'm tired of all this laundromat sexy-washing.

[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 30 points 4 days ago (4 children)

Everything Everywhere All At Once

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[–] Shady_Shiroe@lemmy.world 28 points 4 days ago (4 children)

I want to know what TV shows you are watching

Most of the stuff I watch have something bad happen in a laundromat, like getting chased by armed thugs

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[–] AAA@feddit.org 27 points 3 days ago (4 children)

Because people who never needed to use an annoying thing like to imagine and romantize how they would use it. Completely ignoring reality.

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[–] Lemonparty@lemm.ee 27 points 4 days ago (2 children)

I have never seen a laundromat romanticized in a movie as far as I can recall.

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[–] ch00f@lemmy.world 23 points 4 days ago (3 children)

Seattle used to have a combination laundromat/bar that was called Sit and Spin.

Never had a chance to go. I imagine it was a very horny place. Also at the time median age in Seattle was like 23.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago

Something similar in Columbus. I’ve never washed clothes there, but I have been to punk shows there

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