Clotheslines in Venice. Oh, how unsightly!

I have to say, I've never thought much about clotheslines. But when I was talking to Alan Durning of the Sightline Institute the other day, and he said he was "very passionate about clotheslines," it made me do a double-take. Are clotheslines a thing you can be passionate about?

Turns out, yes. Sightline has published a ton of articles about clotheslines, touting them as environmentally responsible energy-saving wonders. Currently, they say, "households in the Northwest states use 4.3 percent of their annual electricity consumption to dry laundry." That's more than your energy-hoggin' fridge!

But they point out that in many apartment leases and homeowners' association agreements, clotheslines are banned. Outrage! Sightline even has a map of clothesline bans across the country—including here in Seattle. For example: They reported on a clothesline ban at High Point, the Seattle Housing Authority mixed-income development in West Seattle. At the time, West Seattle Blog asked SHA about it, and they said they'd consider scrapping the ban. (I've reached out to SHA to see if the ban is still in place at High Point or other SHA properties; they're looking into it.)

A little googling led me to the Right 2 Dry website, which has a logo you have to see for yourself and a homepage that reads: "It is the inalienable right of every man, woman, and child to line dry." I repeat: Go look at their logo. It is hilarious and eagle-based. I kid you not.

Holy shit! I believe this calls for a legally binding Slog poll. We all know that nothing else matters. So: