Technology is developing day by day, but some technological items continue to keep their shape almost as they were when they first came out. The vast majority of irons are launched with a similar design. Although it has a steamer, travel size and many other types, there is only one type of design that comes to mind when we say ‘iron’.
Well, have you ever thought about why designers especially design all irons in triangle shape? Before answering this question, let’s take a little trip back in time and try to fully understand the reason for this design.
The first appearance of irons dates back to 400 BC.
The first irons used by the Greeks and Ancient Romans were quite different from the irons of today. It is estimated that the Greeks made pleats on the robes by heating a round rod, while the Ancient Romans almost beat the wrinkles of the clothes with irons resembling a flat racket. Much evidence has been found that the Chinese used hot water pots to iron clothes in the 1st century BC. However, there is no definite finding about its similarity to today’s irons.
In the 1300s, flat metal parts with handles began to be used as irons in Europe. This invention was quite troublesome. First, the iron was heated over a fire, then removed from the fire with an insulated glove and pressed onto the clothes. Of course, some precautions had to be taken in order to prevent the clothes from burning and soot stains. For this, the garment to be ironed was covered with a cloth.
We still use this method today. As a matter of fact, it is thought that the most similar examples to the irons we use today emerged during this period. Since ironing the clothes by beating and ironing by rubbing, the triangle shape at the tip continued to be handed down from generation to generation.
Let’s explain the operation of the triangle shape at the tip of the irons with a simple example.
The tip of the ships is designed to make it easier to move on the water surface and almost to break the waves. Because when you think of a ship going on the sea, you can see that it creates its own waves around it, thanks to its triangular tip.
Irons, like ships, straighten their way, pushing wrinkles outward. At the same time, thanks to the triangular shape of the tip, friction is minimized and the mobility on the clothes increases.
However, if we continued to beat our clothes, we could also use a square iron.
Irons are designed to remove wrinkles from our clothes laid on a flat surface. However, they should not create new wrinkles while doing this. This is exactly why the ends are designed in a triangular shape.
Because if the irons were in a square shape, the mobility of our clothes would be difficult when ironing, and it would not push the wrinkles around it, just like a ship going on the sea. Who knows, maybe it would be easier to iron our clothes by beating then.
- Sources: Magnet Academy Ironing Lab, Starlet Cleaning
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