Long before washers and dryers turned laundry into a push-button chore, people relied on simple, clever tools to dry their clothes. And one of those tools—small, humble, and made of wood—has recently stirred up a wave of online nostalgia.

It all started when someone posted a photo of odd-looking wooden pegs with two “legs” on social media, asking: What are these things?

The answer delighted a generation: “Old-school clothespins!”

These wooden dowels, sometimes with a carved notch or split at one end, were once the household MVPs of laundry day. Before plastic versions with springs came along, this one-piece wooden design was slipped over wet clothes to hold them onto a line outdoors. Sun, breeze, and fresh air did the rest.

For anyone who’s lost a sock to the wind, these early pegs might seem a little risky—and they were! In fact, in an 1853 patent, Vermont inventor David M. Smith described the new spring-loaded clothespin as a major improvement over the original. His updated design prevented the pin from being blown away, something he called “a serious evil to washerwomen.”

Clothespins, also called clothes pegs, have actually been around in some form for centuries. Ancient versions were handcrafted from wood, bone, or even stone, and sometimes featured decorative carvings. But the clothespins we know today—two wooden legs, a spring, and a pinch—became widely popular in the 19th and 20th centuries as laundry moved from rivers and rocks to backyard lines and wash tubs.

Over time, wooden pins gave way to colorful plastic ones, but many still swear by the old wooden kind. They’re eco-friendly, durable, and full of charm—and for craft lovers, a staple of DIY projects too.

So the next time you come across a peg with two legs or a box of clothespins tucked in a drawer, just remember: you’re holding a small piece of history, from a time when fresh laundry danced in the breeze, not tumbled in a machine.