20 Everyday Objects Designed Completely Differently Outside the US

Putting wet plates directly into a kitchen cabinet sounds like a mistake until you see what is underneath them. Instead of solid shelves, Finnish kitchens often have wire racks hidden behind the cupboard doors above the sink. Wash a dish, place it there, close the door, and the remaining water drips harmlessly downward while everything air-dries out of sight. Home economist Maiju Gebhard helped popularize the arrangement during the 1940s while studying ways to reduce the enormous amount of time homemakers spent on repetitive kitchen work. It eventually became so ordinary in Finland that a countertop drying rack can feel like the less logical option.