Hot towels on planes

Thirty-thousand feet in the air, you are handed a miniature towel by an even smaller pair of plastic tongs. Sometimes the towel is hot, sometimes it is cold, sometimes it has whiffs of lemongrass and ginger.

But what on earth are you supposed to do with this moist little rag? The immediate reaction is to cleanse the face, perhaps the neck, or even the hands. But should it be used to clean the notoriously filthy inflight tray table? What about sneaking to the restroom to give your armpits a once over? It would also provide refreshing relief to well-travelled feet.

The towels aren’t purely restricted to the international airspace. My local barber in West Auckland offers hot towels from what looks like a pie warmer. I’ve also been offered them in the comfort of a luxury resort. All exchanges are equally confusing.

It is believed the little refresher towels have been used in Japan since the Edo period as a form of hospitality to show visitors and guests that they care. Called an oshibori, they were offered to travellers passing through hatago lodgings. Today, they are offered to guests in restaurants and bars across the country, and manners and consideration should be shown when using one…