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In January 1973 a young criminal named Paul Giles was ordered by a UK magistrate to spring-clean an old-age pensioner’s house as a punishment for his offence. On hearing this, women around the world might be forgiven for wondering just what heinous crimes they must have committed to justify their life sentences of cleaning.
But by equating it with a prison term, the magistrate showed a remarkable degree of insight into the nature of housework in modern society. It is mostly boring, isolated, unpaid, pointless, prevents one from doing anything else. And there is no escape.
Cutlery, crockery, pots and pans rotate continuously from table to sink to draining board to