Former Retail Workers Stuck in Folding Mode

Countless current and former retail workers have an obsessive urge to fold clothes ironed into their brains, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Gap started the trend for tightly folded displays in the '80s and rivals quickly followed suit. A whole generation of retail alumni spent thousands of hours folding and is now unable to tolerate the sight of imperfectly folded T-shirts.

"I still kind of have the urge to do it," said an ex-Abercrombie & Fitch employee who found himself neatening up clothes every time he went shopping for years after switching jobs. His friends like to drive him up the wall by messing up his store-display style drawers at home. However, hanging is starting to edge out folding in today's stores, meaning the next generation of retail vets might not be quite as fold-happy. (More Gap stories.)