It is widely believed that doormats originated in the countries of Northern Europe in the second half of the 19th century, and this is quite reasonable. Firstly, it's usually colder there, so the doormats also served the function of retaining heat. And secondly, the development of the factory weaving industry made various fabrics very common, so homeowners had another opportunity to take care of beauty. Well, then about a couple of decades later, doormats appeared in North America.

And today, about a century and a half later, we can say with confidence - the doormat has definitely become part of our cultural code. It has ceased to carry only the function of a "rag for wiping feet" and has become a kind of decoration. Another means of "standing out from the crowd." Another way to show everyone who comes your unique and immaculate wit.

By the way, about wit. In one fan fiction, I once read a really outstanding version of the appearance of the inscription "Welcome" on our doormats - supposedly, this is in fact the machination of an influential "vampire lobby." After all, as we all know, a vampire cannot enter a house without an invitation, and a doormat with an invitation already written on it actually solves this problem... Now we are probably waiting for a mass campaign to discredit silver and garlic in the media.

Ah, and also about wit. Of all the doormats presented in this selection, I personally enjoyed the inscription "Please knock, the cat is naked" the most - and the sphinx kitty sitting next to it on the porch. By the way, if your door does not have a special cat door, then a warm doormat can perform another incredibly important function - your cat can lie on it while waiting for you to open the door for them after another pleasant walk.

Well, one of the wise men of the past noted that there are as many opinions as there are people. We, in turn, want to rephrase this quote: there are as many doormats as there are houses. So now please feel free to scroll this list to the very end, and if you smile at least a couple of times (not to mention going out and buying or making yourself some unusual doormat as well), then we have definitely achieved our goal today!