the.com/ironing
The ancient war on wrinkles, fought with heat and quiet resentment.
means Smoothing fabric by pressing it with a heated iron until creases surrender.
from From Old English iren, the metal itself — because the first irons were literally hunks of heated iron, no irony intended.
Cold startEarly Chinese used pans of hot coals on silk.
Steam upgradeElectric steam irons arrived in the 1920s.
Skipped stepPermanent-press fabrics were invented to dodge it entirely.