In Japan, clothes dryers are not a thing. No one has the space for one, and electricity in Japan is well expensive, so everyone hang-dries their laundry outside (virtually all Japanese apartments come with verandas for the purpose).

For cases where that won't cut it—if you're in a hurry to wear a particular garment, or have embarrassing undergarments that you don't want the neighbors to see, or if pollen is in season and you're sensitive—appliance manufacturer Plus Minus Zero makes this imaginative Compact Clothes Dryer.

In its folded position, the object doesn't take up much more space than a large book.

You unfold it and the fabric drying chamber stored inside drops down.

The object is meant to be hung from a closet rod or similar.

Conveniently, it comes with an extra hook so you can change the hanging orientation by 90 degrees.

The length of the drying chamber can be adjusted to the length of what you're drying, so that you don't need to use more electricity than necessary. (The company says the electricity required is half of what a conventional dryer uses.)

The contraption blows warm air into the chamber, which has exhaust ports.

It can be set on a timer.

Here's what it looks like in action:

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