# Tangled ropes and cables

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tangled-ropes-and-cables/1033346>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [September 24, 2026, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tangled-ropes-and-cables/1033346 "2026-09-24T17:05:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2026, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tangled-ropes-and-cables/1033346/41 "2026-09-26T21:59:31Z")

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Good point.

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**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2026, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tangled-ropes-and-cables/1033346/42 "2026-09-27T02:48:59Z")

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> [@bodangus](#):
>
> The over/under method prevents this internal wire twisting. You can step on one end of an always over/under coiled long extension cord, hold the other end and throw the entire remaining coil of wire out and away and there will be no knots of snags to deal with.
> 
> It’s the only way.

I learned the over-and-under method on my sailing trip, which is great for electrical cables and braided ropes (and, I assume, garden hoses). Manilla rope is coiled clockwise; it can accept a twist in one direction, but not the other.

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