There's this online meme that says,

In every relationship, there is one person who loads the dishwasher like a Scandinavian architect,

and one who loads it like a raccoon on meth.

So today I would like to go on record and give a shout out to my fellow raccoons. From KERA in Dallas, this is Think. I'm Chris Boyd.

Given other fundamental disagreements we might have with our partners about how to handle money

or how to raise kids, maybe the dishwasher

thing seems inconsequential. But given that therapists report recurring dishwasher fights come

up kind of a lot in relationship counseling, it is worth understanding why they happen and

asking whether there really is a right way to use this weirdly controversial appliance.

Ellen Cushing is a staff writer at The Atlantic, which published her article,

The Absolutely Positively Correct Way to Load Your Dishwasher.

Ellen, welcome to think.

Hello. Thank you for having me. I'm also a raccoon.

We need to have a support group.

Even the title of this article strikes me as something that will get people's tackles up.

Yes, definitely.

I was hoping you would be a little bit sarcastic, which it is.

The truth is there's not really a one right way to load the dishwasher

because all dishwashers are different and all dishes are different. But there are some

principles that kind of stand throughout the dishwasher universe that are consistent and

should be followed.

It is pretty much inevitable that couples who are committed for the long term will have some of the same arguments over and over and they'll never quite be resolved. Most of those, though,

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