So far, I’ve played three games from this year’s IFComp that mention clawfoot bathtubs. Is this a new trend?
Didn’t Bogeyman from last year also have one? Are we in for a clawfoot bathtub invasion? 
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I’m not sure why the term is more popular this year.
But now I’m thinking that “Clawfoot Bathtub” kind of sounds like a Bond villain.
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He executes his victims by garroting them with a soap on a rope…
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Next year, we’ll see them crawling up to title status:
A Clawfoot Bathtub Forever Voyaging
A Clawfoot Bathtub Cold and Austere
Alias ‘The Clawfoot Bathtub’
Clawfoot Bathtubs from Beyond!
And then we’re ready for ClawfootBathtubComp 2021.
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I had never even heard this phrase before seeing this topic. To me, that makes it a more amazing coincidence than last year’s three games with a Ford Fiesta. (On the other hand, it’s not very amazing that there’s an amazing coincidence every year.)
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I’d suspect if you’re going through the trouble of describing a bathtub, it makes sense to describe it as a claw-foot because that’s more interesting than fiberglass integrated into the wall!
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Perhaps this has something to do with the popularity of home remodeling shows on TV. People are forever removing old claw foot tubs or restoring them on these shows.
I’ve definitely heard of the term and it’s an element of decor I’d associate with old, slightly-creepy houses, so it makes sense as an element of basically any “creepy old house” IF.
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Such a missed opportunity. If I had put a bathtub in Turandot, it would certainly have been a clawfoot. And opening the wrong tap would have filled it with aqua regia.
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On a side note, I included a Ford Fiesta in my Choicescript game as a tribute to last year’s IFComp (especially Dead Man’s Fiesta)
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