Marty McFly’s hair dryer in Back to the Future has been subject to controversy over the years. There are plenty of plot holes and paradoxes in Back to the Future, and Marty’s disappearing hair dryer has been at the forefront of many debates. In the first film, when Marty (Michael J. Fox) travels back in time to 1955, he attempts to convince his father, George, to take Lorraine Baines to the dance. To intimidate the man, Marty dresses up in a yellow hazmat suit, using a hair dryer as a weapon, claiming he is “Darth Vader” from the planet “Vulcan.”

This scene is already memorable for Back to the Future’s use of a popular reference at the time, but a goof made it particularly notable. When intimidating his younger father, Marty’s hair dryer weapon suddenly disappears between sH๏τs. Back to the Future’s missing hair dryer became a memorable mistake, and was cited as a goof for many years. However, it was later discovered that it was actually more of a bad editing decision, as the extended scene showed what actually happened. That being said, many have wondered where Marty even got the hair dryer from in the first place.

The Hair Dryer Was In A Suitcase Inside The DeLorean

Back To The Future’s FAQs Reveal The Hair Dryer’s Origins

Although hair dryers were invented in 1888, with handheld variations of the device appearing in the 1920s, their clunky mechanics and unsafe designs meant they weren’t heavily used. In fact, it wasn’t until the ’60s that hair dryers became lighter, safer, and more affordable, making them commonplace. Therefore, Marty’s use of a modern-looking hair dryer in 1955 was somewhat confusing and was considered, for a long time, to be an anachronistic oversight. However, the official Back to the Future website actually explains the origins of the out-of-place hair dryer in its FAQs. Check out the full question and answer below:

In the Darth Vader scene, Marty has a modern hair dryer tucked in his belt, obviously not something they had in 1955. Where did this come from?

The hair dryer was in a suitcase that 1985 Doc put into the DeLorean trunk at Twin Pines Mall. There was a scene in which 1955 Doc looks through the contents of that suitcase, picks up the hair dryer and asks “What’s this?” “A hair dryer,” Marty replies. Doc shakes his head and says, “A hair dryer? Don’t they have towels in the future?” However, the scene was cut from the final film (for time).

The modern hairdryer actually came from the suitcase inside the DeLorean, which traveled from Marty’s present time in 1985 in Back to the Future’s timeline. According to the site, the scene showing the hair dryer’s origins was cut from the movie, so it makes sense why audiences were confused. Interestingly, the mystery of the hair dryer in the “Darth Vader” scene was evidently popular, as the question actually appears at the top of the list for Back to the Future’s official FAQs. Therefore, we are glad this was cleared up, as it puts all hair-dryer-related mysteries to bed.

A Deleted Back To The Future Scene Would’ve Explained The Hair Dryer Mystery

1955’s Doc Brown Checks Out The Suitcase Packed By His Older Self

There were plenty of reasons why Back to the Future had to cut some of its deleted scenes, whether that be for time or conciseness. However, if Back to the Future had decided to keep this one particular scene, the hair dryer mystery would have been explained very quickly, avoiding any further confusion about anachronisms and accuracy. The deleted scene in question takes place after Marty’s first meeting with the 1955 version of Doc Brown, in which the pair are gathered in his lab as Doc checks the suitcase packed by his older self. Check out the full scene below:

As Doc rummages through the suitcase sent back from 1985, he finds modern undergarments, an issue of Playboy, and a hair dryer. The scene is somewhat important as it shows how the 1985 version of Doc works with his younger self, and the inclusion of the hair dryer sets up the premise of the later “Darth Vader” scene. Unfortunately, although it is only 1 minute and 30 seconds, the scene obviously wasn’t deemed significant enough in terms of content to keep in the theatrical release, so it makes sense why Back to the Future decided to cut it “for time.”

Source: Back to the Future website