throughout Star Trek’s many iterations. But, in the most recent Star Trek installment, this particular detail gets a clever fix that actually makes sense.

In Star Trek #26 by Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, and Angel Hernandez, the psychopathic android duplicate of Data named Captain Sisko and his crew of the USS Theseus narrowly escape the destruction of their universe, sliding through time into an alternate past, where they meet variants of Captain Kirk and his crew of the USS Enterprise.

After their ships were face-to-face, the two captains decided to bring their crews together while they figured out what to do next. While Sisko and Kirk brainstormed solutions to this cosmic problem, other of their crews had casual conversations, and even pointed out some differences between their ships. In fact, one crewmember even points out that this version of the USS Enterprise has floors that seem slippery, to which the person he’s talking to replies, “What would you want it to be, carpet?”.

Star Trek Offers a Brilliant Reason Why Its Starships Have Carpet

Star Trek has Famously had Carpeted Floors in Its Starships for Years

Since the start of the franchise and all the way through The Next Generation, Star Trek starships (specifically the USS Enterprise) have had interior carpeting. This ittedly kitsch design choice is the hilarious product of a bygone era, one where people thought shag carpeting was peak interior design. However, kitsch or not, the carpet inside starships actually makes a lot of sense.

The biggest concern that was brought up regarding the floor of this USS Enterprise is that they looked slippery, and given the amount of space battles these ships get into, that’s a valid concern. With ships getting hit by enemy fire, or quickly taking evasive actions, having floors with some traction would be preferable to shiny metal floors, regardless of aesthetic, and carpet certainly offers traction. It’s a fun justification for this silly ‘60s design, but it actually makes sense.

This Star Trek Comic isn’t the Only Time Carpeted Floors were Explained

Star Trek: Lower Decks has Its Own Hilarious Explanation for Starship Carpets

As previously mentioned, Star Trek’s interior carpeting in its starships has been the butt of many jokes throughout the franchise, including in the animated comedy series Star Trek: Lower Decks. In season 4, episode 5, a few characters (who are pretty inebriated) walk into a starship, and one of them says, “Oh, I love your Starfleet carpeting. It’s perfect to out on.” According to Star Trek: Lower Decks, the carpet is made for ‘ing out on’, which is actually another practical use for the bizarre interior design choice.

While Star Trek: Lower Decks offered a valid reason for the starship carpet, that was definitely more of a joke that points out the absurdity of such a design. However, in this Star Trek comic, fans actually get a solid reason why there’s carpet in some starships, giving this nonsensical detail a very clever fix.