To someone coming for a visit from a place distant from American culture (say, some African tribesman that hasn’t met any westerners) a large portion of our modern clothing would appear bizarre. This is not illogical; quite a few articles of the pieces of clothing we wear are in fact items without a purpose from a functional perspective: what would the tribesman make of high heel boots? or cosmetic clothing? But surely the article of clothing they would find the most bizarre is the tie.
And what is the tie? A tie is a piece of cloth that is arranged in a bizarre manner around one’s neck. It’s not worn for protection from the cold. It is not worn for any functional reason. Then why should anyone wear one? Good question.
I can envision the poor tribesman analyzing his western counterpart who is wearing a business attire and just wondering: “how do I tie a tie?” “Is tying a tie of any value?” “Why on Earth would someone want to wear a thing like that?” and ending up with no answers. And to be completely fair, all these questions are perfectly legitimate! The value of a tie is completely cosmetic, and the fact it’s regarded as a necessary component of a man’s business attire originates purely from historical reasons.
Conversely, to us novelty ties may appear to be a weird invention. After all, they should not be used in any business occasion (which is where ties are usually worn), so why make ties that feature cartoons or flashing lights? But to the tribesman in all likelihood it would look as inexplicable as an ordinary tie. In fact, he is far more likely to find some novelty ties to be of use - for example, those with the flashing lights - can serve a practical function as they provide lighting.
Oh, what a complex planet we live in.