eli5: Why does wet earth (like right after rain) absorb more water then dry earth (like right after a drought)?

Question

Title. I saw a video showing it happening, but I don’t understand why.

In: 51

Answer 1

Because water has already created a path in the wet soil for more water to follow. Dry soil is hard and compacted, making the water work harder to get through because it has to create a path from scratch.