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

You see this same behavior with a chamoix to dry your car. The instructions are to wet it first so that it better absorbs water. When you wet it the towel expands a bit so more water can get in quicker.