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"Murphy's Law"

A

Anonymous

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This is going to be kind of hard to explain but some of you may know what I'm talking about.What exactly makes "Murphy's Law" happen?You know,when something incredibily ironic happens and things like that.The traffic light turns red as you approach,or you lose something you needed and could've sworn you knew where it was.And the worst is going to a record store and you see a cd you really, really want but you have no money.So you come back a week later with the money but of course,someone bought it.Is all this just coincidence,all in your head,or is there some cosmic force that likes to be a prick?
 
A) Murphy is just one alias of the Cosmic Joker

or

B) You notice things that go wrong much more than when they go right. The traffic lights are green, you drive though: you see a CD you like and buy it: etc - no big deal.
 
There was a big "scientific" study in Britain last year, involving thousands of schoolchildren and thousands of pieces of buttered toast being dropped in a proscribed manner. I wouldn't swear to it but the butter side landed down more than 50% of the time I think.
Of course the really interesting experiment, which no one has yet conducted, is tying a piece of buttered toast to a cat's back and dropping it from a height of about 10 feet. :p
 
beakboo said:
I wouldn't swear to it but the butter side landed down more than 50% of the time I think.
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Thats becuase they are hoding it at just the right hight that it has only enough time to flip over once... presumably all the kids were holding it butter side up when they dropped it.

You think positive you get positive results...
You think negative you get negative results...
 
They weren't holding it, it was on a plate, which had to be one without a rim, and it was dropped from various proscribed heights.
 
I can't explain the scientifics of it, but I think it has to do with the weight of the butter "pulling" gravity and flipping the bread over to that side... Is there an engineer in the house? lol
 
I think the words of Alanis Morisette's 'Ironic' say it all:

". . . 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife,
Meeting the man of your dreams and then meeting his beautiful wife . . ." etc.

The traffic lights are always on red when you're in a desperate hurry . . .

Carole
 
Re: Butter Side Down

I recall seeing an experiment some years back in which buttered bread was dropped edge-down, and more often than not landed butter side down. The 'explanation' was that the buttered side was smoother, therefore less turbulence, therefore fell faster than the 'bumpy' side, causing the bread to 'turn' butter-side down.

Hmmmm.
 
If this theory's correct then Derek, all we need to do is put extra lumpy marmalade on our toast. Then we could throw it to the floor with impunity.:)
 
What would happen if you buttered both sides of the bread?:confused:

Carole
 
carole said:
What would happen if you buttered both sides of the bread?:confused:

Carole
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Newtonian answer: It always lands butter side down

Quantum physics answer: It lands both butter side down and butter side up. (CF Schroedinger's Cat)

rynner's answer: Idunno
 
rynner said:
Newtonian answer: It always lands butter side down

Quantum physics answer: It lands both butter side down and butter side up. (CF Schroedinger's Cat)

rynner's answer: Idunno
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Of course, this assumes it's going to land.......
 
Originally posted by carole
I think the words of Alanis Morisette's 'Ironic' say it all....
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You know, coincidentally (not ironically), some friends and I were just mulling over Alanis' use of ironic concerning rain on one's wedding day.

No, Alanis, I don't think it's ironic! Perhaps she should avoid meteorological conditions as the apex of meaning when dealing with significant moments in life. I think she'd be happier that way, I really do.

Unless she happened to be struck by lightning while being married; yet, I'd still regard that as merely an improbable occurance, and not irony.

The preceding rant was brought to you by the American Institute for Crankiness; TorgosPizza, founder.
 
TorgosPizza said:
You know, coincidentally (not ironically), some friends and I were just mulling over Alanis' use of ironic concerning rain on one's wedding day.

No, Alanis, I don't think it's ironic! Perhaps she should avoid meteorological conditions as the apex of meaning when dealing with significant moments in life. I think she'd be happier that way, I really do.

Unless she happened to be struck by lightning while being married; yet, I'd still regard that as merely an improbable occurance, and not irony.

The preceding rant was brought to you by the American Institute for Crankiness; TorgosPizza, founder.
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hey mr next door neighbour guy, you stole my words, i was saying that to you not so long ago. get your own posts.
 
ballzack said:
This is like an episode of Neighbours from Hell.
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yeah its 03:45 and i can here his music. time to turn mine up i think.
 
Originally posted by ballzack
Kill his dog
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I don't have any pets, Ballsack, but I thought about getting a dog just so it would poop in Chopper's yard, since his dog does the same to mine. Nice dog, BTW: what is it Chopper, an alsatian named Rommel? Sweet animal! If I catch it in my trash again, I'll mace it w/ my pepper spray just like I did last time! I hate macing pets, but it really had it coming.
 
TorgosPizza said:
I don't have any pets, Ballsack, but I thought about getting a dog just so it would poop in Chopper's yard, since his dog does the same to mine. Nice dog, BTW: what is it Chopper, an alsatian named Rommel? Sweet animal! If I catch it in my trash again, I'll mace it w/ my pepper spray just like I did last time! I hate macing pets, but it really had it coming.
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it was you who maced my dog? see you in court homeboy!
 
Alternate Anti-Gravity Device?

Take one cat and one slice of toast, liberally buttered on one side.
Strap toast, buttered side up, on back of cat.
Release cat from great height.

Will the cat's imperrative to always land on it's feet overcome the toast's need to land buttered side down?

Who knows :)

Niles "Jack B. Quick" Calder
 
I live by the Five Second Rule: if you drop a piece of food, if you pick it up within five seconds, it's still edible. Of course, buttered side down isn't exactly appetising.

And, Niles, I think you're onto something, there. If they attached these cat/toast combos to the frames of cars, would they hover like landspeeders, or would it not work because there is no falling involved?
 
you could dangle them on a string
or you could make GM cat/toast-see cryptozoology
 
carole said:
What would happen if you buttered both sides of the bread?:confused:

Carole
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Then you'd waste TWICE as much butter!
:eek: :eek:
As to the dropping of cats with buttered toast strapped to their backs, the toast should predictably land first. The reality is that if you strap anything to a cat's back it loses its sense of balance and becomes seriously disorientated. Sorry to be a spoilsport!:) (or boring old fart.)
I had a good laugh at the cited theories though, just the same.:D;)
 
If you built a vehicle that had lots of cats strapped feet up underneath, would it perform as an 'anti-gravity' craft, since all the cats wouldn't want to land head-first?

:cool:

And could you do the same with a couple of loaves of buttered toast?
:p
 
DerekH said:
If you built a vehicle that had lots of cats strapped feet up underneath, would it perform as an 'anti-gravity' craft, since all the cats wouldn't want to land head-first?
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Not quite. A fully functional anti-gravity drive requires a slice of buttered toast strapped to the back of a cat, which you then drop into an opaque box and seal immediately without looking. This forces the system into a superposition of cat-up/cat-down, which, due to quantum uncertainty, should hover about three feet off the ground.

You can change the altitude by dropping more cats into more boxes (thus increasing the uncertainty of the system, and therefore the height at which it levitates). Alternately, you can go down, by opening some boxes, thus collapsing their wave functions.

Of course, you should not attempt this experiment without first consulting a qualified quantum theorist, or a vet.
 
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