The Shrinking Bed

[ElishevaBarsabe]

Odd event this morning.

The weather has been quite cold here (for the central coast of California, anyway), so my husband and I have an extra blanket on the bed over the coverlet.

The blanket is an electric blanket made of some artificial material. We have a very wide bed, so the blanket is always on the bed sideways. The blanket has been on the bed for over two months. Since the blanket is spread sideways, it does not cover the length of the bed; about two feet of bed at the head and eight inches (I'd guess) at the foot are uncovered...

...until this morning when not only did the blanket fit over the entire bed, it had acquired enough material to drape over the end of the bed.

I know the orientation didn't change because the blanket is not plugged in (due to cats), and the connection for the electrics is on my side of the bed, as it was this morning.

I pointed out the change in size to my husband, and he agreed that the blanket, indeed, has changed dimensions, and rather dramatically.

Either that, or the bed shrank.

Perhaps what we all live in is not so much a multiverse as a mutiverse?

 

[GNC]

This is probably a silly question, but you don't wash electric blankets, do you? Might be a bit dangerous. Alternatively, could the electrical heat have expanded it over the years you've been using it?

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Have you measured the bed and blanket? I assume they must come in realtively standard sizes and you could then work out what has changed size. I'd have to guess it was the blanket as you'd notice if it was the bed as you feet would be hanging over the end.

 

[Anonymous]

Dimensional travel

Clearly while you were asleep you entered a parallel dimension and came back with a slightly different bed.

Either that, or while you were asleep someone entered your house and replaced all your furniture with an almost exact replica...

 

[mindalai]

I notice you mention you have cats. It's probably something to do with them (either shifting dimensions or playing tricks on you by replacing all the furniture, as Pearl Knight says)

 

[tygerkat]

Oh, sure, blame the cats!
This is pretty weird, tho. I mean, how could the blanket suddenly fit the bed after all this time? I have a blanket that doesn't fit the bed but I'm very fond of it so use it anyway. Be nice if it grew to the rigth size although I'm sure it would freak me out.

 

[ElishevaBarsabe]

This is probably a silly question, but you don't wash electric blankets, do you? Might be a bit dangerous. Alternatively, could the electrical heat have expanded it over the years you've been using it?

I believe you can wash them if you follow the manufacturer's directions.

However, we don't plug the blanket in because any creature sitting on top of the blanket can cause a hot spot and, possibly, set the blanket on fire. (The blanket was my husband's when he was in university, and he did plug it in then.)

I'd have to guess it was the blanket as you'd notice if it was the bed as you feet would be hanging over the end.

True, especially since my husband is over 6 ft tall.


If the blanket (or bed) ever returns to its original size, I'll let you all know.

 

[Min Bannister]

Great story, I absolutely love that sort of thing! There is a thread here, which, if you ignore all the flaming contains some very interesting stories that are similar.

http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/viewt ... 396#311396

 

[mindalai]

This is my favourite kind of forteana. Such a small, seemingly mundane thing but so completely unfathomable. I really can't think of any decent explanation for how this could happen.

It's not just some misperception where you've changed the pillows or something, so they cover more of the head of the bed so the blanket starts lower down?

The only other thing I can think of is that the blanket has been turned round through 90 degrees and also been turned over (so that the electric plug would still be in the same place but the orientation of the blanket has changed.

 

[ElishevaBarsabe]

It's not just some misperception where you've changed the pillows or something, so they cover more of the head of the bed so the blanket starts lower down?

No, the pillows are the same as always.

The only other thing I can think of is that the blanket has been turned round through 90 degrees and also been turned over (so that the electric plug would still be in the same place but the orientation of the blanket has changed.

Good thought, but the plug always has been on the topside of the blanket and still is: if the orientation had changed, the plug would be on the underside.

This morning my husband said that he thought the blanket was shorter again, and it might be. I'm going to measure the thing today; but, measurement will only be valid if the blanket really is changing size. If everything in the universe is changing size except that blanket, the measuring tape will change size, too, adding to the confusion.

Can anyone think of another way to test this problem?

 

[stu neville]

Don't just measure it, weigh it. That way you'll know if there's actually less material or whether it's only the dimensions that seem to be changing.

BTW, this is a terrific story! Agree with all who said that this sort of thing is just what we need .

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

This morning my husband said that he thought the blanket was shorter again, and it might be. I'm going to measure the thing today; but, measurement will only be valid if the blanket really is changing size. If everything in the universe is changing size except that blanket, the measuring tape will change size, too, adding to the confusion.

Can anyone think of another way to test this problem?

You need to measure the bed and the blanket and some other point of reference.

There is no way to know if the blanket is getting smaller or the universe bigger (as that would imply the tape measure would be getting bigger too) although if the bed and the reference object are staying constant then it doesn't really matter.

If it is a blanket from a parellel dimension try writing a note on it in pen then if it happens again it'd be like some interdimensional message in a bottle. The good thing is if you do this then alternate yous may also think of doing it at the same time and it would set up a chain of ever so slightly different messages. Transdimensional chain letters? I bt some bugger will find a way to use this to send junk mail!!

Also take some photos - not that it will prove anything I'm just being nosey

 

[ElishevaBarsabe]

You need to measure the bed and the blanket and some other point of reference.

If it is a blanket from a parellel dimension try writing a note on it in pen then if it happens again it'd be like some interdimensional message in a bottle.

Also take some photos

Thanks. I'll do all of the above.

The good thing is if you do this then alternate yous may also think of doing it at the same time and it would set up a chain of ever so slightly different messages. Transdimensional chain letters? I bt some bugger will find a way to use this to send junk mail!!

What a thought! And you're right, too.

 

[mindalai]

This morning my husband said that he thought the blanket was shorter again, and it might be. I'm going to measure the thing today; but, measurement will only be valid if the blanket really is changing size. If everything in the universe is changing size except that blanket, the measuring tape will change size, too, adding to the confusion.

Can anyone think of another way to test this problem?

What about some photos showing the blanket on the bed? Take one every day for a week and see what happens.

 

[Prof_Pretorius]

Obviously, the wires in the blanket are providing a locus for Fortean energy. The lattice of wires have tuned into a dark energy the shrinks whatever it touches. As well as measuring the bed, and the blanket, you'll need to measure yourselves, the bedroom AND the cats. You may have entered the incredible shrinking multiverse !!!!

 

[Anonymous]

Measuring

How about tacking a tape measure to the side of the bed, and noting the measurement of the quilt each day?

(Am I sounding like an anorak...?) :?

 

[tygerkat]

What about some photos showing the blanket on the bed? Take one every day for a week and see what happens.

Good thought.

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

You need to measure the bed and the blanket and some other point of reference.

If it is a blanket from a parellel dimension try writing a note on it in pen then if it happens again it'd be like some interdimensional message in a bottle.

Also take some photos

Thanks. I'll do all of the above.

Will "'im in doors" be up for you writing on the electric blanket?

I tell you what you can print this off as a permission slip type thing:

Dear Mr. Barsabe,

Your wife is helping out with vital work tracking potential transdimensinal anomalies. This work may entail the defacing or even partial destruction of some minor items of your collective property but we feel such minor inconveniences are balanced out by the potential benefits that such research could bring.

Fortean Research Labs: Multiverse Meddling Division

Makes one wonder if stuff cycles through different universes on a regular basis but the differences are so slight we rarely notice it. I wonder if this also explains the times when you can't find your keys and then you find them when you look in the same place again. Perhaps it does happen to people too - it might explain the recent discussion about remembering things that never actually happened:

www.forteantimes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13992

One would hypothesise that the minor changes in different timelines would be pretty trivial (electric blanket size or the death of some minor actor) as these would be the closest to this one.

Or not

 

[tattooted]

I think there must be something odd going on related to electric blankets. Maybe it is in the wiring. I sleep under a 4-layered array of 1) flannel sheets 2) electric blanket 3) comforter and 4) quilt. The electric blanket is under my other blankets, but on top of my sheets, all arranged neatly together with the top edge of the sheet folded over the top of the blankets. A few weeks ago I woke up with the electric blanket on the floor of my room, somehow separated from the rest of my blankets during the night. I'm assuming I kicked it off during the night, but how did I separate it from its static attachment to its brethren while keeping the rest of the bed neatly made? Not impossible, but so highly improbable that it struck me as extremely odd.

 

[starflook]

I think there must be something odd going on related to electric blankets. Maybe it is in the wiring. I sleep under a 4-layered array of 1) flannel sheets 2) electric blanket 3) comforter and 4) quilt. The electric blanket is under my other blankets, but on top of my sheets, all arranged neatly together with the top edge of the sheet folded over the top of the blankets. A few weeks ago I woke up with the electric blanket on the floor of my room, somehow separated from the rest of my blankets during the night. I'm assuming I kicked it off during the night, but how did I separate it from its static attachment to its brethren while keeping the rest of the bed neatly made? Not impossible, but so highly improbable that it struck me as extremely odd.

Not sure how odd that is. I often sleep under a sheet and a blanket. Usually, the sheet ends up rolled into a ball at the foot of the bed to my left hand side. While everything else on the bed is completely undisturbed. I also sleep with a sheet and two or three blankets in the winter, and will wake up freezing as the two blankets in the middle have end up on the floor. But the worse is when I get the sheet not only twisted around my legs, but tucked in under itself at the ends after it has been so.

 

[ElishevaBarsabe]

I tell you what you can print this off as a permission slip type thing:

Dear Mr. Barsabe,

Your wife is helping out with vital work tracking potential transdimensinal anomalies. This work may entail the defacing or even partial destruction of some minor items of your collective property but we feel such minor inconveniences are balanced out by the potential benefits that such research could bring.

Fortean Research Labs: Multiverse Meddling Division

He says he'll give up all rights to the blanket for $1 (American).

He's Mr. Jones, by the way, which you couldn't have known. I didn't feel like trading in "Barsabe" when we married.

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

I tell you what you can print this off as a permission slip type thing:

Dear Mr. Barsabe,

Your wife is helping out with vital work tracking potential transdimensinal anomalies. This work may entail the defacing or even partial destruction of some minor items of your collective property but we feel such minor inconveniences are balanced out by the potential benefits that such research could bring.

Fortean Research Labs: Multiverse Meddling Division

He says he'll give up all rights to the blanket for $1 (American).

He's Mr. Jones, by the way, which you couldn't have known. I didn't feel like trading in "Barsabe" when we married.

Well more fool him - esp. selling his rights on possibly the mos important electric blanket in history for a shiny American dollar (that less than 60p in the Queen's money!!).

 

[tattooted]

Not sure how odd that is.

Odd enough that I couldn't do it again when I tried the next morning after I made the bed! It was like one of those tricks where the magician pulls the tablecloth off the table without distrubing any of the food, place settings, etc. Not Forteana with a capital F to be sure, just a mild curiousity in a universe of such.

 

[marslight]

By all means, measure the blanket and the bed, and while you are at it, measure your husband as well. And the cat. And anything else you can think of. No point going about half-cocked when it comes to Forteana, I always say.

Another partially baked thought: you say you live on the central coast. Are you anywhere near the Santa Cruz Mystery Spot? Not that I think it is involved, but one never knows.

 

[Dingo667]

I know this is a really stupid explanation but I'll try it anyway. What if your husband or someone else somehow "broke" the blanket and quickly got another one to replace the old one but got a slightly biger one. Like when parents get another goldfish when the old one dies in the kids absence?

Of course everyone would deny it because they did something "naughty".

No its crap. Forget it.

 

[ElishevaBarsabe]

Pic of the bed with blanket

Hello, everyone:

Finally got a picture of the bed and blanket uploaded. See http://www.missionstclare.com/pics/bed.jpg.

The orange lines show the original size of the blanket.
(And, yes, I Photoshoped the rug so you all wouldn't see that I haven't vacuumed in a week.)

The blanket seems to have stablized at its current size. But I'll let you all know if it does another radical change!

Thanks for all your replies.

 

[ElishevaBarsabe]

Are you anywhere near the Santa Cruz Mystery Spot? Not that I think it is involved, but one never knows.

Well, not close enough. Seems that the researchers at UC (about a mile from us) are engaged in dense-matter research, however -- could extra gravitational pull be at play here do you think?

 

[cassandra78]

How on earth did I miss this thread? Ive been crying with laughter!
Reminds me of a moment the other day when I thought my steering wheel was turning much more than usual, Dad tried it and said I must be going mad. I was so concerned tho, I really thought the thing had broken.

Maybe you are remembering the blanket from winters past when you had a different bed and thats when it seemed shorter?

 

[elffriend]

I know this is a really stupid explanation but I'll try it anyway. What if your husband or someone else somehow "broke" the blanket and quickly got another one to replace the old one but got a slightly biger one. Like when parents get another goldfish when the old one dies in the kids absence?

Of course everyone would deny it because they did something "naughty".

No its crap. Forget it.

That is the most sensible suggestion so far :lol:

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Hello, everyone:

Finally got a picture of the bed and blanket uploaded. See http://www.missionstclare.com/pics/bed.jpg.

The orange lines show the original size of the blanket.

See it strikes me that the blanket may just have been turned through 90 degrees.

You say this couldn't happen because of the electrical connection but have you tried a 90 degreee turn with a flip of the blanket?

Are you anywhere near the Santa Cruz Mystery Spot? Not that I think it is involved, but one never knows.

Well, not close enough. Seems that the researchers at UC (about a mile from us) are engaged in dense-matter research, however -- could extra gravitational pull be at play here do you think?

Oh quite possibly - there is always talk of the next generation of colliders producing mini-black holes. What if their dicking around is producing weird particles or unusual energies they are unable to detect?

Sooooooooo any updates?