Where Do Things Disappear To? Measuring Cups, Socks, and Mechanical Pencils

  • Thread starter Thread starter Evo
  • Start date Start date
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the phenomenon of everyday items seemingly disappearing, specifically focusing on measuring cups, socks, and mechanical pencils. Participants share personal anecdotes and theories regarding the loss of these items, exploring both humorous and serious explanations.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes the frequent loss of measuring cups, particularly the 1/4 cup measure, and questions how items disappear in general.
  • Another suggests checking a daughter's cabinet for the missing measuring cup, while a later reply dismisses this as unlikely due to the daughter's cooking habits.
  • Several participants share experiences of losing socks, with one humorously suggesting that sock manufacturers might have engineered socks to disintegrate after a number of washings.
  • A participant compares sock disintegration to radioactive decay, proposing that more expensive socks might have shorter "half-lives."
  • Another participant humorously suggests that items might be "quantum tunneling" back to the washer.
  • One participant recounts a method to reduce sock loss by folding them immediately after removal, claiming it has significantly decreased their lost socks.
  • There are suggestions to check various places for lost items, such as the dryer vent, under furniture, or in kitchen containers.
  • Some participants express frustration over the randomness of item disappearance, with one mentioning that they have a collection of unmatched socks that they eventually discarded.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally share similar experiences of losing items, particularly socks, but there is no consensus on the reasons behind these disappearances. Multiple competing views and humorous theories remain throughout the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Participants express uncertainty regarding the actual mechanisms behind the disappearance of items, with various assumptions and humorous conjectures presented without resolution.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to individuals experiencing similar frustrations with lost household items, as well as those looking for humorous takes on everyday phenomena.

  • #61
Redbelly98 said:
The PF Brotherhood is a secr--er, I mean no, there is no Brotherhood at PF. Uh, that I'm aware of. :blushing:
Next you'll blab the secret handshake. Sheesh! Not that there is one.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #62


(ok, guys, use the ' - - ' to read this message
 
  • #63
Evo said:
I have to buy more measuring cups. I have 4 nested sets and the 1/4 cup measure is missing from three of the sets...

You are too funny :smile: The easiest way to stop runnaway measuring cups (and spoons too) is to attach them all together with a metal ring (similar to a key ring). They often come sold with a ring attached. (If you take them off the ring to use them, all bets are off. )

For lost socks, I would check behind the bed. I suspect a few are hiding back there..
The solution to your lost socks coincidentally is the same.. Several years ago, I was given some sock rings. You pair them through a ring before tossing in the laundry basket. Since I started with these rings, I've never lost a sock.

I don't enjoy whenever my mechanical pencils wander off too. Those I'm particularly fond of, never leave my desk. All the rest have to take their chances.
 
Last edited:
  • #64
Ouabache said:
I don't enjoy whenever my mechanical pencils wander off too. Those I'm particularly fond of, never leave my desk. All the rest have to take their chances.
I can live with most lost mechanical pencils, as long as my favorite hangs around. It is a Caran D'ache Fixpencil by Proceq SA, Zurich. It is the most low-tech mechanical pencil you can imagine, but it's bulletproof. I still have one of the original Swiss-made leads in it - might be a bear to find replacements these days.
 
  • #65
turbo-1 said:
I still have one of the original Swiss-made leads in it - might be a bear to find replacements these days.
Couldn't you cast them yourself using a teeny mold? :biggrin:

Break out the lead-ware Martha, and I mean the good stuff; I'll need it all if we're going to get through this night alive...
 
  • #66
DaveC426913 said:
Couldn't you cast them yourself using a teeny mold? :biggrin:

Break out the lead-ware Martha, and I mean the good stuff; I'll need it all if we're going to get through this night alive...

:smile:

Good stuff, Dave.
 

Similar threads

Engineering How Does Cup Anemometer Design Utilize Fluid Mechanics Principles?
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
3K
Undergrad A Bold New Take on Quantum Theory
  • · Replies 25 ·
Replies
25
Views
6K
Undergrad Do Bob's measurement choices affect Alice's?
  • · Replies 35 ·
2
Replies
35
Views
5K
Other Maximizing Efficiency in Textbook Learning: Tips for High School Students
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
2K
Why Is My Frigidaire Gallery Washer and Dryer Failing After 5 Years?
  • · Replies 17 ·
Replies
17
Views
5K
The Scientist as Hero - or not
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
How Do Particle Measurements and Dynamic Equations Impact Quantum Mechanics?
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Help with orbital mechanics for an unusual alien planet
  • · Replies 44 ·
2
Replies
44
Views
15K
Graduate Weih's data: what ad hoc explanations do local and non-local models give?
  • · Replies 60 ·
3
Replies
60
Views
11K
  • Sticky
Kerbal Space Program Tutorial Series - Open Access to 1.7
  • · Replies 48 ·
2
Replies
48
Views
68K